Kris Kross in NYC - 1992
Photo: Steve Eichner/WireImage

When it comes to high-profile band reunions, 2007 was one heck of a year. There were the unexpected returns of rock giants like Rage Against the Machine, Led Zeppelin, the Police, Van Halen, the Sex Pistols, Genesis, and the Jesus and Mary Chain. For pop fans, there was, er, the Spice Girls. And metal fans rejoiced at the announcements of Carcass' and At the Gates' respective reunions. But there were a number of quieter reunions that happened in '07 that probably had at least a couple of fans, somewhere, smiling.

10. Squirrel Nut Zippers
The swing band responsible for "Hell," that infectious little number from 1996's Hot, announced early this year through their MySpace blog that they'd tour, with several of the band's founding members returning to the fold. The group performed gigs throughout the U.S. and Canada during the spring and summer, and the Zippers plan to record a new album for release in 2008.

9. Finch
The emo rockers broke up in 2006, claiming their "individual priorities lie in different places," but re-formed in 2007 for a couple of West Coast gigs. They're also booked for the 2008 Bamboozle festival, along with Chiodos and Mindless Self Indulgence.

8. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
They've been on hiatus since 2003, but in 2007, the kings of ska-core returned, announcing that they'd be performing together for the first time in four years at the 10th annual Hometown Throwdown at Cambridge, Massachusetts' famed Middle East club on December 26-30. While the band hasn't elaborated on its future plans, it has tracked three new songs that will be released on a forthcoming rarities and B-sides collection called Medium Rare.

7. Aqua
Those Danish-Norwegian dance-poppers, responsible for 1997's "Barbie Girl," announced in October that they had reunited for a 25-concert tour, set to commence in summer 2008. They've even threatened to release a "best-of" collection sometime late next year.

6. Crazy Town
The dudes who rocked 2001's "Butterfly" mended fences in 2007 and will release a new album in 2008. Frontman Seth Binzer also revealed that he's working on another album, Crazy Town Is Back, which will include the cuts "Hit That Switch" and "Hard to Get."

5. White Lion
Heavy-metal dinosaurs White Lion re-formed, again, in 2007, for a spate of reunion gigs in New York. The band is said to be crafting a new album, called Return of the Pride, and was one of the major draws for this year's Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma, alongside Poison, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Slaughter, Y&T, Dirty Penny, Greg Leon Invasion and Zendozer.

4. Eve 6
Following a three-year break, Eve 6 got back together and started writing material for a new album. No word yet on when it will be available, but the band did perform October 20 at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. A handful of other shows have also been scheduled.

3. EMF
The British dance-rock combo, best known for their hit song "Unbelievable," got back together in 2007, giving EMF fans, er, "what [they've] been waiting for," according to a statement. The guys are set to perform in London on December 18 — whether they've got another album up their sleeves remains to be seen.

2. Extreme
The New England rockers responsible for the massive (in 1991, anyway) acoustic ballad "More Than Words" recently announced that they'll head out for a world trek in the spring, and that there's an album — produced by guitarist Nuno Bettencourt — in the works. It's unknown at this point whether the LP will see the light of day in 2008.

1. Kris Kross
That backward-clothes-wearin' teeny-bopper hip-hop duo from the 1990s are all grown up and back together to make us all "Jump" again. Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly, now 29, and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, 28, have reached out to Jermaine Dupri to produce their comeback opus, according to rumors.

• Kris Kross
• Crazy Town
• EMF
• Extreme

Criss Angel
Photo: Paul Hawthorne/ Getty Images

Criss Angel has walked on water.

Or rather, across it, by traversing the pool at the Aladdin Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Using his magic, he's also made a 9,000-pound elephant vanish into thin air. And now the star of A&E's "Mindfreak" is attempting to pull off a near-impossible feat: breaking into the music business.

On July 25, Angel will release Criss Angel: Mindfreak, which the illusionist/escapologist/stunt performer says will be the official soundtrack to his popular television series. The 22-track LP was produced mostly by Andy Johns (Led Zeppelin, Van Halen) and features a DVD loaded with making-of footage and behind-the-scenes action. But it's not Angel's first stab at rock stardom — it's his fifth.

"I've been a musician longer than a magician," he explained. "I've been into music since I was 6 years old, and I've been playing drums for like, 12 years."

Previously, Angel was in an industrial band called Angeldust that released an album in 1998 called Musical Conjurings From the World of Illusion. Since then, Angel has made four records — 2000's System 1 in the Trilogy, System 2 in the Trilogy, and System 3 in the Trilogy, as well as 2002's Mindfreak (not to be confused with the new LP) and 2003's Supernatural.

On Criss Angel: Mindfreak, the illusionist worked with several of his close friends, including Godsmack's Sully Erna, Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt and Korn frontman Jonathan Davis, who produced several of the album's tracks. The LP's first single, "MF 2," is a collaborative rocker penned by Angel, Erna (who plays drums on the cut) and Bettencourt (who handles bass and guitar duties).

"It was really incredible — I pinched myself," Angel said of recording with the trio of musicians. "To be in a situation working with artists who I respect and admire, artists I'm a fan of ... it was pretty mind-blowing. I'm really excited for people to hear the record. These songs don't need the show. They have a life outside of the show, and these are songs that stand on their own."

Angel said Erna was so impressed with "MF 2" that he said, " 'Criss, if we can't get this on your CD in time, I want to use this on the Godsmack album" — the recently released IV — "because he was that excited about it as a single." Godsmack's latest debuted at #1 on Billboard's album sales chart a few weeks ago. "So, he didn't need any help from me," joked Angel. "But I'm hoping we can have the same success with this soundtrack."

Angel said that the album is a lot like himself: multi-dimensional.

"I love Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and Godsmack, the Killers — I love all that stuff. But this CD, because of what I do, is not just a rock album," he said. "There are elements where it's more electronic, and there are orchestrated sections. I decided to take it in different places because I'm inspired by emotion and by giving people a connection, a sense of a feeling — whether it's excitement or crying or being happy."

Angel recently shot a video for "MF 2" atop the Aladdin's parking garage. The clip features Erna and Bettencourt, as well as cameos by Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin and Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil.

"It was great," recalled Angel. "We had a blast. We just did the song, and Vince was kind of fooling around, busting our balls. There's lots of motorcycles and cars in the video. It's a 50 Cent video, but with a bunch of white guys."

The second season of "Mindfreak," which began May 31, will feature a bizarre list of guest appearances, including Neil, Erna, Three 6 Mafia, '80s pop star Deborah Gibson and Ice Cube. While Angel didn't want to spoil anything for his show's viewers, he was willing to discuss how he impressed Cube.

"I called him and said, 'Cube, I want you to pick a record store,' and we met there with the camera crew. I told him to go into the store, walk around, pick any product, any album, any CD — pick something, and hide it somewhere on your body and come to me. He picked something out, put it in his shirt or pants or something. I told him to visualize it in his mind, and I observed him and was able to identify what he had picked. It completely destroyed him — blew his mind away," Angel said.

"He asked me if I do card tricks, and I hate card tricks. I'll leave that to David Blaine. But he had a fresh deck of cards on him, and I asked him to think of a card and then go through the deck to find it. He opens it up, goes through the deck two times. There's one card missing, the one he's thinking about. I told him to look for it in his pockets, and he went into his wallet. Inside, with his money, is the card he was thinking of. He lost his mind," Angel said. "There's no way you can even touch Ice Cube. You can't get near the guy because he has four huge bodyguards around him at all times. But he just bugged out."

• Ice Cube
• Mötley Crüe
• Extreme

Fans in markets overseas are currently enjoying an Extreme 'greatest hit(s)' package called "The Best Of Extreme: An Accidental Collocation of Atoms," but there's no word on when and if the album will be available domestically. Band spokesperson Steve Hoffman or SRO says that reports that the album is scheduled for a North American release in May are premature.

"The record was only really planned for Japan," Hoffman told MTV News. "We're really not sure of the release status for the States." Hoffman adds that a number of European markets have recently picked up the record.

Although defunct, Extreme has been in the news of late, or course, because of singer Gary Cherone's newly acquired fame and fortune as Van Halen's new vocalist. Cherone and VH had shared the same management, and when guitarist Nuno Bettencourt gave notice that he was leaving Extreme effectively breaking up the band, Cherone was able to slide readily into the Van Halen vocal slot vacated by Sammy Hagar.

Bettencourt had left Extreme to launch a solo career and soon after issued a solo album on Extreme's label, A&M, but he has since parted ways with that company. In other Bettencourt news, according to his website, the guitarist will have a small role in a movie called, "Isn't It Romantic," and may also have a song on the soundtrack. He's currently producing a new album for his wife Suze. And, reps for the guitarist have denied net rumors he's joining Queensrÿche.

In Van Halen news, guitar slinger Kenny Wayne Shepard has signed on to open the rest of the dates on the band's 8-city mini-tour this May. As previously reported by MTV News (see "Creed To Open Two Van Halen Dates"), Creed will open the shows in New York and Detroit.

Here's the track listing for The Best Of Extreme: An Accidental Collocation of Atoms:

1. Decadence Dance
2. Rest In Peace
3. Kid Ego
4. Get The Funk Out
5. Tragic Comic
6. Hip Today
7. Stop The World
8. More Than Words
9. Cupid's Dead (horn mix)
10. Leave Me Alone
11. Play With Me
12. Hole-Hearted
13. Am I Ever Gonna Change

• Extreme