On this EP, former Animals singer Eric Burdon – who seemed to have disappeared until Bruce Springsteen invited him onstage at SXSW in March – teams with Cincinnati garage-rock trio the Greenhornes for 17 minutes of raw, rugged fun. Producer Brendan Benson lets the volume needle rock the red zone as the combo blasts through bruising meditations on dread and despair; "Cab Driver" edges close to Muslim-bashing, but "Out of My Mind" evokes the haunted blues Burdon's always done well. Ragged isn't always right here, but this taste leaves you wanting more.

Listen to 'Eric Burdon & The Greenhornes'

“Too Close”

Next was formed in Minneapolis when the uncle of Terry "T-Low" and Raphael "Tweety" Brown, who was a gospel choir director, introduced the brothers to Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar. Sounds of Blackness singer Ann Nesby groomed the R&B group before handing them over to Naughty by Nature's KayGee, who wrote and produced "Too Close." The idea for the song was sparked "from a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained T-Low. "It's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking, 'What are you doing?'"