Some of rock’s most memorable albums have been recorded by artists in the midst of grief and despair. While 13th Star, a poignant reflection on love by the recently heartbroken Derek Dick—better known as Fish, former frontman of the seminal British progressive-rock band Marillion—may not go down as one of the . . .

How many more greatest-hits packages can be culled from Frank Sinatra’s catalog? The latest features crisp masters of nearly two-dozen recordings from the final segment of his recording career, when he was both mogul and star of Reprise Records. It’s great stuff to have on disc, assuming you don’t already own . . .

Upon first listen, the pop-rock crafted by Apollo, a Minneapolis-via-Brookfield male duo, is almost too cheery for its own good. On subsequent spins, however, Cellar Songs mixes the twosome's ebullient love odes with deeper philosophizing. The duo’s philosophies may be rather vague, but such ambiguity has minted . . .

As much as The Roots have undeniably revolutionized the genre, their records still sometimes succumb to hip-hop clichés. Maintaining a track-to-track flow, for example, remains an issue. However, unlike with other rap acts, the numerous guest appearances often provide their albums with a vital spark.

Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett has become a politician and serves as a minister in Australia’s cabinet. No one should be surprised, given the calls to political activism in his lyrics. But, as becomes apparent on the reissue of Midnight Oil’s classic of alternative album rock, Diesel and Dust, Garrett’s efforts . . .

To call the Chinese regime unresponsive to its ethnic minorities would be the depth of diplomatic understatement. With well more than 50 minorities, from Tibetans to Mongolians, the great nation is packed with different traditions, many of them under duress. Inner Mongolian singer Sa Dingding has a sharp . . .

Van Morrison's explorations into Americana continue on Keep It Simple, a follow-up to the jazzy What's Wrong With This Picture? and, more recently, the country escapades of Pay the Devil. And with residual elements of each—the B-3 organ of the former, the dobro twang of the latter—Morrison adds a Ray Charles-esque . . .

The second EP from Champaign, Ill.’s Santa solidifies and tweaks the band’s brand of infectious, psychedelic indie-pop. Throughout the six songs, Santa shows a distinctive sound while allowing room to experiment with song structure and textures . . .

Roseanne Cash and Loretta Lynn co-wrote a couple of songs with Elvis Costello on Momofuku, but Costello’s new album isn’t Americana or alt country. If anything, it explores another foundational influence for one of Britain’s great songwriters of the past 30 years: ’60s rock. Although there are specific echoes . . .

Milwaukee's Boy Dirt Car (BDC), among the elite of American industrial bands in the 1980s, returns for the group’s first studio recording in about 20 years. Where once they engaged in metallic, percussive excursions, the mood has changed. Drones, throbs and the sounds of various modes of transportation dominate . . .