HOT TRACKS LISA ROBINSON

he wait is over: for those of us who considered lead singer Richard Ashcroft Britain's most glorious rock star and the song "Bittersweet Symphony" a great piece of pop art, the welcome news is that after a decade the Verve have re-united to release Forth, their fourth studio album of superior, psychedelic magnificence. Trent Reznor, who is unafraid to use the Web to his advantage and has a direct relationship with his fans, has released Nine Inch Nails' The Slip—formerly available as a free download—as a limited-edition CD with bonus DVD and as a gatefold vinyl version to coincide with the band's current U.S. tour. Ray LaMontagne has a song called "Meg White," in honor of the White Stripes drummer, on his melodic, diverse Gossip in the GrainJoan Baez'sDay After Tomorrow was recorded in Nashville, produced by Steve Earle, includes songs by Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett, Patty Griffin, and Tom Waits, and celebrates the first 50 years of Baez's extraordinary career Ben Taylor describes his forthcoming The Legend of Kung Folk as "organically handcrafted songs," and who are we to argue? What with the award shows, the clothing critiques, and the acting opportunities, it's been easy to forget that Jennifer Hudson sings, and on her self-titled debut, she had the assistance of, among others, Timbaland and Diane Warren. The Dandy Warhols' fun new one is Earth to the Dandy Warhols. Southside Johnny doesn't usually come to mind when thinking of Tom Waits, but on Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits, Southside says, he "decided to beautify myself with his feathers," and, with the help of La Bamba's Big Band, he's recorded an impressive tribute. Loudon Wainwright III revisits some of his earliest songs on the Joe Henry-produced Recovery.

For those who like to watch: director Steven Sebring's 12-yearsin-the-making documentary about Patti Smith,Dream of Life, hits theaters this month. The 1982 film Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains, with members of the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Tubes, and a 16-year-old Diane Lane, is finally out on DVD. I Got the Feelin': James Brown in the '60s is a fantastic three-DVD boxed set with classic footage of the Godfather of Soul live from the Apollo and his show at the Boston Garden that helped calm down that city following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

New and noteworthy: Simply Grand, from the Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas; Oceans Will Rise, from the Stills;Chemical Chords, from Stereolab; a Labelle reunion CD (to go along with their reunion tour), produced by Lenny Kravitz and the great Gamble and Huff; and from France, the ultra-modern and elegant Industrial Welfare, from Smooth One. And the holidays come early with the revised Christmas with Dino, featuring a Prophet Omega remix of Dean Martin's version of "Jingle Bells"; add it to your Sinatra Christmas album and you're good to go.

When you've loved and lost the way Frank has, then you know what life's about.

In case you missed these: One of the very best of that gang of soulful female singers coming out of England is Adele, whose knockout voice on her buzzed-about debut, 19, was a true find; download her gorgeous "Chasing Pavements" at VF.com.... New York City's the Virgins have been compared to the Strokes, but on their self-titled debut there's a touch of the Modern Lovers too; download "Rich Girls" and "Private Affair" at VF.com_One of this year's most delightful debuts was We Started Nothing, from the Ting Tings, who come from Manchester, England, and combine pop, indie rock, and partytime; download "Great DJ" at VF.com_Grammynominated Tift Merritt's Another Country features songs she wrote in Paris and was produced by George Drakoulias; download "Morning Is My Destination" at VF.com_ Max Bernstein sings about current events with melody and furious punk-rock passion, and his Max and the Marginalized posts a new political song every week on MySpace and the Huffington Post; download "Museum of Mistakes" and "The Good Fight Goes Bad" at VF.com now.