Del Sosimi

The premier purveyors of Ibiza comedown have selected two dozen tracks of laid-back, cozily experimental music to help celebrate their 20th anniversary, and while it at times feels ungainly, it never seems too scripted. The first disc has Amalagation of Soundz creating a rustic drum'n'bass mantra ("Enchant Me"), Moodrama mixing tribal beats with flitters of jazz (the appropriately titled "Jazz Tip"), and even Deep & Wide constructing a gorgeously subtle native twinkle along the lines of Dario G's "Voices." The other disc tends to go for the more celestial (Jean Michel Jarre, Jon & Vangelis) or the post-sunset reawakening (Foundland, Christian Alvad), but begins to sag with the drugged-out self-importance of a born-again hippy. Luckily, with so many tracks on offer, it's easy to sift out the treasures. This is a fine, calming collection of indigenous, open-door attitude.

It's likely that a large portion of the audience Del Amitri won with the lightly infectious, incessantly catchy "Roll to Me" thought of the Scottish group as a new band, not an outfit that had been recording for over a decade. That may be one of the reasons why Hatful of Rain: The Best of Del Amitri was released in 1998, a mere three years after "Roll to Me" climbed into the Top Ten. (It could also be that the follow-up, Some Other Sucker's Parade, stiffed on the charts.) In any case, Hatful of Rain is an excellent overview of Del Amitri's career, containing no less than 17 tracks, including all of their American and British hits. It may overlook their early independent singles, yet the consistency of their major-label work in the '80s and '90s gives the collection a sense of cohesion, even if it is sequenced out of chronological order. What matters is that Hatful of Rain contains everything that a casual fan could want while reconfirming their stature as a solid singles band to their core constituents – and that's everything a good greatest-hits album should do.

The Latin rock band Del Castillo started in the winter of 2000 in Austin, TX, as a family CD project for singer/guitarists and brothers Mark del Castillo and Rick del Castillo, who eventually added Alex Ruiz on lead vocals, guitar, and harmonica; Albert Besteiro on bass; and Mike Zeoli on drums. That CD turned out to be Del Castillo's debut release, Brothers of the Castle, in 2001. Vida followed in 2002, and Brotherhood (with special guest Willie Nelson) in 2006. The group's self-titled fourth album appeared in April 2009. Del Castillo also has contributed to several films directed by Robert Rodriguez, including Spy Kids 3D, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City, and Grindhouse. Performing with Rodriguez under the name Chingon, they recorded a version of the traditional Mexican song "Malaguena Salerosa" used in the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill Vol. II.