Blues-influenced US troubadour's best yet

Blue Thumb label-era Love. Includes a ho-hum summit meet with Hendrix

Two essential seminars from country-rock school of midwifery, the latter including a clutch of unreleased obscurities

Undistinguished '60s vocal group

Fierce love and hard drugs in London's East End

Collecting all four Python movies. And Now For Something Completely Different was a 'greatest hits' retread of sketches from the early TV shows, Holy Grail is worth seeing for Cleese's French knight alone, the wry and occasionally profound Life Of Brian was the best of the bunch, and The Meaning Of Life had some truly wonderful tunes. Did I say "indispensable". yet?

The year's most controversial release, Gaspar Noe's French frenzy (which unfolds backwards, like Memento) has been hammered for its scenes of rape and violence. His argument's that if you don't show them as ugly, you don't show the truth. However you react, there's no denying his visceral energy.

(ALSO RELEASED THIS MONTH)

Second full-lengther from Liverpool-via-Bradford quintet, its title inspired by a Bulgarian folk ditty

Fine funky follow-up to 2001's Felt Mountain