The eMusic Dozen: Boomer-Friendly Rock

What did Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan all have in common, aside from being kick-ass axe-slingers? They all worshipped Albert King, a guitarist whose famously irascible personality was matched only by the sheer nastiness of his licks. This 13-track "greatest hits" compilation draws mostly from King's late-'60s and early-'70s work, and his searing playing on "Killing Floor," "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven" and "Sky Is Crying" will make a stone believer out of you as well.

If Jimi Hendrix had been reincarnated as a white Englishman with a perpetual bad cold, he might have created something that sounded like Triptych. The third (some would say best) of the many albums released under the psychedelic alias of British multi-instrumentalist Nick Saloman, this sprawling 1988 opus combines the fearless fretboard freakouts of Hendrix's Electric Ladyland with the melodic whimsy of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. The sound may be a bit lo-fi for some, but the jangly pop of "Lights Are Changing" and "Old Man Blank" -- not to mention jaw-dropping jams like "Into the Cryptic Mist" and the nineteen-minute "Tangerine Infringement Beak" -- will surely connect with anyone who's ever "inhaled" to the accompaniment of classic '60s psych.

If your idea of the perfect pop album involves ringing, Who-style guitars, wistful Beatles-esque harmonies and clenched fistfuls of bittersweet boy-girl heartache, look no further than Big Star's first two albums. As with The Velvet Underground and Nico -- another record that initially sold dirt but would later influence legions of bands -- 1972's #1 Record and 1974's Radio City are albums that completely live up to their exalted cult status. In a just world, "September Gurls," "When My Baby's Beside Me," "The Ballad of El Goodo" and "Back of a Car" all would have been huge radio hits; instead, they're just a few of the many melodic highlights herein.

If you've enjoyed Peter Gabriel's forays into world music, especially his Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack, don't miss out on this collection of tracks from Australian duo Dead Can Dance. On evocative tracks like "Cantara," "The Host of Seraphim" and "Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book," Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry combine modern beats with layers of medieval and Middle Eastern instruments (not to mention Gerrard's ethereal soprano) creating music that's as timeless as it is haunting.

Musicologist, multi-instrumentalist, and all-around psychedelic cowboy, the late Doug Sahm was the very embodiment of the "cosmic American music" that Gram Parsons once championed. Equally at home playing soul, country, the blues or low-down rock & roll, Sahm -- both solo and with the Sir Douglas Quintet and Texas Tornados -- waxed over a dozen albums that still hold their own with anything Parsons or John Fogerty ever released. This 1980 solo effort finds the man leading a crack squad of Austin musicians through everything from fuzzed-out garage rock ("Tunnel Vision") to smoky jump blues ("Next Time You See Me"), stopping along the way for an absolutely ripping version of Guitar Slim's "Things I Used to Do." A Hell of a Spell, indeed -- and a hell of a party as well!

If you love classic Tom Waits, but find his recent experiments in rhythmic dissonance somewhat hard to take, you might want to give Bubblegum a chew. The former frontman of psychedelic grunge warriors the Screaming Trees, Lanegan has spent the last decade battling his demons on a series of dark, acoustic-oriented albums. This 2004 effort may be more rock-oriented, but the dark vibes -- and Lanegan's whiskey-roached vocals -- remain gloriously intact on hungover anthems like "Strange Religion," "Like Little Willie John" and "Morning Glory Wine."

Produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry -- the same musical visionary who cut many of Bob Marley and the Wailers' classic singles -- this 1977 album draws upon the same socio-religious concerns and roots/rocksteady grooves that fired Marley's greatest work, but the heavenly vocal blend of singers Cedric Myton and Roy "Ashanti" Johnson is what gives songs like "Children Crying" and "Ark of the Covenant" a unique melodic character all their own. Throw in a few of Perry's spaced-out production tricks, and you've simply got one of the finest reggae albums of all time.

Jonesing for something with the snap, crackle and pop of vintage Cheap Trick? Velvet Crush's In the Presence Of Greatness can cure what ails ya. A veritable power-pop classic, this 1991 album -- produced by Matthew Sweet -- delivers one crunchy, guitar-powered hook after another on stellar tracks like "Drive Me Down," "Ash And Earth" and "Speedway". (A nicely noisy cover of Teenage Fanclub's "Everything Flows" is included as one of three bonus tracks.) As with Rick Nielsen and Co., Velvet Crush prove that nerdy white dudes can rock out, too.

Motown may have been the most prominent and successful purveyor of soul music in the '60s and '70s, but the legacy of the Memphis-based Stax/Volt imprint is just as impressive. You likely already know most of the 15 tracks on this aptly titled sampler from the label's glory days -- but you may not have known that Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, the Dramatics, Isaac Hayes and Booker T & the MGs were all Stax artists. And lesser known (but equally great) singles like Frederick Knight's "I've Been Lonely For So Long," Shirley Brown's "Woman to Woman" and Judy Clay and William Bell's "Private Number" only hint at the righteous riches awaiting you in the Stax back catalog.

Though she's long been classified as a country-folk artist, Victoria Williams actually has more in common with Rickie Lee Jones than she does with most of the strum-and-twang brigade. Like Rickie Lee, Victoria possesses a girlish voice and a flair for jazzy phrasing, and she's not afraid to take a musical chance or three. All of those admirable qualities are on display on this lovely collection of cover songs, which range from an endearingly goofy rendition of the Eden Ahbez obscurity "Mongoose" to positively sigh-inducing takes on "Moon River," "As Time Goes By" and "My Funny Valentine."