At 89, Label: Appleseed Recordings. Release Date: Sept. 3

It was a small crowd in an even smaller room, the low-lit rotunda of Manhattan's art-deco Spiegeltent. There was a piano, an upright bass, and not much else. And then there was Martha Wainwright.

Ryder wears her influences on her sleeve. The cream of the female rock cannon, like Janis Joplin and Melissa Ethridge are heard, but the sound is distinctly her own.

As this new release will attest, his songs and talent run much much deeper than he is many times given credit for. There is also some down right smoking guitar work laid down, another talent where he frequently is not given his proper due. I have a feeling that Jaggedland will be the CD that shows the world that Marshall Crenshaw is not a one trick pony.

One of Dallas Texas' favorite sons and Old 97's front man Rhett Miller is back with a new self titled solo album. This is his fourth solo outing dating back to 1989's Mythologies which was recorded while Miller was still in high school and produced by his future Old 97's running mate Murray Hammond.

The mighty Dinosaur jr. have returned. The trio that rocked the alternative music world with three stellar albums in the 80's and then regrouped with their original members in 2006 for the new disc Beyond, are back again with another instant classic, Farm on Jajaguwar Records.

In 1961, New Orleans tuba player Allan Jaffe and his wife Sandra turned a drafty French Quarter carriage house into a haven where the town's struggling, aging musicians could perform.

With his latest release, Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away, Slaid is finally poised for his long overdue "Breakout". This is his 7th album of original material following the 2006 release "Unsung" which was an all covers affair.