Me, covers crazy? Guilty as charged, baby, and loving every raindrop of sound in Raul Malo's new covers collection, You're Only Lonely. Due this Tuesday on the ever-so-eclectic Sanctuary Records imprint, the Mavericks' vocalist evokes a forgotten, crushed-velvet Roy Orbison world, spellbinding in his rich, golden tone and slow-dance restraint. And what could be more perfect than the lush brush of producer Peter Asher, a boy wonder in the '60s as half of Peter & Gordon and a master producer in the '80s with Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and 10,000 Maniacs? While it stings to file this one under "easy listening," I found myself deeply moved with melancholy nostalgia with each listen, remembering back when AM radio pounded out the golden era of Country and the Pop Top 40, a time when everyone -- from the farmer chewing on a thin green stalk to the housewife in the big city setting the table -- was humming along to the magic of the same, infectious, storytelling melody. The song choices are impeccable, from J.D. Souther's title track to Randy Newman's "Feels Like Home," performed both solo and in a duet with Martina McBride. Other highlights include The Bee Gees' "Run To Me," Harry Nilsson's "Remember" and the most haunting rendition of Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close To the Ground" I've ever heard. To heck with bachelor pad cocktail Jazz and tiki torch tinkles, this is turn-down-the-lights music. Serious baby-making stuff.

Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Tom Petty Thursday, Taking Back Sunday Monday and Los Lonely Boys Tuesday. The Late Show with David Letterman hosts Pink Thursday, Sam Roberts Friday and Tapes 'N Tapes Tuesday. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson boasts Jewel Friday and the return of The Buzzcocks Monday. Jimmy Kimmel Live unearths the Jurassic 5 Friday and The Flaming Lips Monday. The Henry Rollins Show gets intimate with The New York Dolls Saturday on the Independent Film Channel. And, debuting Sunday, VH1's Decades Rock Live honors Elvis Costello with performances from Fiona Apple, Death Cab For Cutie and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong.

New Releases Coming Tuesday
1986 - Nihilism Is Nothing To Worry About (Palentine) smart, catchy Indie Rock, featuring the melodious slacker stance of "Better When You're Stoned"; Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "Cursed Sleep" (Drag City) new single from the upcoming album Then the Letting Go; James Dean Bradfield - The Great Western (Columbia) import-only new CD from the member of the Manic Street Preachers; Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - Stranger Things (Fantasy); Burn In Silence - Angel Maker (Prosthetic) produced by Unearth guitarist, Susi; Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man - original motion picture soundtrack (Verve Forecast) with Beth Orton, U2, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, The Handsome Family and Rufus and Martha Wainwright; Flogging Molly - Whiskey On a Sunday (Side One Dummy) DualDisc CD featuring a globe-hopping documentary DVD on the flip side; Michael Franti - I Know I'm Not Alone (Anti) documentary DVD from his trip to Baghdad, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank; Michael Franti - Yell Fire! (Anti) with guests Pink and Sly & Robbie; Gaelic Storm - Bring Yer Wellies (Lost Again) known best as the steerage band that lifted Rose to the tips of her toes in the film Titanic, this is their fifth album of pub songs for Irish pirates and salty scallywags; Bruce Hornsby - Intersections 1985-2005 (RCA Legacy) four-CD box set, featuring his take on Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" on the bonus DVD; Joan of Arc - Eventually, All At Once (Record Label) all new, available on CD and LP; Joan of Arc - The Intelligent Design of Joan of Arc (Polyvinyl) collection of outtakes and rarities; Jurassic 5 - Feedback (Interscope) with guests Mos Def and the Dave Matthews Band; The Knife - Silent Shout (Mute) icy Techno percolation from Sweden; Toby Lightman - Bird On a Wire (Lava/Atlantic) with guest Wendy Melvoin of Wendy & Lisa; Breanna Lynn - Siren (Black Onyx) debut from this 19-year old singer/songwriter, produced by hitmaker Gardner Cole; Mew - And the Glass Handed Kites (Columbia) domestic issue of this big hit in Denmark, on tour this year with Broken Social Scene and Bloc Party; Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther (Bella Union) my pick of the week is this second album from the Denton, Texas, quintet, invited to tour with The Flaming Lips in Europe earlier this year after Wayne Coyne saw them perform at SXSW; Motor - Klunk (NovaMute) throbbing, strobe-light abandon, dusted and thrusted in the hypnotic first single "Black Powder," and featuring Douglas McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb on "1 X 1"; The New York Dolls - One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (Roadrunner) with guests Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Bo Diddley and Iggy Pop; Tom Petty - Highway Companion (American) four-star return, in trio with multi-instrumentalist Mike Campbell and ELO's Jeff Lynne; Puffy AmiYumi - Splurge (Tofu) with guests Dexter Holland of The Offspring, Andy Sturmer of Jellyfish and Jon Spencer of Blues Explosion; Scritti Politti - White Bread, Black Beer (Nonesuch) the first new music from Green Gartside in seven years; Slow Motion Reign - Slow Motion Reign (Serjical Strike) produced by label honcho Serj Tankian of System of a Down; Spoon - Telephoto & Soft Effects (Merge) two-CD reissue of these rare early recordings, with the bonus video "Not Turning Off"; Strange Fruit Project - The Healing (Om) deep-groove and deep-thought Hip Hop Soul with guests Little Brother, Erykah Badu and Thesis; Thor - Devastation of Musculation (Smog Veil); Umbrellas - Illuminare (Militia Group) heard previously in television's Alias and Grey's Anatomy, this is heartbreaking, spinning Electronic Pop for 1980s-era daydreamers; Venus Hum - The Colors In the Wheel (Nettwerk); Paul Weller - Catch Flame! (Yep Roc) live solo and electric from The Jam founder; Roddy Woomble - My Secret Is My Silence (Pure) import-only solo album from the Idlewild vocalist; Various Artists - Blues All Over the World (Putumayo) proof positive that everyone feels the Blues, globe-trotting from Taiwan and Argentina to India and the USA, with Taj Mahal collaborating with the Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar.