Must be nice being Donald Fagen, who can apparently make a living on writing A song every couple of years or so. Morph the Cat gives him eight songs to show for for his first album since 1993, which would appear to average composing 8/13ths of a song per year. Or maybe my Kentuckian math is screwy.

Still though, he was half of Steely Dan. That's a heller anchor for your resume right there. Plus, I'm curious what kind of song he'd write about a conversation with the ghost of Ray Charles. Enquiring minds want to know. Early word is good.

Chrissie Hynde was THE rock and roll wet dream girl for a teenage boy of my vintage. What I'm trying to say is that if you loved me, you'd buy me the five-CD Pretenders Pirate Radio box. Now, I'm merely red-blooded and not insane, so even I can see that this is a disc or two more than really necessary. Still, it's Chrissie.

Etta James has a new album out on RCA, All the Way. For starters, I'd be right interested in hearing what this woman is doing with "Purple Rain" and "Holding Back the Years."

Note that the soundtrack Dave Chappelle's Block Party does NOT include Kanye West or the Fugees reunion. Those would seem to have been about the two top likely selling points for such a thing.

They put Socrates to death for corrupting the youth, but that hasn't stopped Devo from teaming up with Disney for the formation of a children's group (ages 10 to 13) Devo 2.0, with new recordings and a DVD of videos for such Devo classics as "Freedom of Choice" (my personal Devo fave) and - sex reversed for the now gender-integrated 2.0 group - "Boy U Want." I'm fearing some horrible Britney Spears thing from the cover. De-evolution indeed.

Here's the complete list of this week's major new album releases, courtesy AMG:

Donald Fagen Morph the Cat Reprise
Jazz-Rock, Pop/Rock, Soft Rock

Original Soundtrack Dave Chappelle's Block Party Geffen
Alternative Rap, Soundtracks, Hip-Hop, East Coast Rap, Neo-Soul

The Pretenders Pirate Radio Warner Bros./Rhino/Sire
Pop/Rock, Album Rock, New Wave, Hard Rock

Jules Shear Dreams Don't Count Mad Dragon
Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock

Ambulance LTD New English EP TVT
Indie Rock, Shoegaze

Big City Rock Big City Rock [2006] Atlantic
Alternative Pop/Rock, Pop Underground

Black Sabbath Greatest Hits 1970-1978 Rhino/Warner Bros.
Album Rock, British Metal, Heavy Metal

Jimmy Cobb Marsalis Music Honors Jimmy Cobb Marsalis Music/Rounder
Hard Bop

Blossom Dearie Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's Verve
Vocal Jazz, Standards

Devo Two Point Zero Devo 2.0 [CD/DVD] Walt Disney Records
Sing-Along, New Wave

Dumptruck Haul of Fame: A Collection Rykodisc
College Rock, Jangle Pop, Alternative Pop/Rock

E-40 My Ghetto Report Card Warner Bros.
West Coast Rap, Hardcore Rap

Roger Eno Swimming All Saints
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Ambient Pop, Experimental, Avant-Garde, Ambient, Progressive Electronic, Electronic

Family Force 5 Business Up Front/Party In The Back Maverick
Rap-Rock, Rap-Metal, Alternative Pop/Rock

Michael Gielen Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Tragic Overture Haenssler
Romantic Orchestral Music

Jackie Greene American Myth Verve Forecast
Singer/Songwriter, Americana, Roots Rock

HARD-Fi Stars of CCTV Necessary/Atlantic
Alternative Pop/Rock

Chrostopher Hogwood The Secret Handel: Works for Clavichord Metronome
Baroque Clavichord Music

Etta James All the Way RCA Victor
Smooth Soul, Contemporary R&B

Lang Lang Memory Deutsche Grammophon
Classical and Romantic Piano Music

Uncle Dave Macon Classic Cuts, Vol. 2: 1924-38 JSP
Traditional Country, Old-Timey

Marconi Union Distance Hannibal
Ambient, Downtempo, Experimental Ambient, Electronica

Hugh Masekela The Chisa Years: 1965-1975 (Rare and Unreleased) BBE
Jazz-Pop, Soul-Jazz, Township Jazz

Stephin Merritt Showtunes Nonesuch
Chamber Pop, Show Tunes

Scott Miller & the Commonwealth Citation Sugar Hill
Americana, Roots Rock, Alternative Country-Rock, Singer/Songwriter

NOFX Never Trust a Hippy Fat Wreck Chords
Skatepunk, Punk-Pop, Punk Revival

Willie Nelson You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker Lost Highway
Western Swing Revival, Progressive Country, Traditional Country

Orlando Consort The Rose, the Lily & the Whortleberry: Medieval Gardens Harmonia Mundi
Medieval Choral Music

John Rich Underneath the Same Moon BNA
Contemporary Country

Otis Rush An Introduction to Otis Rush Fuel 2000
Electric Chicago Blues, Chicago Blues, Modern Electric Chicago Blues, Electric Blues

SF Jazz Collective
SF Jazz Collective, Vol. 2
Nonesuch
Post-Bop, Modern Creative

Joe Satriani Super Colossal Epic
Guitar Virtuoso, Instrumental Rock, Pop/Rock

Sepultura Dante XXI Steamhammer/SPV
Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal

SHeDAISY Fortuneteller's Melody Lyric Street
Contemporary Country, Country-Pop

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth [Bonus Tracks] Geffen
American Underground, Experimental Rock, Post-Punk

Tucky Buzzard Time Will Be Your Doctor: Rare Recordings 1971-1972 Castle
Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Psychedelic, Hard Rock

Various Artists Lockerbie Memorial Concert GBR
Renaissance and Contemporary Sacred Choral Music

Various Artists New Orleans Will Rise Again Night Train International
New Orleans R&B, R&B, Funk, Soul

Sean Watkins Blinders On Sugar Hill
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Folk-Rock, Bluegrass

Warren Zanes People That I'm Wrong For Dualtone
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Roots Rock