Irish singer Sinead O'Connor and

pre-grunge rockers Bon Jovi and

Poison are among the old lions to

come roaring back with new albums on Tuesday.

O'Connor's Faith and Courage is her first studio album in six

years. Featuring a variety of guest appearances, the album is poppier

than her previous work.

"Wyclef [Jean] and She'kspere and [the Eurythmics'] Dave Stewart were very mischievous characters, so they were great in terms of pulling out that side of me on this record. There's more of a poppy, lighthearted kind of thing," O'Connor said last week.

The first single on the album, "No Man's Woman" (RealAudio excerpt), features her familiar themes of feminism, combined with a hip-hop-influenced beat.

Late-'80s rockers Bon Jovi and Poison return with albums after long

breaks from recording. Bon Jovi's Crush marks their first album

in five years and picks up where they left off, with big guitar riffs

and lyrics shifting from brash to sentimental. Meanwhile, big-haired

rockers Poison will release Power to the People on their own

record label, Cyanide. The LP features five new tracks as well as live

songs recorded last year on their summer tour.

Blues-rock guitarist Eric Clapton

and one of his major influences, blues-guitar legend

COLOR="#003163">B.B. King, team up for their own returns, in

the collaborative album Ridin' With the King.

Not all the artists releasing albums are veteran performers, though.

Uncle Kracker, who serves as DJ for

Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker Band, will take center

stage for his debut album, Double Wide. With a guest appearance

from Kid Rock on "Heaven," the album follows the Detroit singer's lead,

blending hard rock and hip-hop.

Northwestern rockers Modest Mouse

release their first major-label album, on Epic, after gaining a cult

following through the '90s for releases on independent labels K and Up.

The trio delve into dark themes throughout the 15-song album.

The soundtrack to the Jim Carrey comedy "Me Myself and Irene" also comes out Tuesday, featuring the Foo

Fighters' "Breakout," as well as new material from

COLOR="#003163">Offspring, Brian

Setzer Orchestra, Wilco

and others. Seven of the album's tracks are covers of songs by

jazz-rockers Steely Dan, including

pop-rockers Smashmouth's version of

"Do It Again" (Realaudio excerpt).

Another compilation, MTV's Return of the Rock, features new

material from hard-rockers Korn,

Kid Rock, Static-X and previously released songs from new bands Slipknot, Staind, P.O.D.,

COLOR="#003163">Incubus, Coal

Chamber and Powerman 5000. (Sonicnet.com's parent company, Viacom, also owns MTV.)

Words for Living, an eclectic debut from singer/songwriter

PJ Olsson, and a new album from

political punk-rockers NOFX, Pump Up the Valuum, will hit stores, as well as Subsonic 9, a split album from Sebadoh frontman

Lou Barlow and ex-

COLOR="#003163">Deus guitarist Rudy

Trouve.