Over 10 records, Of Montreal have gone from twerpy indie pop to twee-R&B kink machine. This time, frontman Kevin Barnes is putting more flesh on his fantasies, camping up a Prince falsetto over psychedelic soul and New Wave disco. Guests Solange Knowles and Janelle Monáe, plus Jon Brion's groove-heavy production, place him dangerously close to actual soul music. But Barnes gets over on his mix of decadence and whimsy — he'll hook up with your cousin just to get closer to you — and drops come-ons like "You look like a playground to me, playa."

“Is It True”

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."