Just catchin’ up on on recent CD releases, from legendary names to veterans, to some still-rising bands. Most of them are definitely worth your attention.

Bob Dylan
Dylan
Columbia

This new three-disc set may just beat out the two-CD “Essential Bob Dylan” collection of a few years back as a great starter or fine anthology for anyone’s music collection. From “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Like a Rolling Stone” through “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and “Forever Young,” it’s all here. The third disc covers the ’90s to present-day, with songs perhaps as well-known to the mass public but nonetheless proof that Dylan has remained an vital iron, such as “Not Dark Yet” and “Things Have Changed.”

From his Woody- Guthrie-influenced early years to career defining rock and folk-styled songs, to his return to blues frameworks, this is a marvelous set of remastered recording that truly lives up to the sometimes overused tag of “classic songs.”

Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Sings Buck
New West

Yes, Dwight’s been singing Buck Owens throughout his career really, or paying tribute to his sound, and recorded with Owens on “Ztreets of Bakersfield,” Yoakam is back in the honky-tonk, often duplicating the original twang-and-reverberation sound of the Owens originals for tracks like “I Don’t Care” and the weepy-smiling “Together Again,” though he plays with melodies at times, especially on the latter song. He adds an Elvis touch to “Above and Beyond” and “Down on the Corner of Love,” and really nails sorrow in the stand-out “Close Up the Honky Tonks.” Well done.

Joni Mitchell
Shine
Starbucks/Hear Music

Arguably the most influential female singer-songwriter of the past four decades or so, there was a time every Joni Mitchell album was a greater event, then her jazzy and atompospheric explorations grew more eclectic and out of the mainstream. On “Shine,” she evokes her great albums of the ’70s, such as “Blue” and “Court and Spark,” while once again reworking her eco-anthem, “Big Yellow Taxi” in yet another new version. Among the best new numbers are the quirky “Hana,” the engaging “Night of the Iguana,” and “If,” based on the Rudyard Kipling poem. Fans will be delighted by it all, while newcomers can start here and then go back to her past masterworks.

Brian Setzer Orchestra
Worldgang’s Big Night Out
Surdog

Since launching his big band nearly 15 years ago, Brian Setzer has done well with swing styles, revisting his Stray Cats songs with the arrangments and blending in rockabilly sass, and now he transforms classical music into guitar-and-horn blare boogie-woogie. And there’s more than Mozart done up here. While “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” is reworked as the snappy title track, he also turns Beethoven’s Symphony No. into “Take the 5th,” and Grieg’s “Hall of the Mountain King” becomes a vocal romp, and “Honey Man” transforms Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” into a hot-buzz rockabilly work-out. Classical purists will likely turn up their noses, but everyone else…hit the dance floor! This one’s loads of fun.

Orange
Escape From L.A.
Hellcat

Sometimes you just want cut-loose punk rock with an ample dose of tuneage to go with it, and Southern California’s Orange (from Los Angeles, not Orange County, by the way) is a good squeeze to the last drop, with just a touch of rough-n-ready pulp. The Green Day and Offspring influences still dangle, but that’s okay. The band’s get things up a songwriting notch for this one, especially on tracks such as the lead-off blast, “Nothing Coming Home,” “Get the Ruck Out of My Way,” “The Last Punk in LA,” and a fine political swipe in “Republicans.” There’s also an off-center cover of Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon,” but it misfires.

Farewell
Isn’t This Supposed to Be Fun?
Epitaph

This Greensboro, North Carolina band plays power-pop with the right amount of glee and irony. The punk–pop spirit meets new wave synth sheen and full harmonies too. The appropriately-titled “Start It Up” is the grab-ya right away lead track, and other winners included the hilarious “First One on the Blog,” “Sing, Baby,” and the girl songs “Hey Heather” and “Darling Darlene.” Along with groups like Motion City Soundtrack and Hellogoodbye, Farewell is the emo-screamo and punk-by-numbers antidote with energetic bursts of audio yum.

And for fans only:

Motley Crue
Carnival of Sins
Eleven Seven Music

Okay, the Crue had a few decent songs: “Dr. Feelgood” in particular, but they ain’t legendary–not even close. Still, performances such as “Girls Girls Girls” and “Kickstart My heart” are guilty pleasures of sorts. It’s just that the band was always kinda full of it, always. More marketing smarts with rock excess. The final numbers are covers of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” and The Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK,” both passable bar bands but that’s it. This two-CD live set is definitely only for the faithful.