Longtime Williams fans will notice two conspicuous developments on the follow-up to last year's meditative West. "These are rock & roll songs," she says. "They kinda remind me of the stuff on Car Wheels." Williams also sounds newly upbeat on songs like "Real Love" and "Honey Bee," inspired by her recent engagement to her manager, Tom Overby. "Little Rock Star" is about the travails of Amy Winehouse and Ryan Adams. "It's an empathetic look at what they're going through," she says. "It's not like I don't understand. There's part of me in there, too."

"Real Love"

Click here to listen to "Real Love" in full

Check out all of the albums in the 2008 Fall Music Preview