While it feels like John Scofield should have recorded either dozens of albums for ECM or none at all, Uncle John's Band is, in fact, his third set as a leader for the label. Appropriately, Scofield is in trio mode (along with drummer Bill Stewart and Vicente Archer), bringing a crystalline and improvisationally-minded approach to this unique collection. Although, as the title indicates, there are a number of classic rock tunes being worked on here—Neil Young's "Old Man," the Byrds' version of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man"—there are also a handful of standards as well as Scofield originals in the lineup. The compositions are wildly varied but the trio's take on them is remarkably consistent, delivered with a cool, improvisational confidence that's right at home in the ECM stable. Notably, the title track doesn't come until the end of this double-disc set, as its loose and joyful vibe stands out from the gentility of much of the rest of the album, which moves at a relatively sedate pace. (Few cuts are as sleepy as the trio's take on "Somewhere, however.) Still, Scofield being Scofield, that slow burn doesn't correlate to a lack of funk. Tracks like "Mo Green" and "Back in Time" are thoroughly chilled and defined by his clear and precise guitar tone, but they're also remarkably greasy, thanks to the rhythm section. Bill Stewart's impressive drum work is both complex and refreshingly direct, especially on a cut like "TV Band" where he seamlessly switches from a funky backbeat to dense, improvisational percussion without ever letting go of the groove. Likewise, bassist Vicente Archer provides as much funky foundation as he does freeform filigree, serving as both a foil for the other players as well as the guy who seems to always get them back on track. Archer performs this task admirably throughout the record, most notably on "Old Man," during which the bulk of the song's duration finds Young's original melody sublimated and riffed on by the group until it appears they've completely lost sight of their starting point; a simple three-note figure dropped by Archer near the end easily snaps Scofield and Stewart back to Young's indelible melody. That guileless switching between memorable songs and adventurous improvisation persists throughout this strong album, making it a strong addition to both Scofield and ECM's catalog. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

**Disc 2, tracks 12 & 13 are not available in Hi-Res 24-bit and must be downloaded individually in CD quality**In 2023, soul music tends to fall into two categories. On the one hand, there are the taxidermied revivalists, firmly rooted in the traditions of the sixties and seventies. These include bands from the fascinating Daptone label, such as Thee Sacred Souls and The Budos Band, as well as St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Mayer Hawthorne and Durand Jones & The Indications... On the other are artists who are much more firmly rooted in R&B, coiling sensually around more contemporary beats and productions, often influenced by hip hop. As we progress from nu-soul pioneers such as Erykah Badu and D'Angelo to the modern Jazmine Sullivan, not much retro flavour survives... yet Gabriels chooses neither camp! There’s no doubt that this has something to do with the atypical casting of the impressive trio. It is fronted by the charismatic Californian singer Jacob Lusk, who at the age of 35 has been putting in the work, singing backing vocals for Beck, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and Nate Dogg, and appearing on American Idol. He is joined by the Brit Ryan Hope, a multi-instrumentalist and music video director, and the American Ari Balouzian, a classically trained musician. It's a combination that creates a fascinating mix of soul tradition and 100% contemporary sounds evident throughout their debut album Angels & Queens. Of course, the secret weapon of this exhilarating and invigorating Qobuzissime is its singer. Lusk can do anything! He can unleash incendiary falsettos in the style of Curtis Mayfield, which carry the gospel tradition loud and clear, or whisper like a heartbroken lover - the vocal storm is total! Behind these stunning pyrotechnics, he also delivers touching personal lyrics; he’s never overly maudlin when he goes into introspection, nor does he pontificate when tackling important themes. However, If his voice is such a magnet, it's also because Ryan Hope and Ari Balouzian have created the perfect setting for it to shine through. Tempered brass, the right amount of strings, well-balanced percussion, lively backing vocals, and meticulous arrangements; the enchantment is inescapable, both in the ballads and in the up-tempo compositions. A divine Qobuzissime! © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Refreshing and free, Something to Give Each Other is the sound of a maturing artist taking a bold step into the spotlight. Three years after his last EP and a full half-decade since his previous full-length, Troye Sivan finally does what he came to do, delivering an effervescent dose of pop that is all-at-once endearing, explicit, and exciting. In addition to the horny lead single "Rush" -- one of the most memorable singles of 2023 -- Something... is packed with a wide range of gems that range from club-friendly dance anthems ("Got Me Started," "Silly," and "What's the Time Where You Are?") to romantic, midtempo sweetness ("In My Room," "One of Your Girls"). The young artist responsible for his earlier, more introspective bedroom pop material is still at work here, while that liberated spirit that began to "Bloom" in 2018 has taken the reins and successfully reached a place where he can be himself. As such, Something to Give Each Other succeeds because Sivan has been freed: to be who he wants to be and express that through his most engaging and addictive album to date.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

Lake Geneva is not Lake Pontchartrain, and Montreux is certainly not New Orleans. But regularly, during the famous Montreux jazz festival, the two cities fall into step in a swaying dance. Especially when Dr. John is on stage, who has made it up there at least seven times, in 1986, 1993, 1995, 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2012. Why has Dr. John played so many times in Montreux? In part because he was a huge figure with constant high quality performances, as good in his last decade (he died in 2019) as in his previous ones. But also because the public never tired of him. Dr. John always emanated good vibes, with music like a course of vitamin therapy.This compilation of his Montreux concerts begins with four tracks recorded in 1986. Dr. John is alone at the piano, and in great shape. Caribbean-style boogie-woogie escapes from under his nimble wanders, cool and elegant, typical of New Orleans (and partly invented by Professor Longhair, to whom Dr. John pays tribute). On the other pieces played in the group, which includes a brass and rhythm section, he showcases radiant funk and indulgent jazz, the secrets to which he has always held close to his chest. All of Dr. John’s and New Orleans classics are there, from Let the Good Times Roll, Big Chief and Right Place, Wrong Time. Everyone who has seen Dr. John on stage, in Montreux or elsewhere, will find that this compilation offers the same energy of his concerts. What’s more, it won’t fail to bring a smile to your face. © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz

In 2015, David Gilmour decided to undertake a series of concerts in the world’s oldest venues. A year later, the guitarist from Pink Floyd becomes the first artist since the gladiators in 79 AD to give a concert before an audience in Pompeii’s amphitheater! It was a trip back to the Italian city for him, as he had already performed there in 1971 during the shooting of Adrian Maben’s movie Pink Floyd: Live At Pompeii… In the shadow of the Vesuvius, David Gilmour plays in the more than legendary venue on July 7th and 8th, 2016 and revisits songs that have always been there his whole life, in solo as well as with Floyd. And let’s not forget the new interpretations of The Great Gig In The Sky from the album Dark Side Of The Moon, rarely performed in solo by Gilmour. © CM/Qobuz

The return to form that began on 2016's Dystopia continues with The Sick, the Dying...and the Dead!, the 16th studio album from metal institution Megadeth. As with Dystopia, Megadeth ringleader Dave Mustaine and his bandmates focus on precision thrash, this time around turning in a tighter, cleaner batch of songs that feel both intently focused and streamlined for maximum intensity. The time leading up to the album wasn't an easy one for the band, however, and the six years that passed between the last record and this one stand as the longest time between new material in the band's nearly 40-year history. The turbulent time spent working on The Sick included not just Mustaine being diagnosed with and aggressively treated for throat cancer but also Megadeth co-founder and bassist David Ellefson leaving the band due to his involvement in a sex scandal. The hard-fought nature of this particular chapter in the band's development can be heard in the songs, which are, for the most part, no-nonsense ragers marked by the kind of technical perfection the band made their name on in the '80s and '90s. After the title track opens the album with a somewhat conceptual, meandering arrangement, Megadeth gets right down to business with the speedy and powerful "Life in Hell," a song that matches the snarling menace of anything in the band's catalog. New drummer Dirk Verbeuren makes his debut on The Sick, and his economical but relentless playing is a huge factor in the direct force that defines the album. Six-and-a-half-minute mini-epic "Night Stalkers" is a swarm of riffs and Mustaine's well-established war imagery, with an unexpected voiceover cameo from Ice-T. The band stays primarily in full-on mode, with sinister blasters like "We'll Be Back" and "Celebutante" giving way to only slightly less brutal workouts like the creeping "Killing Time," which includes one of the album's most masterfully constructed breakdowns. Mustaine has sounded angry and irritated on almost every song he's ever recorded, but the bile is a little thicker on The Sick. It's a tense and impatient record, even by Megadeth's standards, and re-affirms the band's status as completely essential metal deities who are still operating on a level of excellence most of their peers fell from decades ago. © Fred Thomas /TiVo

Given all the overt literary references of Selling England by the Pound, along with their taste for epic suites such as "Supper's Ready," it was only a matter of time before Genesis attempted a full-fledged concept album, and 1974's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was a massive rock opera: the winding, wielding story of a Puerto Rican hustler name Rael making his way in New York City. Peter Gabriel made some tentative moves toward developing this story into a movie with William Friedkin but it never took off, perhaps it's just as well; even with the lengthy libretto included with the album, the story never makes sense. But just because the story is rather impenetrable doesn't mean that the album is as well, because it is a forceful, imaginative piece of work that showcases the original Genesis lineup at a peak. Even if the story is rather hard to piece together, the album is set up in a remarkable fashion, with the first LP being devoted to pop-oriented rock songs and the second being largely devoted to instrumentals. This means that The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway contains both Genesis' most immediate music to date and its most elliptical. Depending on a listener's taste, they may gravitate toward the first LP with its tight collection of ten rock songs, or the nightmarish landscapes of the second, where Rael descends into darkness and ultimately redemption (or so it would seem), but there's little question that the first album is far more direct than the second and it contains a number of masterpieces, from the opening fanfare of the title song to the surging "In the Cage," from the frightening "Back in NYC" to the soothing conclusion "The Carpet Crawlers." In retrospect, this first LP plays a bit more like the first Gabriel solo album than the final Genesis album, but there's also little question that the band helps form and shape this music (with Brian Eno adding extra coloring on occasion), while Genesis shines as a group shines on the impressionistic second half. In every way, it's a considerable, lasting achievement and it's little wonder that Peter Gabriel had to leave the band after this record: they had gone as far as they could go together, and could never top this extraordinary album.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Following the cool reception to Insomniac, Green Day retreated from the spotlight for a year to rest and spend time with their families. During that extended break, they decided to not worry about their supposedly lost street credibility and make an album according to their instincts, which meant more experimentation and less of their trademark punk-pop. Of course, speedy, catchy punk is at the core of the group's sound, so there are plenty of familiar moments on the resultant album, Nimrod, but there are also new details that make the record an invigorating, if occasionally frustrating, listen. Although punk-pop is Green Day's forte, they sound the most alive on Nimrod when they're breaking away from their formula, whether it's the shuffling "Hitchin' a Ride," the bitchy, tongue-in-cheek humor of "The Grouch," the surging surf instrumental "Last Ride In," the punchy, horn-driven drag-queen saga "King for a Day," or the acoustic, string-laced ballad "Good Riddance." It's only when the trio confines itself to three chords that it sounds tired, but Billie Joe has such a gift for hooky, instantly memorable melodies that even these moments are enjoyable, if unremarkable. Still, Nimrod suffers from being simply too much -- although it clocks in at under 50 minutes, the 18 tracks whip by at such a breakneck speed that it leaves you somewhat dazed. With a little editing, Green Day's growth would have been put in sharper relief, and Nimrod would have been the triumphant leap forward it set out to be. As it stands, it's a muddled but intermittently exciting record that is full of promise.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

More than a quarter-century after Tom Petty's Wildflowers was first released, it can finally be heard the way the singer-songwriter intended. When he turned in 25 songs, hoping for a double album, Warner Bros. asked him to pare it down to one. But just three years past his death, his family and Heartbreakers bandmates Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell (technically a solo release, Wildflowers features most of the band) have restored the record to its original glory and added in a trove of home demos, alternate takes and live tracks—some 70 songs in all. Produced by Rick Rubin while Petty's decades-old marriage was crumbling and he was reportedly battling heroin addiction, the 1994 release remains one of the all-time great break-up records; heard all together, the extended LP (the All The Rest part is produced Petty's longtime engineer Ryan Ulyate) Petty is a deeper devastating beauty. "New" tracks like the Byrds-y "Leave Virginia Alone," tender "Something Could Happen" and psychedelic Beatles-meets-Wall of Sound "Somewhere Under Heaven" are a comfortable coda to classics such as "You Don't Know How It Feels" and "It's Good to Be King." Extra track "Hope You Never" is a gorgeous, direct complement to old favorite "Only a Broken Heart." As perfect as the original album has always played, it's hard to imagine not including the swaying After the Gold Rush-esque "Hung Up & Overdue" (with backing vocals by Beach Boy Carl Wilson) or sunny, jangling "California" (which also shows up in a demo version, with a telling extra verse: "Don’t forgive my past/ I forgive my enemy/ Don’t know if it lasts/ Gotta just wait and see"). Dig into the home recordings, and it's an even bigger mystery why the harmonica-inflected "There Goes Angela" and plaintive "There's a Break in the Rain (Have Love Will Travel)" weren't contenders over, say, the Celtic-flavored "Don't Fade on Me." Chalk part of that first-listen awe up to the intimacy of these solo demos, which also cast a new, revelatory light on the gently folksy title track and "You Don't Know How It Feels." Live non-album favorites "Girl on LSD" and "Drivin' Down to Georgia" are captured here, along with a blistering "Honey Bee" and lovely takes on "You Wreck Me" and "Crawling Back to You." Tench has recalled Petty calling Wildflowers "the best record we ever made." Now it's even better. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

Brothers Osborne—siblings TJ and John, and their band—are in their adult-contemporary era on their fourth album, and that's not a boring thing. Nor is it criticism to call "Who Says You Can't Have Everything" smooth, easy listening country. "We Ain't Good at Breaking Up" brings along Miranda Lambert for a Fleetwood Mac-ish slow-burn. "Love You Too" melds Alabama's trad-country and Southern rock with the grandiosity of Kings of Leon. The brothers from Maryland sound confident and sure of their place in contemporary Nashville, which is important considering that TJ came out in 2021, making him the first major country star who is openly gay. You can't help but read a bit of pride in the ass-shaking Southern rock of "Might As Well Be Me": "Somebody gotta shake things up/ Somebody gotta shut things down/ Somebody gotta strike a match/ Break the ice and buy the first round." Maybe it's about his history-making declaration or maybe, at face value, it's about getting the party started, but the song makes the most of TJ's signature baritone twang, layering on revving guitar and an on-fire solo from John. TJ's voice is rich as ever on the album's sole ballad, melancholy-sounding love song "Rollercoaster (Forever and a Day)", with its message of how opposites attract and complement. "New Bad Habit," meanwhile, finds him pushing smoldering temptation and bad-boy flirtation alongside Stonesy guitar: "I want to be your pack a day ... I want to be your 90 proof … can't quit cold and you can't rehab it." TJ has long had a habit of singing about vice as a metaphor—for relationships, for humility (getting effed up and effing up), for a good time—and there's no shortage of that here. Kissed by a bit of dub and R&B, "Goodbye's Kicking In" explores how break-up regrets hit "like that first cigarette, like that second shot of whiskey." And "Sun Ain't Even Gone Down Yet," with its bluesy honky-tonk riff, is an ode to day drinking: "We were already high noon high/ If a cold libation's any indication/ We're gonna have a hell of a night." Some things never change, and TJ makes it clear on '80s-rich "Nobody's Nobody" that he wants the music to speak for itself: "Some people never ever make a name/ But change the game in someone's story/ I'm still tryna leave my mark/ With a simple song and an old guitar/ One thing I've learned out on the road is/ Nobody's nobody."  © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

A tie-in to the exhaustive 2013 box set Sound System, the 2013 compilation The Clash Hits Back is a novel approach to a career retrospective: it mirrors the 24-song set list for the band's July 19, 1982 concert at Brixton Fairdeal, then adds eight bonus hits at the end. The Clash Hits Back slightly tweaks the running order of the original set -- "Bankrobber" arrived five songs into the concert but appears eighth here -- but that doesn't matter much, as this swap doesn't alter the impact of the original set. The Clash were plugging Combat Rock so songs from that LP -- the singles "Rock the Casbah," "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" and "Straight to Hell," plus "Ghetto Defendant" and "Know Your Rights," adding up to just under half the album -- sit alongside a heavy chunk of London Calling and early hits, plus a few stabs at Sandinista!. What's added at the end is a mix of their high-octane early material ("White Riot," "Complete Control," "Clash City Rockers," Tommy Gun," "English Civil War") and their more adventurous studio recordings ("The Call Up," "Hitsville UK," "This Is Radio Clash"), adding up to a strong overview of all the band could do.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

What better than a 4-CD box set to crown the career of an artist who left us too soon? In 2017, Tom Petty’s sudden passing broke the hearts of all true rock enthusiasts. His wife Dana and his daughter Adria decided to grieve by working on this An American Treasure album. After leaving behind many unreleased treasures, his close ones, such as producer Ryan Ulyate and band members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench put their heart and soul into this production. A “family” selection that features demos, alternative versions, album tracks and live performances, showing the evolution of the Heatbreakers’ frontman. Outtakes from the 1976 (Surrender), alternative versions from the 1979 (Louisiana Rain) and demos from the 1984 (The Apartment Song), everything here is powerful with a great sound, thanks to the careful remastering work of Chris Bellman, who had already worked on recordings from Diana Ross, Rick James and a few other Motown artists. The album retraces Tom Petty’s debuts with the Heartbrakers as well as the band Mudcrutch, but also his solo career with over 60 tracks in Hi-Res 24Bit. In a chronological order, this four-hour anthology ends with his 2016 live performance of Hungry No More. An emotional experience both for his fans and the younger generations wishing to discover this key artist in American rock history. © Anna Coluthe/Qobuz

The Official Archive Series, Vol. 2 captures Status Quo on their Quo Festive tour at London's O2 in December 2012. Featuring the lineup of Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Andrew Bown, John Edwards, and Matt Letley, the set saw the band work through a barrage of classic Quo hits while also performing a medley of Christmas-themed songs, including "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."© Rich Wilson /TiVo

Secret Story is among the more provocative recordings in Pat Metheny's oeuvre. Combining the relaxed groove of the early Pat Metheny Group recordings, it is full of odd sounds, exotic instrumentation, and the participation of members of the London Orchestra conducted by Jeremy Lubbock. Along with regular group members -- bassist Steve Rodby, drummer Paul Wertico, percussionist Naná Vasconcelos, pianist-keyboardist Lyle Mays -- numerous guests adorn these tracks as well: bassists Charlie Haden and Will Lee, percussionist Armando Marcal, vocalist Mark Ledford, jazz harmonica legend Toots Thielmans, Gil Goldstein, and Pat's brother Mike Metheny. But what's most notable is that none of these players are constants, as this is most certainly a Metheny solo effort: Secret Story is his own song, so to speak. His acoustic and electric guitars are augmented by synthesizers and samplers, and no matter how lush these proceedings get, they are never overwhelmed by production. Metheny is one of the few jazz musicians working today who completely understands what technology is used for, and his production never overwhelms his compositions. The entire disc comes off as a sort of interior travelogue, a heart's remembrance, a memento mori; it is one of the most emotionally expressive recordings in his career. "Above the Treetops," the album's opener, which features Haden and the two percussionists, is so utterly exotic and poetic it feels like the opening number in a soundtrack (and perhaps that's what it is); it's based on a Cambodian hymn titled "Buong Buong." The sound of a children's choir singing the hymn is sampled into the synth lines that delicately open the track. Percussion slips in and out sparingly, Haden's bass offers a heavily reverbed backbone for the structure of the tune, and Metheny's acoustic guitar and synthesizers cover the rest. It is a reflective and meditative moment that contains a kind of dignified majesty that builds up to his beautiful nylon string solo, the bluesy and grooving "Cathedral in a Suitcase.""Cathedral in a Suitcase" showcases a slight return to Metheny's employ by Danny Gottlieb with a series of beautiful cymbal rolls, and drummer Steve Ferone and Marcal on percussion. But it's Metheny with all of his keyboards and the orchestra that truly hold the day, providing a lush, cascading sequence of changes that offer the entire notion of majesty and travel. There is a sense of wonder and awe with all the euphoric drama that is so inherent in his compositions. One is taken from reflection to moving through a doorway and out into the world, watching it as it passes by through a windshield before the individual dissolves into its identity, only to emerge once more to be transformed. The pulse of the keyboards is enhanced by the utter grandeur of the strings. The ten-minute "Finding and Believing" is almost a tone poem that begins with a funky Latin rhythm. The funky sound of synths, electric sitar, and other strings is balanced by that popping bassline played by Lee. This is a suite, full of texture, dimension, and drama that becomes something wholly other from beginning to end as the orchestra adds expressionistic and elegant dissonance to the rhythm driven proceeding. There are simpler moments, too, however, such as the guitar piece "Sunlight," with Mays on piano, and Lee and Rodby on electric and acoustic basses. Its easy groove is a resting place in this ambitious work but is so melodically sophisticated, it is another adventure, albeit a simpler one.Gil Evans could have scored the meld of strings and nylon string guitar on "Always and Forever." "See the World" is a more "traditional" Metheny guitar jazz number, full of lithe syncopation, textural and rhythmic changes, and that striated sense of melody of his that is complex but hummable. The horns and strings add to its sense of grandeur and grace, but it continues to reach ever higher for something seemingly unattainable. Ryan Kisor's trumpet and John Clark's French Horn are also in attendance with Mike Metheny. "Antonia" is so lovely and heart-rending as to be nearly unbearable in its beauty, and Metheny's electric guitar solo is among the most expressive in his recorded career. The groove goes deep and wide, yet it hovers and floats. The strings pulse around it, percussion underscores it, and the melodic frame of the track is open and amazingly delicate. "The Truth Will Always Be" is another suite, a reflective one that goes to the core of what this record is about: it is about love discovered, grasped onto, and lost. It is every bit as regal and poetic as Debussy without the notion of classicism. Despite the lush production in these tunes, on this one it is revealed that these elements are here simply to protect the protagonist from emotions that are so profound and unsettling and tender as to be nearly unbearable. Strings slip in and around Metheny's guitar. He lets it bite in just the right places, and more than this, he lets his single lines sing. The strings enter forebodingly into the last cut, "Not to Be Forgotten (Our Final Hour)," but they give way to something simply melancholy that contains all the beauty and heartbreak of the world, the entire recording of a relationship in just over two minutes. The silence at the end of Secret Story is pregnant, almost breathtaking. At the end of 76 minutes the listener cannot help but be absorbed in reminiscences both pleasant and painful, and becomes an empathetic, and perhaps even a sympathetic witness to and participant in Metheny's magical sound world. [Secret Story was reissued with a bonus disc in 2007.]© Thom Jurek /TiVo