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Based on star power alone, this document of London rock circa 1971 should have been huge. Among the A-list friends gathered to support the Incredible String Band's Mike Heron on his solo outing are Richard Thompson, Steve Winwood, John Cale of The Velvet Underground, Ronnie Lane, Elton John and members of The Who.

Wise in Time, the brainchild of DJ and producer Ian Simmonds, combines folk guitars, electric pianos and jazz influences to create a complex musical landscape. The band's music moves seamlessly through lounge-friendly jazz, funk and dance music.

The Black Keys' members have spent their entire career as the Midwestern garage-rock duo that isn't The White Stripes. But with the exception of their shared love of psychedelia and blues, and the fact that both bands have guitar-and-drums lineups, the similarities end there.

Polish violinist Henryk Wieniawski was a dazzling performer. According to one critic, it was because of his "combination of Slavic temperament and French elegance. He knew how to fuse Paganini's pyrotechnics with romantic imagination and Polish coloring."

Franz Ferdinand turns "Sorry Angel" — Serge Gainsbourg's tinny, mostly spoken-word meditation on regret — into a mostly sung dance-floor romp, complete with vintage cooing by Gainsbourg muse Jane Birkin.

Wonder Wheel, The Klezmatics' first album to be sung entirely in English, features the lyrics of 12 previously unreleased Woody Guthrie songs, backed by traditional klezmer music. The album serves as a fitting tribute to the legend and his timeless songwriting.

The singer-songwriter makes simple, keyboard-inflected pop songs with drum loops and guitars — and for the most part, he does it all by himself, with an ear for melody that's as strong as his songwriting ability.

Sisters Asya and Chloe make up Smoosh, a Seattle duo that plays sweet, catchy indie pop. At 14 and 12, respectively, the two have toured all over North America and Europe with such high profile names as Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam and Sleater-Kinney.

Pete Yorn's new Nightcrawler has him touring relentlessly, as he attempts to build on the success of his hit debut and its follow-up. Opener Matt Duke, 21, is at the beginning of what figures to be an impressive career. Both perform live from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia Friday at noon ET.

As with many of the pianist and chamber-pop composer's songs, "I Don't Feel So Well" only becomes compelling as it goes along. Step by careful step, Vienna Teng builds the song outward, until what began in an 18th-century manor in old Europe becomes a gaudy bit of dance entertainment in a boisterous Buenos Aires bar.