Pam's New Music Downloads

Before Coldplay became the big daddies of Brit pop, there was the Verve. On Forth, their reunion album,the blokes hit their stride right away. "Love Is Noise," the standout single, is a pumping anthem.

As the cover girl of the September issue of Vanity Fair, Carla Bruni - a former model who is now the first lady of France -is heralded as possibly "the new Jackie O." But it's doubtful that J.F.K.'s wife could have ever produced such a sultry set of folk-pop. This mostly French album Comme Si De Rien N'Etait (which means "As If Nothing had Happened") is an alluring affair full of lilting cadences and come-hither coos. "La Possibilite d'une Ile," is a poem set to lush music.

With backup from piano maestro Henry Butler, Irma Thomas, the Grammy-winning New Orleans native, takes a turn at John Fogerty's ode to hope "River Is Waiting" from her new CD Simply Grand.

Juliana Hatfield's bold guitar playing and shimmery vocals energize a defiant rock song on "The Fact Remains" and "This Lonely Love" from How to Walk Away.

Fronted by vocalist Sarah Dugas, the Canadian Band The Duhks delivers an irresistible lullaby on "Sleepin Is All I Wanna Do" from Fast Paced World.

The queen of folk, Joan Baez, sends chills down my spine with "I Am a Wanderer" from her recent disc Day after Tomorrow.

Nat King Cole's daughter Natalie sings the praises of a good cup of joe, backed by a cool-jazz trio of bass, drums and piano on the single "Coffee Time" from Still Unforgettable.