With her tragic early death (though hardly surprising given Amy Winehouse's lifestyle) a truly unique voice of contemporary soul stopped singing on July 23, 2011. She has a voice that should never be overshadowed either by her chaotic life covering the pages of British tabloids, or by her struggles with alcohol and drugs, or even the hundreds of videos of failed concerts on YouTube... When the Winehouse phenomenon exploded with this second album, the sublime Back To Black being far superior to her first record Frank, soul music was going through a slump with hollow, syrupy R&B singers and sanitized productions flooding the scene. Few people tried to develop the path established by Aretha Franklin, Ann Peebles, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Dinah Washington and Marlena Shaw. But then along came Amy Winehouse, with her incredible timbre, her genuine songs (which she wrote herself, unlike 90% of her peers), her vintage-tinged productions (which were never passé) and brass-filled instrumentation. To top it all off, even her image was distinctive: 50’s beehive, biker tattoos and a cheeky attitude. Back To Black topped the charts for months all over the world, and it's still a real masterpiece of soul music and R&B. When critical opinion meets popular opinion – something relatively rare that’s worth underlining - the enjoyment is only tenfold. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

When an intoxicated Bon Scott died by choking on his own vomit in February, 1980, no one envisaged a future for AC/DC. However, the Anglo-Australian band succeeded in finding a replacement for their legendary lead singer. Brian Johnson from the band Geordie rose to the challenge against all odds and imposed a powerful, primarily high-pitched singing style which differed greatly from that of his predecessor. With its legendary black cover, Back in Black marked the birth of a new AC/DC and contains a series of incredible tracks. On guitar were the Young brothers (Malcolm with his Gretsch and Angus with his unstoppable Gibson SG), constantly trying to outdo each other’s genius both through the effectiveness of their riffs and the precision of their solos (notably on Back in Black and You Shook Me All Night Long). As well as pure AC/DC (What Do You Do for Money Honey), they give us some thick boogie with a ZZ Top twang (Have a Drink on Me), theatrical hard rock à la Led Zep (Shake a Leg), and let us not forget the ode to the God of Blues (Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution). Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd finish the job by providing the record with a concrete bassline and strong rhythm, doing so with great finesse. Upon the release of Back in Black on July 15th, 1980, fans were, without surprise, torn on the question of Brian Johnson. Could the band go on without Bon Scott? The record’s success and the world tour that followed quelled any debate and, forty years later, no one questions the decision for a second. With 50 million units sold, Back in Black is the second best-selling album of all time, just behind a certain Thriller by Michael Jackson… © Marc Zisman/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

On account of being everywhere, he may have felt like he was getting lost. Having become a major producer in the music industry, James Blake was seen on some of the biggest projects in the past few years: records as high-stakes as Travis Scott’s comeback album Utopia in July 2023, or Rosalía’s Motomami the year prior. The year before that, he had signed off on his biggest commercial success Friends That Break Your Heart, accentuated by the single “Coming Back” (featuring SZA). It was a good time for the Englishman to get back to his roots, having emerged at the beginning of the 2010s on the tail end of the short-lived wave of post-dubsteppers like Mount Kimbie and SBTRKT. This wave was spearheaded by labels such as Hessle Audio, Hemlock, or the Belgian R&S, which had released its acclaimed second EP CMYK in 2010.Now it's the return of James Blake 1.0, with winks to his origins in the English bass music scene, between the dubstep of the excellent “Loading” (with English singer Judie Tzuke, known for her hit “Stay with me till Dawn” in 1979), the grime single “Big Hammer,” and even “Fall Back,” paying homage to Burial’s muted beats. He goes even further back into the history of British dance music with the more techno “Tell Me,” with a beat that rises at full speed and a raving synth loop that vanishes into thin air. And what can be said about the celestial finale, “Playing Robots into Heaven,” a track that, against all odds, lives up to its name perfectly? Some pure, unadulterated James Blake, 100% all-natural! © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz    

Proving that she's both fearless and capable of almost anything musically, Dolly Parton has taken her induction in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame seriously and made a rock album built from a slew of favorite mainstream covers and several originals she wrote for the occasion. The respect she commands as a worldwide celebrity is reflected by the massive guest list whose vocal tracks were recorded elsewhere and mixed together in Nashville by producer Kent Wells and a veritable horde of engineers. Vocalists who make an appearance on the songs that they originally made famous include Sting ("Every Breath You Take"), Steve Perry ("Open Arms"), Elton John ("Don't Let the Sun Go Down"), Debbie Harry ("Heart of Glass"), and Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr ("Let It Be"). The voice of Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant returns from the grave to sing a verse and duet on the choruses in the epic and appropriate closer, "Free Bird."  While Parton could have allowed a smile to peak out here or there on this massive undertaking, she plays it straight throughout.  Not surprisingly, women receive commendable attention as songwriters and guest players with performances by Ann Wilson, Parton's goddaughter Miley Cyrus, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Lizzo and others. There are also flashes where Parton stops playing rock star. Her original "World on Fire" is a plea for unity and common sense to will out: "Now tell me what is truth/ Have we all lost sight/ Of common decency/ Of the wrong and right/ How do we heal this great divide/ Do we care enough to try?" What makes these 30 tracks work is that no one can sell it quite like Parton. While her voice strains on some  numbers—she's always been more of a careful interpreter than a furious belter—she's full of old pro wiles and is the soul of authenticity throughout; she gives her all to every number. In the rousing "(I Can't Get No) "Satisfaction" with P!nk and Brandy Carlile, Parton's between-line exhortations are heartfelt and spot on. Rather than arty re-interpretations or an empty marketing concept, this is an abundance of what Parton does best: feel the songs she's singing.  © Robert Baird/Qobuz

The English duo have gone on a strange journey with their last two albums. Typhoons, released in 2021, which strongly favored electro and danceable rhythms à la French Touch, divided their original fanbase all while garnering a new, wider audience. Everyone expected the group to fully own their U-turn and throw themselves into new experiments in sound, but instead, we’re faced with a record that’s more rock, and unavoidably calls back to the two first albums spawned by Royal Blood. However…although everything starts off strong with massive, stoner rock (“Mountains at Midnight” as the opener, “Tell Me When It’s Too Late”), Back to the Water Below still possesses a certain sense of pop melody, notably on the vocals, which prevents this new release from being simply classified as a step backwards.     What remains constant is their amazing way of getting into the groove on every riff. Fun fact: although it’s hard not to compare certain songs from the first (or even the second) album to the work of the legendary Queens of the Stone Age, the parallel is, in a way, still valid, as the new tracks evoke again and again the atmosphere Josh Homme’s group have developed since their album …Like Clockwork. What may be missing is that little twist that hooks you in, which at times fails to transform certain melodies into real anthems, and fight against the monolithic side that’s in the group’s nature as a “mere” duo of bass and drums.Back to the Water Below is hardly lacking in more mainstream songs, as the two companions don't hold back from trying to give a little bit of The Beatles on songs like “There Goes My Cool,” which, like a number of the other tracks on the album, features a piano discreetly placed in the background. It goes to show it sometimes takes just a few more musicians to fill out a track. Doubling back to a sound that’s a bit more rock, Royal Blood nevertheless try to change things up, turning toward different sources of inspiration. Perhaps the real transition album is actually this one and not Typhoons, which, all of a sudden, seems more like a parenthesis. © Chief Brody/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

The "difficult second album" is one of the perennial rock & roll clichés, but few second albums ever were as difficult as Use Your Illusion. Not really conceived as a double album but impossible to separate as individual works, Use Your Illusion is a shining example of a suddenly successful band getting it all wrong and letting its ambitions run wild. Taking nearly three years to complete, the recording of the album was clearly difficult, and tensions between Slash, Izzy Stradlin, and Axl Rose are evident from the start. The two guitarists, particularly Stradlin, are trying to keep the group closer to its hard rock roots, but Rose has pretensions of being Queen and Elton John, which is particularly odd for a notoriously homophobic Midwestern boy. Conceivably, the two aspirations could have been divided between the two records, but instead they are just thrown into the blender -- it's just a coincidence that Use Your Illusion I is a harder-rocking record than II. Stradlin has a stronger presence on I, contributing three of the best songs -- "Dust n' Bones," "You Ain't the First," and "Double Talkin' Jive" -- which help keep the album in Stonesy Aerosmith territory. On the whole, the album is stronger than II, even though there's a fair amount of filler, including a dippy psychedelic collaboration with Alice Cooper and a song that takes its title from the Osmonds' biggest hit. But it also has two ambitious set pieces, "November Rain" and "Coma," which find Rose fulfilling his ambitions, as well as the ferocious, metallic "Perfect Crime" and the original version of the power ballad "Don't Cry." Still, it can be a chore to find the highlights on the record amid the overblown production and endless amounts of filler.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Brandy Clark has had a hand in so many legacy-boosting songs: "Mama's Broken Heart" (Miranda Lambert), "Better Dig Two" (The Band Perry), "Biscuits" (Kacey Musgraves), to name just a few. "I'm a songwriter who also sings," she has said, echoing the ridiculous humility of Karen Carpenter saying she was just a drummer who also happened to sing. Clark's voice is magic—clear and warm and stirring something ineffable, free of "American Idol" frills and trills. While she's made some great records in the past, it took putting herself into the producer hands of that other great Brandi (Carlile, who lately has the Midas touch) to really position her voice front and center in the way it deserves. Tender and beautiful, "Buried" adds only guitar as Clark sings "If you don't want me/ If you're beyond me," her voice rising on each "if," tentative and questioning. It's also an incredible storytelling tool on the spare "Ain't Enough Rocks," about two sisters killing an abuser("a wolf in daddy's clothing") and dumping him in the river. Inspired by a line from Forrest Gump and lit by Derek Trucks' slow-burn guitar, the song is chilling, not giddy like the Chicks' "Goodbye Earl" or celebratory like Hardy's "Wait in the Truck." Carlile has said that hearing these songs "took me back to the first time I heard Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" by Lucinda Wiliams, and it's an apt line to draw. You can hear it in tracks like harmonica-kissed "Best Ones" and heat-hazy "Come Back to Me," with its excellent country chorus. Elsewhere, there are shades of 1980s Rosanne Cash in the epic "Northwest" (an ode to Clark and Carlile's native Washington State) and smooth and easy "All Over Again," which gets dressed up with soulful Honkettes-style harmony. Frequent Carlile collaborators Lucius suavely harmonize on "Tell Her You Don't Love Her." And Clark and Carlile duet on "Dear Insecurity," a piano ballad that pulls out all the stops—weeping strings, heartbreaking melody—but finds Carlile appropriately reining in the knockout power of her own voice. Placing the two perfectly side by side, it's a stunner. And Clark, who knows her way around a bitingly clever verse, gets every little detail right on "She Smoked in the House," a funny yet heartfelt tribute to her grandmother: "She smoked in the house/ Burnt holes in the couch/ Lipstick-circled butts in the ashtray/ She saved in Folders cans/ Swore credit was a scam/ Bought everything at Sears on layaway ... And I hate cigarettes/ But I miss all that smoke." © Shelly Ridenour/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

Those who come from Louisiana always have a good ear for music. Always! Soul, blues, zydeco, rock, jazz, R&B, funk, pop or country, no one native to the New Orleans area worries about labels or genres. There is only good music and bad music. Period. Brittany Guerin, known as Britti, is the latest proof of this. Born in Baton Rouge, the singer, discovered by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, masters every style that resounds within the unique groove of the American South. And as Britti dresses her songs in a certain classicism, she is often reminiscent of classic soul singers that have come before her. Hints of her idols Diana Ross (“Save Me”) and Dolly Parton (“Keep Running”), as well as Norah Jones, Erykah Badu and Amy Winehouse (albeit less dreamy) can be heard on her debut album Hello, I’m Britti., a title that clearly references Dolly Parton’s first album from 1967, Hello, I’m Dolly… But even though the influence is apparent, it never limits Britti’s own inspiration, style or personality. An expert in 20th-century equipment and vintage sounds, Auerbach brings the perfect production, with just the right amount of sepia. He was clearly the one who assembled a team of studio legends around the singer, including bassist Nick Movshon (Amy Winehouse, Wu Tang Clan and a whole selection of albums for the label Daptone), guitarist Tom Bukovac (Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks), and Mike Rojas (Ricky Skaggs, Yola, Miranda Lambert), a wizard on the keys. Supported by this glittering cast,  Hello, I’m Britti. navigates soul vignettes, country pop interludes and R&B daydreams with immense ease and a certain class. Building a solid bridge between New Orleans and Nashville, this Qobuzissime has already declared itself one of the great albums of 2024. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Perhaps a bit more conscious of contemporary soul trends than her previous Philips albums, this is still very characteristic of her mid-'60s work in its eclectic mix of jazz, pop, soul, and some blues and gospel. Hal Mooney directs some large band arrangements for the material on this LP without submerging Simone's essential strengths. The more serious and introspective material is more memorable than the good-natured pop selections here. The highlights are her energetic vocal rendition of the Oscar Brown/Nat Adderley composition "Work Song" and her spiritual composition "Come Ye," on which Simone's inspirational vocals are backed by nothing other than minimal percussion.© Richie Unterberger /TiVo

Soundtrack of the eponymous film directed by Richard Lester (dubbed in French Quatre garçons dans le vent or Four boys in the wind), A Hard Day's Night is a first for The Beatles, as for this third album released at the beginning of summer 1964, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote every song on the disc without any covers! And what songs! Can’t Buy Me Love, A Hard Day's Night, I Should Have Known Better - the level is very high and each hit track shows a rapidly developing musical and artistic identity as the group went from being national treasures to international icons. Every corner of this changing pop façade is fascinating. The irresistible melodies are pulled together by sparkling guitars in an innocent, feel-good tribute to all things melodic. A Hard Day's Night is the epitome of the early periods of that famous 'sound' of the The Beatles. Even in ballads such as And I Love Her, the Fab Four already demonstrate a fascinating musical maturity... A true joy for the listener. ©MZ/Qobuz, Translation/BM

The twin polarities upon which Use Your Illusion has always derived its unique energy from are its absolute bigness and its unparallelled sense of vindictive martyrdom. This deluxe set—which doubles the length of the combined two original albums by including two full live sets—is definitely big, but without the inclusion of additional studio tracks (no demos, b-sides or outtakes) doesn't expand on the original in any meaningful way.  Which means that Illusion is still trapped in its own unique 1991 amber. From its odd sequencing—which alternates between melodramatic grandiosity, midtempo sleaze, and energetic rockers built solely on bitterness and spite—to the stultifying airlessness of the recording (all of the band members cut their parts separately), Illusion still feels like an overdetermined mess that somehow manages to consistently deliver the goods. Sadly though, those goods are steeped in an aimless rage that these days reads less like anti-authoritarianism and more like toxic narcissism. This is an album that gets out a "fuck you" in its first two minutes, and devolves from there into a master class on petty beefing: Whether it's "Right Next Door To Hell," "Get In the Ring," "My World" (ugh), "Back Off Bitch" (ugggghh), or any of the other tracks where poor Axl Rose blames all of his problems on everyone else in the world, the constant airing of tiny grievances is far more deadening than the set's length. All of this made Use Your Illusion a deeply cynical yet completely sincere work. Although it's incredibly indulgent and self-centered, it's almost certainly an accurate representation of the band's perception of the world at the time. Its deep currents of misogyny were both casual and aggressive, but also completely unapologetic, which is both alarming and pathetic. Sounds like a terrible album, right? It most definitely is not. Weirdly conceived and recorded? For sure. Problematic? Yup. Highly individual and completely non-reproducible by any other band on Earth? Absolutely. Even now, some 30 years later, it still manages to yield treasures. Tracks that were overlooked in the overwhelming onslaught of the original release are well worth revisiting; the druggy blues-rock of "Bad Obsession, "Locomotive" with its sideways reworking of "Welcome to the Jungle," "The Garden" (which sounds like a leftover from the first Masters of Reality album with an Alice Cooper rap shoved in the bridge), or the Duff McKagan-penned Johnny Thunders tribute "So Fine" all hold up remarkably well. The live shows are revelatory: The Use Your Illusion tour was as extravagant and overblown as the album(s) it was promoting, running for nine legs over 30 months with nearly 200 dates played.  It was truly one of the last of its kind from an on-the-charts rock 'n' roll band, represented here by a warmup theater gig at the Ritz in New York in May, 1991, and an arena show on the UNLV campus as the tour was running at full speed eight months later. Remarkably, both sets exhibit a warm and generous band giving their absolute all to the fans in attendance, turning the somewhat clinical performances of Illusion's album versions into explosive renditions on stage. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

Disturbed is the archetypal American band, always destined to blow up expectations. They’ve propelled five albums to the top of the American charts and had a good fifteen hits do well in the singles sales. At the dawn of their 13th anniversary, the band are releasing an eighth album that is predictable yet terribly effective. Everything that makes Disturbed who they are is on this album (save for some of their more recent debauchery). Powerful, groovy, mainstream metal with catchy choruses and headbanging riffs… What more could you ask for?The opening tracks are undeniably catchy. ‘Hey You’, ‘Bad Man’ and ‘Divisive’ find the perfect balance between big guitars and an imposing groove, and the sound is enhanced with vocals that aren’t afraid to play into the iconic sounds (such as the “oo-ah, ah, ah”) from the band’s first hits. It’s as if Disturbed want to please their original fans, who were cruelly disappointed by the lackadaisical Evolution released in 2018. They return to their roots here with an album that’s as inspired by neo-metal as it is by the stadium guitars of the 90s. This might seem like an easy option for the band, but it works all the same! Apart from a ballad with Ann Wilson from Heart (‘Don’t Tell Me’, with its dreamy solo and melancholic chorus), the band deliver heavy, moving stuff. Perhaps they repeat themselves a little too often, but they never miss the mark. Have they taken any real risks? Absolutely not. But you don’t go to see a Hollywood blockbuster for the well-devised screenplay; you go to be blown away. A good Disturbed album like Divisive is much the same, and it’ll get you dancing with disconcerting ease. © Chief Brody/Qobuz