It's a running joke that every album released by the Rolling Stones is the band's "best since X," where X represents a random release from their extensive back catalog. Unsurprisingly, Hackney Diamonds has already received similar plaudits and comparisons. But the Stones' first full-length of original songs since 2005's A Bigger Bang can't really be compared to anything they've done before—namely because it's the first Stones album recorded (for the most part) without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. Watts does add his trademark crisp, jazzy swing to a pair of highlights: the strutting "Mess It Up" and swaggering boogie-rocker "Live by the Sword." (On the latter, former bassist Bill Wyman also contributes a grimy low end and Elton John adds freewheeling piano.) Elsewhere on Hackney Diamonds, Watts' hand-picked drumming replacement Steve Jordan anchors the rhythm section with his looser approach—a perfect match for big-sky rockers like the saxophone-augmented, funk-tinted "Get Close."But even with the lineup change, Hackney Diamonds feels like classic Stones—no asterisk needed. The album brims with familiar signifiers: fiery guitar interplay between Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood; an abundance of Jagger-Richards songwriting credits; and Jagger's inimitable vocals, which veer between spitfire sleaze and tender balladeer. Musically, Hackney Diamonds also spans the entire Stones continuum. "Dreamy Skies" is the kind of laid-back country rocker the band excel at writing; the string-swept "Depending on You" occupies a more introspective space; and "Driving Me Too Hard" is 1970s-era honky-tonking. On "Tell Me Straight," Richards even takes a turn on lead vocals. So what's the secret to Hackney Diamonds? Avowed Stones superfan Andrew Watt produced the album, which was an inspired choice: Watt pushes the Stones to play to their strengths and not rely on cliches. Hackney Diamonds' guests are also a welcome presence. Paul McCartney contributes bass to the barnstorming "Bite My Head Off," while the torchy power ballad centerpiece "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" includes keyboards and piano from Stevie Wonder and towering vocals from Lady Gaga. Fittingly, Hackney Diamonds ends with a song that's long featured into the Stones' mythology: a cover of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone" (here called "Rolling Stone Blues"). The Stones' performance is raw and unfiltered, with shuffling harmonica and unpolished Jagger vocals; it sounds more like a low-key jam session than a high-gloss studio work. "Rolling Stone Blues" also gets to the heart of why Hackney Diamonds works so well: On the album, the Stones aren't trying to repeat themselves or recapture any past glories—but they are remembering their roots, and channeling the passion, ambition and musical chemistry that initially propelled them to superstardom. © Annie Zaleski/Qobuz

Like the Mona Lisa for the Louvre, Keith Jarrett's Köln Concert is a showcase for ECM. With 4 million copies sold, it is not only the biggest success in the label's history but also the best-selling piano solo album! And many of those who bought this live recording, recorded on January 24, 1975 in the Cologne Opera House, did not yet own a jazz album in their record collection. Yet the world phenomenon had the most unfavourable conditions that evening. The American pianist was exhausted from a long car journey, had back pain and found another cheap grand piano on stage instead of the Bösendorfer he had ordered. "I think Keith played so well precisely because of this mediocre piano," said producer Manfred Eicher later. "Because he couldn't fall in love with the sound of this instrument, he adjusted his playing accordingly in order to make the best out of it in spite of everything." But what remains, beyond the anecdotes and records, of what the 1400 listeners heard that evening? Jarrett was 30 years old at the time and had already had a successful career with 15 records and two formative experiences in the bands of Charles Lloyd and especially Miles Davis. By 1975 he had already developed a very personal style of expression. Although Bill Evans' influence is unmistakable, his improvisations were unique, as this Cologne Concert proves. Lyrical and meditative elements are interwoven. Jarrett emphasizes the permeability of the genres by nourishing his jazz (is it jazz at all?) with elements from classical music, gospel, folk or certain Latin American musical styles. Notes gush out of his piano like a torrent and sing an ode to improvisation. In 1992, he told Der Spiegel that over time the Köln Concert had become a kind of film music. "We must learn to forget music," he added. "Otherwise we will become addicted to the past."

Since 2019, Taylor Swift has been leading her fans and her music into a space-time rift worthy of a science-fiction block-buster: when she releases a new album, there's a 50/50 chance that it's an old one. What is the meaning of this devilry? Well, it’s mainly due to complicated and conflicting contracts, copyrights and (very) large sums of money, that have  all led Taylor Swift to decide to re-record and re-release her first six albums with some bonus, previously unreleased period tracks. The latest replicant is the album Speak Now, originally released in 2010. This third album of Taylor Swift’s was a major milestone in her discography: aged just twenty, she wrote all the songs for the first time, whilst moving away from the country aesthetic that had made her famous. It was a very personal album, with a lot of diary-style love stories from the point of view of a young woman barely out of her teens. Thirteen years on, it’s clear why Taylor Swift would sing these songs again (to get her hands back on the revenue generated by her old albums). But how? With a fuller voice, and by tidying up some of the lyrics that might be found off-putting today. Hardcore fans and commentators may cry revisionism, but the rest of us will certainly be delighted to find this early album almost unchanged © Stéphane Deschamps

It's a running joke that every album released by the Rolling Stones is the band's "best since X," where X represents a random release from their extensive back catalog. Unsurprisingly, Hackney Diamonds has already received similar plaudits and comparisons. But the Stones' first full-length of original songs since 2005's A Bigger Bang can't really be compared to anything they've done before—namely because it's the first Stones album recorded (for the most part) without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. Watts does add his trademark crisp, jazzy swing to a pair of highlights: the strutting "Mess It Up" and swaggering boogie-rocker "Live by the Sword." (On the latter, former bassist Bill Wyman also contributes a grimy low end and Elton John adds freewheeling piano.) Elsewhere on Hackney Diamonds, Watts' hand-picked drumming replacement Steve Jordan anchors the rhythm section with his looser approach—a perfect match for big-sky rockers like the saxophone-augmented, funk-tinted "Get Close."But even with the lineup change, Hackney Diamonds feels like classic Stones—no asterisk needed. The album brims with familiar signifiers: fiery guitar interplay between Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood; an abundance of Jagger-Richards songwriting credits; and Jagger's inimitable vocals, which veer between spitfire sleaze and tender balladeer. Musically, Hackney Diamonds also spans the entire Stones continuum. "Dreamy Skies" is the kind of laid-back country rocker the band excel at writing; the string-swept "Depending on You" occupies a more introspective space; and "Driving Me Too Hard" is 1970s-era honky-tonking. On "Tell Me Straight," Richards even takes a turn on lead vocals. So what's the secret to Hackney Diamonds? Avowed Stones superfan Andrew Watt produced the album, which was an inspired choice: Watt pushes the Stones to play to their strengths and not rely on cliches. Hackney Diamonds' guests are also a welcome presence. Paul McCartney contributes bass to the barnstorming "Bite My Head Off," while the torchy power ballad centerpiece "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" includes keyboards and piano from Stevie Wonder and towering vocals from Lady Gaga. Fittingly, Hackney Diamonds ends with a song that's long featured into the Stones' mythology: a cover of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone" (here called "Rolling Stone Blues"). The Stones' performance is raw and unfiltered, with shuffling harmonica and unpolished Jagger vocals; it sounds more like a low-key jam session than a high-gloss studio work. "Rolling Stone Blues" also gets to the heart of why Hackney Diamonds works so well: On the album, the Stones aren't trying to repeat themselves or recapture any past glories—but they are remembering their roots, and channeling the passion, ambition and musical chemistry that initially propelled them to superstardom. © Annie Zaleski/Qobuz

For all the slings and arrows retrospectively cast at the titans of '70s rock, the notion that these bands were somehow callow opportunists who'd sacrifice their authenticity and musical spirit to climb a few more slots on the chart is one  that never applied to Fleetwood Mac. Although the band was one of the dominant rock-adjacent musical forces in the late '70s, Fleetwood Mac was also always one of the quirkiest "big" bands around, due both to their long and varied history and the intensely weird interpersonal dynamics. Today, they only seem like a mainstream band because their unique approach became so popular that it defined the mainstream sound of the era. And while that sound found its purest representation on this lineup's three '70s studio albums, Fleetwood Mac was also a singular and powerful live presence, delivering generous and rewarding sets during their imperial period. While they certainly weren't the Grateful Dead, and they largely stuck to the same set list throughout their tours, there were a few shows in the band's history that have become somewhat legendary, among them their August 1977 three-show run at the Forum in Los Angeles.Rumours Live documents the first of the sold-out shows, which finds the band returning to their hometown during the height of their powers, in the middle of the tour. To be fair, the material doesn't diverge too much from the set list that the band relied on during the tour but the energy of this performance is electric. Of course, Stevie Nicks is the focal point throughout, and the nonchalant way she introduces "Rhiannon"—"This is a song about a witch"—is absolute peak Stevie, but this recording also demonstrates how strong of a performer she was during this era, whether it's the vocals that waver between clear harmonies and full-throated belting, or more discrete highlights like the gut-punching "oooooh" she delivers halfway through "Dreams." This show also demonstrates the often-ignored strengths of Fleetwood Mac as a band. When they find their groove—which is often on Rumours Live—it's a sight to behold, with a loose, rollicking confidence that can only come from a group of players absolutely locked into one another. Although many of the songs are delivered in relatively faithful versions, when the band does get playful with arrangements (bouncy, twangy "Over My Head," twitchy, proto-New Wave "Blue Letter," jammy, guitar-forward "I'm So Afraid") or stretch out (extended jams on "Rhiannon," "World Turning" and "Gold Dust Woman"), the deep symbiosis that these players had is abundantly clear. That's further emphasized in the encore, which is introduced with "We don't have any more songs so we're gonna jam around." They proceed to play a-now iconic number ("The Chain"), the song that opened—and thematically defined—Rumours ("Second Hand News"), and one of the best songs ever written by anyone in the band (Christine McVie's "Songbird") to close out the show in a fashion that is loose, loving, warm, and absolutely without peer. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

Drummer Patrick Carney recently said the goal for the Black Keys' twelfth album was to have "fucking fun." Sounds like mission accomplished. If you've been waiting for Beck to make a sequel to Midnite Vultures, this might be as close as we get. He's pretty much a third member of the band on Ohio Players—co-writing and/or guesting on eight of the 14 songs. His SoCal sunshine (and backing vocals) can be heard on the relaxed fit of "This Is Nowhere" and freak-show single "Beautiful People (Stay Here)," a co-write with Dan the Automator that borrows the groove of "Feeling That Vibe" by Richard Mead. Beck takes the vocal lead on "Paper Crown," a thick slab of greased-up R&B decorated with deep bass, sassy Hammond, Moog, Vocoder and 808—and that's before Three 6 Mafia's Juicy J rolls in and brings the strut down to a cool, slow roll. It's hard to say who's zoomin' who here, but something about the collision of Beck, Carney and Dan Auerbach brings out a wonderfully weird, playful side of the Black Keys. Delightful "Don't Let Me Go" melds Four Seasons-style pomp, mod garage rock and funk horns while "Read Em and Weep" gives Halloween haunted house vibes—with Beck on organ and Auerbach's revved-up surf guitar conjuring the spirit of teen-tragedy splatter platters (á la Jan and Dean's "Dead Man's Curve"). And it's not just Beck along for the ride.  "... It's a big Saturday night party record," Carney has said. "We just had people come through the studio and throw a little bit of special sauce at each song." The band also brought in Memphis horrorcore legend Lil Noid for sleazy-sounding "Candy and Her Friends." And Noel Gallagher—"We were referring to him as 'The Chord Lord' because he's just a perfectionist with it," Carney told NME—leaves his mark on three songs, including "Only Love Matters," a tight stomp meant for cutting a rug. The Oasis songwriter was apparently in a real dance mood; "You'll Pay" is hip-swiveling, Question Mark and the Mysterians cool, with Auerbach perfectly working his falsetto. Gallagher picks up backing vocals on both of those as well as "On the Game," a mellowed-out live take with a Derek and the Dominos feel. "Fever Tree"—another Beck joint—has a psyched-out stomp. Carney's drums are monstrous, and Auerbach's guitar is like a buzzsaw, on dangerous "Please Me (Till I'm Satisfied)." "I Forgot to Be Your Lover," meanwhile, is solid gold soul: Auerbach really sweats the line "And I'm sorry/ I'm so sorry" for the gritty cover of William Bell and Booker T. Jones' silky Stax single. There's apparently even more to look forward to: A rumored Alice Cooper song didn't make the album, but may be out later this year. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

It all starts with an Acid-stretched (the 1990s software program) vocal loop of indeterminate origin before the rhythm reveals itself. And that exact combination heralds the return of the Chemical Brothers, with their first new full length in four years. It's a subdued, weird, and slyly eclectic release. Beautiful Feeling isn't situated in any way close to the chill out room, but one supposes it's more suited to the pace that middle-aged bodies can dance to than the all-out assaults the UK-based duo leveled us with in the 1990s.The shimmering, k-hole-dropping "Feels Like I Am Dreaming" and the dissonant track four "Goodbye" are the real treats here; "Goodbye" is its own revelation. The distorted organs collide atop each other and a lovely house vocal sample, with a slew of sci-fi arpeggios beneath it all but the Brothers are not avant-garde. They never let it get weird for too long, but they know how to push an envelope or two. The beat isn't composed of a thousand cats yawning in sync; that beat sounds like a maxed-out 808 and you want to go to carpentry school just to learn how to raise the roof for it (sorry).That bass line which propels "No Reason" is straight-up future funk like one might have heard in a Paris club in 1999. Except not; the production is too of-the-moment, its structure a bit too perfectly skittery. Likewise, "Fountains" pits almost Caribou/Manitoba-style leftfield elements (and some downright ELP-worthy keyboard wankery) with four-on-the-floor crunch and very light funk vocals."Skipping Like a Stone," with Beck, is a sweet reminder that the 53-year-old can really hit falsettos well when he wants to.  Just when you think there might not be enough block rockin' beats, songs like "Magic Wand" and "The Weight" drop heavy funk in recombinant glory. The Chemical Brothers were of course one of the first to bring underground sounds to worldwide arenas. And sure, part of that has to do with the kind of spectacle they worked to create—something that Daft Punk and deadmau5 would later adopt, finesse, and blow to the sky so high that it was dead before it hit the ground. The reason the Chemical Brothers still matter is that they're still so good, and we need them. Even when they're treading water and not exactly innovating, that water's the perfect temperature, filled with really good looking people, and with promise of one heck of a fun weekend. © Mike McGonigal/Qobuz

In four albums, Worrisome Heart (2008), My One And Only Thrill (2009), The Absence (2012) and Currency Of Man (2015), Melody Gardot has managed to sneak in between Diana Krall and Norah Jones to also find her place in the selective club of the female singers that are “a bit jazzy but not too much”, this oneiric cast that was so popular during the 50s, and in which she soon made the singularity of her very sensual voice resonate. A voice that she ceaselessly took touring to locations all over the world, and multiple times over at that. And so, there are enough recordings in the cellar to release a live album. However, live discs are rarely a must. There is often something missing, this small impalpable thing, that only those present that night will have kept inside of them… This Live In Europe from Melody Gardot is lucky to have kept, precisely, this “small thing”… The American has probably meticulously built it (apparently, she has listened to more than 300 recordings before making her decision!) by avoiding the true-false best of. “Someday, someone told me, ‘never look back, because there’s no way you’re going back’, she says. It’s nicely said, but if you don’t look back sometimes, it’s hard to see that time is on the verge of catching up to you. We all need to quickly look back into the rear-view mirror from time to time in order to adjust our trajectory. This disc is precisely that, the rear-view mirror of a 1963 Corvette, a postcard of our touring all over Europe. We spent most of our time on the road these last few years, and we’ve taken advantage of this trip to not only get around and get some fresh air but also to try, as much as possible, to get rid of the rules and create something exciting. I’ve been dreaming for years of releasing a live album like this one.” This desire can be felt in every moment of this disc comprised of titles recorded in Paris, Vienna, Bergen, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Lisbon, Zurich and London. Whether she performs her hits Baby I'm A Fool and My One And Only Thrill or covers the classic Over The Rainbow, Melody Gardot offers up a different point of view, but it’s always an open performance. To help her in her introspective trip that is constantly shifting, she is surrounded by her impeccable musicians, discreet but decisive. Drummer Charles Staab, saxophonist Irwin Hall and bass player Sami Minaie are completely in tune with her singing, like some kind of thin hand that you take and only let go of after the last note. Finally, there is this album cover which will lead to extensive press coverage… or not. © MD/Qobuz

In the spring of 2022, the composer Hans Zimmer set off on a triumphant European tour, for which he wrote new arrangements of pieces from the most iconic films of his career. This double album opens with an extract from his most recent blockbuster, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (‘House Atreides’). A distinctly spiritual, guttural voice takes centre stage for this piece - one of the main gimmicks of the soundtrack as a whole. The first part of this double album proceeds with excerpts from other Hollywood highlights, including the impressive Wonder Woman Suite, where a powerful female chorus challenges clichés surrounding music in American action films. Long time fans will appreciate the extended suites from two Zimmer classics: Gladiator (featuring the voice of Lisa Gerrard) and Pirates of the Carribbean.The second disc features another of Zimmers triumphs, The Lion King, which won him an Oscar in 1994. The more minimalist (and somewhat liturgical) soundtrack to Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar has pride of place on this album, alongside his robust soundtracks for The Last Samurai and The Dark Knight. Zimmer’s sparkling reinvention of the famous James Bond theme is also worth a listen (’No Time To Die Suite’). Alongside his 20-piece band ‘The Disruptive Collective’, as well as the orchestra and choir of the Odessa Opera, the German-born composer is at the top of his game here, skillfully mixing classical arrangements, rock elements and synthesisers. © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz

Whether it's the atmospheric reverb on "Midnight Rambler," Byron Berline's fiddle (recorded outside on the street) on "Country Honk," or the meaty bass part that opens "Live with Me," Let It Bleed has always been an album full of intriguing sound. Add to that Merry Clayton's unforgettable vocal overdubs on "Gimme Shelter" (as well as its opening ghostly voices, washboard guiro scrapes and reverb-drenched guitar) and Let It Bleed, newly remastered by Bob Ludwig for its 50th anniversary reissue, is an album especially suited to the world of high resolution audio. From 1968 through 1972, no popular music act (except The Beatles) made better albums than The Rolling Stones. Their blockbuster run began in late 1968 with Beggars Banquet and continued through Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971) and Exile on Main Street (1972). If Beggars Banquet was the sound of the band stripping down their sound and working out their frustrations over their legal tangles and impending departure of Brian Jones (replaced in June 1969 by Mick Taylor), Let It Bleed was the band emerging unbowed, with a new confidence and a dramatic leap in songwriting quality from Jagger/Richards, bookended by the ominous "Gimme Shelter" and the common sense rock gospel of "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Let It Bleed also acknowledges the band's deep roots in the blues with with an acoustic cover of Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain," Richards' prolific slide guitar parts and "Midnight Rambler," the band's "blues opera." Despite its popularity (#1 in UK and #3 in US), there's even a sleeper track—the underrated "Monkey Man," whose lyrics sum up the swinging '60s with impenetrable lines like, "I'm a cold Italian pizza / I could use a lemon squeezer / What you do?” Originally produced by Jimmy Miller and engineered by Glyn Johns, the new remastering is a sonic refresh with a larger soundstage that adds new detail to Jagger's vocal performance of "Love in Vain" and Richards' guitar work in "Midnight Rambler". Like all the recent ABKCO reissues from this period, this may well be the best Let It Bleed will ever sound. © Robert Baird / Qobuz

Soundgarden's finest hour, Superunknown is a sprawling, 70-minute magnum opus that pushes beyond any previous boundaries. Soundgarden had always loved replicating Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath riffs, but Superunknown's debt is more to mid-period Zep's layered arrangements and sweeping epics. Their earlier punk influences are rarely detectable, replaced by surprisingly effective appropriations of pop and psychedelia. Badmotorfinger boasted more than its fair share of indelible riffs, but here the main hooks reside mostly in Chris Cornell's vocals; accordingly, he's mixed right up front, floating over the band instead of cutting through it. The rest of the production is just as crisp, with the band achieving a huge, robust sound that makes even the heaviest songs sound deceptively bright. But the most important reason Superunknown is such a rich listen is twofold: the band's embrace of psychedelia, and their rapidly progressing mastery of songcraft. Soundgarden had always been a little mind-bending, but the full-on experiments with psychedelia give them a much wider sonic palette, paving the way for less metallic sounds and instruments, more detailed arrangements, and a bridge into pop (which made the eerie ballad "Black Hole Sun" an inescapable hit). That blossoming melodic skill is apparent on most of the record, not just the poppier songs and Cornell-penned hits; though a couple of drummer Matt Cameron's contributions are pretty undistinguished, they're easy to overlook, given the overall consistency. The focused songwriting allows the band to stretch material out for grander effect, without sinking into the pointlessly drawn-out muck that cluttered their early records. The dissonance and odd time signatures are still in force, though not as jarring or immediately obvious, which means that the album reveals more subtleties with each listen. It's obvious that Superunknown was consciously styled as a masterwork, and it fulfills every ambition.© Steve Huey /TiVo

Sometime after the Rolling Stones wrapped up their 2022 tour -- the second they completed since the 2021 death of their drummer Charlie Watts -- Mick Jagger decided the band had spent enough time working on their first record of original material since 2005's A Bigger Bang. Jagger gave Keith Richards, the only other surviving founding member of the Stones left in the band, a deadline of Valentine's Day 2023 for wrapping up the sessions that had been dragging on for years. The ultimatum worked: by October of that year, the Stones released Hackney Diamonds, their first collection of new songs in 18 years. The album doesn't entirely consist of material the Stones cut early in 2023 -- two tracks feature Charlie Watts, including "Live by the Sword," which has original bassist Bill Wyman guesting on a Stones record for the first time in 30 years -- yet it bears the unmistakable imprint of a record delivered on a deadline. There's little hesitation, no thoughtful pondering here: Hackney Diamonds just barrels ahead with a clean efficiency. Although they're largely working with a new producer -- Andrew Watt, who came recommended by Paul McCartney -- the Rolling Stones don't attempt new tricks anywhere on Hackney Diamonds, save maybe "Whole Wide World," whose bizarre neo-new wave vibe gets odder thanks to Jagger singing in an exaggerated cockney accent. Even that is a slight nod to the band's mall-rat rock of the early '80s, one of many different guises the Rolling Stones adopt over the course of Hackney Diamonds. While a good portion of the record is devoted to straight-ahead rock & roll, they also find space for ragged country ("Dreamy Skies") and acoustic blues ("Rolling Stone Blues"), not to mention "Sweet Sounds of Heaven," a showstopping ballad featuring Lady Gaga. That track is a good indication of how Hackney Diamonds plays. At first, it seems like a solid evocation of "Beast of Burden," but it's a slow burn, a song that sounds stronger with each repeated listen. So is of the rest of Hackney Diamonds. Because it has no grand conceptual hook and because the Stones so thoroughly integrate their superstar guests -- not only are Gaga and Wyman here but so are Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and McCartney -- it doesn't overwhelm upon an initial listen the way the lengthy Voodoo Lounge or A Bigger Bang do; that small scale is its strength. At its heart, it's nothing more than the Rolling Stones knocking out some good Rolling Stones songs, which seems like a minor miracle after such a long wait.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

A misconception has sometimes been associate with Norah Jones: that the Texan is little more than a pleasant light-jazz singer whose albums serve as harmless background music for high-brow and proper evening dinners. Though her writing, playing and eclectic collaborations, she has clearly proved that she is far more interesting than this cliché. And this 2020 offering is a new illustration of her complexity. As is often the case with Norah Jones, Pick Me Up Off the Floor is not quite jazz, not quite blues, not quite country, etc… Her genre-defying music works primarily to suit the song being played. Here we find what has been left behind after sessions with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Thomas Bartlett, Mavis Staples, Rodrigo Amarante and several others.But for all that the result is not simply a contrived mishmash of collaborations but a collection of songs that hold the same silky groove (present on six out of 11 tracks on the record in which Brian Blade’s drums work delicate miracles) and calm sound which increasingly suits the artist, somewhere between pure poetry and realism. “Every session I’ve done, there’ve been extra songs I didn’t release, and they’ve sort of been collecting for the last two years. I became really enamoured with them, having the rough mixes on my phone, listening while I walk the dog. The songs stayed stuck in my head and I realised that they had this surreal thread running through them. It feels like a fever dream taking place somewhere between God, the Devil, the heart, the Country, the planet, and me.” Rarely has Norah Jones sang with such strength, like on I’m Alive where she sings of women’s resilience, or on How I Weep in which she tackles love and exasperation with unequalled grace. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

True Blue is the album where Madonna truly became Madonna the Superstar -- the endlessly ambitious, fearlessly provocative entertainer who knew how to outrage, spark debates, get good reviews -- and make good music while she's at it. To complain that True Blue is calculated is to not get Madonna -- that's a large part of what she does, and she is exceptional at it, but she also makes fine music. What's brilliant about True Blue is that she does both here, using the music to hook in critics just as she's baiting a mass audience with such masterstrokes as "Papa Don't Preach," where she defiantly states she's keeping her baby. Her real trick here, however, is transcending her status as a dance-pop diva by consciously recalling classic girl group pop ("True Blue," "Jimmy Jimmy") to snag the critics, while deepening the dance grooves ("Open Your Heart," "Where's the Party"), touching on Latin rhythms ("La Isla Bonita"), making a plea for world peace ("Love Makes the World Go Round"), and delivering a tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover ("Live to Tell"). It's even harder to have the entire album play as an organic, cohesive work. Certainly, there's some calculation behind the entire thing, but what matters is the end result, one of the great dance-pop albums, a record that demonstrates Madonna's true skills as a songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Jason Isbell released his first solo record not long after parting ways with the Drive-By Truckers and quickly settled into a groove with his band, the 400 Unit, releasing two well-received albums and winning Song of the Year at the 2012 Americana Music Awards for "Alabama Pines." But his fourth solo record, Southeastern—the first released under his own name—is even more stunning. Produced by Dave Cobb and released in the wake of Isbell getting sober, the landmark modern Americana album feels like a collection of short stories populated by vibrant, deeply human characters grappling with challenging life experiences. "Elephant" is a striking song about the complicated emotions that crop up with a friend dying from cancer; "Songs That She Sang In The Shower" features someone in a dark mental space haunted by the memory of an ex's presence; and "Yvette" is from the perspective of a teenage boy ready to protect a classmate from abuse. And the stark "Traveling Alone" on which Isbell's wife Amanda Shires contributes solemn fiddle and vocals, focuses on a narrator who's weary of his own behaviors (and past) and is looking for a fresh start.Isbell's strident guitars cut to the emotional quick throughout, whether hewing toward delicate folk-rock or his trademark Southern rock roar. However, he also cut many of his vocals in one take, which gives Southeastern a feeling of raw immediacy that's matched by Cobb's warm production. But in a nod to one of the album's thematic undercurrents—searching for connection and community wherever you can—Isbell surrounds himself with guest musicians. Will Johnson's vocals enrich the barnstorming "Super 8," while Kim Richey appears on two songs, including the waltzing folk number "Stockholm." Isbell's 400 Unit bandmates Chad Gamble and Derry deBorja add drums and keyboards (respectively). An expanded 2023 version of Southeastern contains demos and live tracks (and is also newly in hi-res), which amplifies the nuances of the songwriting. A decade-plus on, the album remains one of Isbell's finest—and most vulnerable—moments. © Annie Zaleski/Qobuz

In celebration of their 40 th anniversary, The Cure didn’t just hire out a little pub in their hometown of Crawley, Sussex – they hired out the whole of Hyde Park instead! What an epic location for an epic group. The recording of this concert on July 7, 2018 in London in front of a crowd of 65,000 people is a reminder that the style, sound, creativity, song- writing and atmosphere that Robert Smith and his gang bring to the table is like no other. With his mascara, lipstick and static hair-do, the lead singer of The Cure has never sung so well despite being only a few months off his 60 th birthday here. The concert journeys through four decades of hits (which are sometimes cold wave but are mostly pop) and you can really appreciate the breadth of their work, along with all those melodies that you recognise subconsciously and Robert Smith’s ability to just get on with it. Joined onstage by his long-time partner in crime Simon Gallup (bass), as well as Reeves Gabrels (guitar), Roger O’Donnell (keyboards) and Jason Cooper (drums), he sings some beautiful versions of Pictures of You, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, A Forest, Disintegration, Lullaby, The Caterpillar, Friday I’m in Love, Close to Me, Boys Don’t Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night and Killing an Arab. © Max Dembo/Qobuz

Instant-classic debut from the English rock band that introduced the world to the Gallagher brothers.© TiVo