- A - Andrew W.K. , Angry Johnny & The Killbillies, Anouk

Moving away from the more traditional Rock music and into rap and punk influences to arrive at Andrew W.K. and my recommendation of his debut I Get Wet, the stand out tracks are Party Hard and Party Til You Puke although the whole album is refreshing.

I've no idea what Johnny has to be so angry about as this slice of American Hillbilly Rock is highly entertaining if a little challenging to track down. My first dose was in the form of What's So Funny which led to a search for Live At the Brass Cat vol 1 and 2 and One Bad Day in 93. If you are tempted I would suggest a visit to the Killbillies website Get Angry where most of the back catalogue is still available. Any  recommendations for further essential purchases are welcome as it looks like I've only scratched the surface.

Every time I travel overseas I try to find record shops and a helpful assistant to point me to that countries best Rock music. The initial reaction at a shop in Rotterdam was "all the Rock music we listen to is from the UK and America". As I aready had examples by Golden Earring and Herman Brood I knew this wasn't quite true.

Luckily I was right and I discovered one of Europe's best kept secrets - Anouk. This girl has a powerful voice and stage presence and better still sings mostly in English. If pressed I'd catalogue Anouk somewhere between Cher and Anastacia which really isn't a bad start.

My first introduction to Anouk was Is Alive followed by Urban Solitude, Who's Your Momma and The Lost Tracks (try to find the limited edition version with a bonus DVD). I am baffled why Anouk remains largely unknown in the UK.