Lately, Cyndi Lauper is many things: American Idol guest, Lady Gaga sidekick, relevant again. So it's the perfect time for her to make . . . classic blues covers? Memphis Blues is a curveball, but that's its charm. It's fun to hear Lauper go all badass Betty Boop on "Don't Cry No More" and "Rollin' and Tumblin'," squeaking and hollering with help from Ann Peebles, Allen Toussaint and B.B. King. The world might not need another version of "Crossroads." But Lauper's got great sass on "Early in the Mornin'," teasing her band, "What you dooo-in'?" No doubt what they're doin' is listening to her with amusement.

“Satisfied”

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.