Having re-established his reputation with the musically varied, lyrically enraged Freedom, Neil Young returned to being the lead guitarist of Crazy Horse for the musically homogenous, lyrically hopeful Ragged Glory. The album's dominant sound was made by Young's noisy guitar, which bordered on and sometimes slipped over into distortion, while Crazy Horse kept up the songs' bright tempos. Despite the volume, the tunes were catchy, with strong melodies and good choruses, and they were given over to love, humor, and warm reminiscence. They were also platforms for often extended guitar excursions: "Love to Burn" and "Love and Only Love" ran over ten minutes each, and the album as a whole lasted nearly 63 minutes with only ten songs. Much about the record had a retrospective feel -- the first two tracks, "Country Home" and "White Line," were newly recorded versions of songs Young had played with Crazy Horse but never released in the '70s; "Mansion on the Hill," the album's most accessible track, celebrated a place where "psychedelic music fills the air" and "peace and love live there still"; there was a cover of the Premiers' garage rock oldie "Farmer John"; and "Days That Used to Be," in addition to its backward-looking theme, borrowed the melody from Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages" (by way of the Byrds' arrangement), while "Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)" was the folk standard "The Water Is Wide" with new, environmentally aware lyrics. Young was not generally known as an artist who evoked the past this much, but if he could extend his creative rebirth with music this exhilarating, no one was likely to complain.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

Use Your Illusion II is more serious and ambitious than I, but it's also considerably more pretentious. Featuring no less than four songs that run over six minutes, II is heavy on epics, whether it's the charging funk metal of "Locomotive," the antiwar "Civil War," or the multipart "Estranged." As if an attempt to balance the grandiose epics, the record is loaded with an extraordinary amount of filler. "14 Years" may have a lean, Stonesy rhythm, and Duff McKagan's Johnny Thunders homage, "So Fine," may be entertaining, but there's no forgiving the ridiculous "Get in the Ring," where Axl Rose threatens rock journalists by name because they gave him bad reviews; the misinterpretation of Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"; another version of "Don't Cry"; and the bizarre closer, "My World," which probably captures Rose's instability as effectively as the tortured poetry of his epics. That said, there are numerous strengths to Use Your Illusion II; a couple of songs have a nervy energy, and for all their pretensions, the overblown epics are effective, though strangely enough, they reveal notorious homophobe Rose's aspirations of being a cross between Elton John and Freddie Mercury. But the pompous production and poor pacing make the album tiring for anyone who isn't a dedicated listener.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Available exclusively on Qobuz Time waits for no one…right? While times and tastes change, every so often a group fine tunes a durable mix of musical firepower and showbiz glitz and manages to defy the years. This first call, horn section-turned-band, has solved the aging issue with a practical formula: get in a groove, write punchy horn charts, consistently whip up a high-energy funk revue where the jams blend together and viola, you have a band that is now celebrating the almost unheard-of milestone of a half century together! Tower of Power has a tradition of marking every passing decade with a live album and for their 50th anniversary in 2018 they brought the house—17 musicians and a full string section—to the Fox Theater in their original stomping ground of Oakland, CA, and filmed and recorded over 20 tracks in front of a partisan crowd that sounds appropriately stoked. Though more than 60 musicians have passed through this band over the years, the first key to the band's longevity is the continued presence in their signature two trumpet-three saxophone attack of the group's two founding saxophone players, tenorman Emilio Castillo and baritone sax player Stephen "Doc" Kupka. Another essential element to the relentless tempos is the return of original drummer David Garibaldi, who deserves an ironman award for setting a lethal pace throughout. A special treat is that the other half of the band's classic original rhythm section, bassist Francis "Rocco" Prestia, appears on four tracks—his final live recordings with the band before his death in September 2020. Of the guests, it's good to hear SNL band director Lenny Pickett back in the fold and B-3 organist Chester Thompson adds several animated solos. While many of these hard funk horn jams are mixed together without a break, this long set contains many outstanding instrumental highlights. ToP, who have appeared as a backup band on records by artists as diverse as Little Feat, The Meters, John Lee Hooker and Elton John, slide comfortably into supercharged versions of their early hits like 1973's "What is Hip" and near the end, 1972's "You're Still a Young Man." A new tune "Stop" from 2018, vividly keeps the band's sound vital. Working hard to be an asset in a horn band, guitarist Jerry Cortez, makes his presence felt in a solo in "Can't You See (You Doin' Me Wrong)" And the band's best sweet soul number, "You're So Wonderful, So Marvelous," reappears here in a new, near-definitive version. At times, strong-voiced lead singer Marcus Scott's vocal enthusiasm verges on being obnoxious—not every tune needs multiple screams or a "Make some noise!" shout between verses. And while it may be time to retire the band's well-worn JB medley, "Diggin' on James Brown," the smooth professionalism here is terrific and it's impressive that the band manages to keep up a full-bore, whirlwind energy level throughout these 22 tracks. While viewing the accompanying video would undoubtedly add to the enjoyment, this is one fiery soul set: proof the horn-driven funk has a thousand variations and so perhaps…an eternal life. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

Prior to the release of its eighth studio album, Ween claimed that Quebec represented a return to the "browner side" of the band, an assertion that surely warmed the hearts of longtime followers. If you're not sure what the "browner side" is, it's their predilection for weirdness, both creepy and cheerful, that has largely been absent since expert studio-craft entered the picture with Chocolate & Cheese -- a record that had its share of strangeness ("Spinal Meningitis [Got Me Down]" is as unsettling as pop music gets, no matter how darkly funny it is), but surely exhibited their musicality. Deaner and Gener are many things but liars they are not, and Quebec is indeed the strangest album Ween has made since Chocolate & Cheese, but the lessons of 12 Golden Country Greats, The Mollusk, and White Pepper have not been forgotten. This is Pure Guava performed with the precision and cleanliness of White Pepper -- perhaps a mixed blessing for some (those who long for the Scotchguard-fueled madness of The Pod), yet it's a sheer delight for those who patiently sat through the longest period between Ween albums yet. If Quebec has any faults, it's that it is more a collection of songs than a unified record and, sometimes, those songs seem to be included just to get things weird again. Then again, that's kind of the point of Quebec -- it's a clearinghouse of ideas, jokes, experiments, and jams that gains its own momentum through its lack of cohesion, not the least because it feels like they're stretching their legs now that they're on an indie label again (this is their first record for Sanctuary after nearly a decade on Elektra). And make no mistake, this is the least cohesive album they have ever made -- such sprawling affairs as The Pod and Pure Guava were unified by their homespun sonics and adolescent irreverence -- but it really doesn't matter, because they're now working at a level where it matters not if they are consistent, because they now have a worshipping audience who will listen to this as a song-by-song record, eventually coming to appreciate Quebec for what it is: a hell of a fun, rewarding ride. Like on White Pepper, the deepest moments arrive through vaguely psychedelic and proggy moments, but they're offset by light japes like "Hey There Fancy Pants," the warped "Happy Colored Marbles" (which is equal parts bubblegum and heavy prog), the sheer brilliant bizarreness of "So Many People in the Neighborhood" (boasting the welcome return of tape-manipulated voices), and the roaring Motörhead salute "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" that opens the album with guns ablazing. Quebec ends on the other side of the spectrum, with the apocalyptic dirge "If You Could Save Yourself, You'd Save Us All," and between those two extremes pretty much every other emotion is explored (even if tongue is firmly in cheek). There may be no grand scheme, no unifying theme, but after nearly a decade of pseudo-concept albums, that's fine because the format of Quebec lets Ween run wild and indulge in everything the band does best, whether it's freewheeling humor or songcraft, and the results are utterly wonderful. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Croce's debut ABC album was also his commercial breakthrough, topping the charts for five weeks, largely due to the comic, up-tempo title tune, a story song about competing pool hustlers, although Croce also reached the Top 20 with the change-of-pace ballad "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)." Just after his death, ABC issued the track "Time in a Bottle," and a newly ironic message propelled it to number one.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

In the year of his 90th birthday (which he would have celebrated on the 23rd of September 2020 had he not died in 2004), Ray Charles is honoured with a new 90-track compilation box set. Just another compilation like all the rest? Yes and no. Ray Charles is undoubtedly one of the most-compiled artists in the history of music. Published by Tangerine, the label that the musician set up at the end of the 50s to keep the rights to his songs, this box set starts out like all the others: with the post-Atlantic hits, Georgia On My Mind, Hit The Road Jack, One Mint Julep, Busted... These are timeless treasures of proto-soul, but there doesn't seem to be much novelty here. The rest is much more interesting, and much rarer: tracks recorded between the second half of the 1960s and the 2000s, many of which were only released on vinyl, never reissued on CD and until now unavailable on digital. This is the first time that Ray Charles' lesser-known years have been given the compilation treatment in this way, and it is a revelation. In the 90s and 2000s, the production of his songs had a synthetic feel, and they did not age too well. These rarer songs are often hidden gems of southern soul, flavoured with country and wrapped in sumptuous symphonic orchestrations. Whether he is singing the Muppets (It's Ain't Easy Being Green) or Gershwin (Summertime, a duet with Cleo Laine), Ray Charles is always deeply moving. Now, the dream is to hear reissues of all these albums in their entirety. © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz

A strong follow-up to Mariah Carey's self-titled debut album, Emotions puts to rest any concern of a "sophomore slump." The same mix of dance/R&B/ballads that gave Carey's debut such tremendous auditory appeal can be found with equal strength on this release, indicating that placing firm belief in the notion of "Why fool with success?" may, in fact, have its merits. Most notably, the gospel influences of "If It's Over" (with music co-written by Carole King), the yearning cries for a lost love in "Can't Let Go," and the catchy, upbeat title track all serve to send the listener on a musical journey filled with varying emotions. However, the one emotion that prevails upon completion of the album is definitely a positive one: satisfaction.© Ashley S. Battel /TiVo

Philly soul staples Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were in full swing on 1975's Wake Up Everybody. Sporting their trademark lush, string-laden production from Gamble and Huff (who also wrote about half the album's material), the smooth soul outfit delivers a mix of deep soul balladry and uptempo dance tracks. The title track, with its socially relevant messages, is a standout. There is no shortage of fine vocal performances all around, notably from Melvin and from future solo star Teddy Pendergrass.© Anthony Tognazzini /TiVo

Makers of sophisticated dance-pop with more than enough production finesse to intrigue electronica listeners, Röyksopp complete their transition from trip-hop maestros to electronic popsters on their third album, Junior. As on 2005's The Understanding, the melodies here are unmissable, whether there's a star vocal feature or not -- and, to signal their rising status, there are several here. Karin Dreijer of the Knife returns for two songs (including the dizzyingly Moroder-like "This Must Be It"), while Robyn makes her Röyksopp debut on "The Girl and the Robot" (which may or may not be an inter-life form torch song), and Lykke Li also makes a first appearance with "Miss It So Much" (also curiously robotic, with the lyric "My mechanical heart, how it tears me apart"). Besides the stars, Anneli Drecker of Bel Canto does the heavy lifting, lending her heavenly voice to four songs. Overall, the Röyksopp duo remain stellar producers, with a good handle on the three things most important to dance-pop: bewitching melodies, intriguing effects, and enough character to find a fanbase among the non-chart-buying public. (Their old standby, back in force here, is a squelchy synth bassline that creaks and shudders as it cycles through arpeggio after arpeggio). As in the past too, many of the usual stylistic signposts are passed -- Giorgio Moroder, Daft Punk, Air. In the end, Röyksopp remain among the best at middlebrow dance-pop, crafting music that can and will rule the supermarket aisles while still having a shelf-life longer than the canned ham you'll find there.© John Bush /TiVo

In 1990, Neil Young made a resounding comeback. With the grunge tsunami about to devastate Planet Rock, Mr. buckskin jacket was celebrated more than ever by the entire English-speaking indie scene. From Pearl Jam/Nirvana to Dinosaur Jr. /Sonic Youth, all saw him as a kind of godfather of punk, the almighty God of grunge. It was the perfect moment for the Loner to reactivate his loudest combo, Crazy Horse, and release a magnificent album of dirty, uncompromising rock'n'roll. It’s an album full of raw guitars and spine-tingling feedback. Title: Ragged Glory. Recorded on November 13 that year at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, the live Way Down in the Rust Bucket (for die-hards and experts, it’s volume 11.5 of the Performance Series from the Neil Young Archives) documents preparations for the Ragged Glory world tour. It’s an impeccable Cali concert to warm up the new repertoire and revisit some immortal classics (Cinnamon Girl, Don’t Cry No Tears, Sedan Delivery, Like a Hurricane and Cortez the Killer, in a cataclysmic 11-minute version!). Surrounded by drummer Ralph Molina, guitarist Frank Sampedro and bassist Billy Talbot, Neil Young, then 45, was at the top of the raw art form he embodies. This is electric rock’n’roll powered by songs to die for. An essential unreleased archive. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Holly Cole explores a number of styles on her second album, Don't Smoke in Bed, without overreaching her grasp. Adding pop, blues, country, and a French ballad to her standard, low-key jazz, Cole demonstrates that not only does she have impeccable taste, but she has the talent to make all of the material sound convincing.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Alison Krauss & Union Station continue their winning streak on the aptly titled Lonely Runs Both Ways. While they have in some part grown away from their earthy, rollicking bluegrass roots, they've been able to craft a really polished and honest-sounding brand of mid-American adult contemporary that never dips into the schlockiness of mainstream AC or the formula-driven sound of young country. Instead, Krauss, co-songwriter Dan Tyminski, and the Station dig deep into the classic themes of rural American music, polishing them with terrific production, the finest instrumentation, and two of the best voices around. Lonely Runs Both Ways shifts back and forth between Krauss' angelic love songs and Tyminski's earthier tales of rain, roads, and rivers, with one blazing Jerry Douglas-led instrumental entitled "Unionhouse Branch." Banjo player Ron Block takes a vocal turn on his own "I Don't Have to Live This Way," but allows Krauss to take vocal lead on another of his songs (and the album's highlight), "A Living Prayer." This gentle lullaby rocks the album to sleep with its light instrumentation and quietly soaring vocals, appropriately putting the ribbon on the whole tidy package. Although bluegrass purists may long for the days when Krauss rosined up her fiddle with the Cox Family, the pure beauty and craftsmanship of Alison Krauss & Union Station's more commercial sound is undeniable, and somehow they manage to avoid sounding slick and formulaic, still retaining the spark of honesty that seems to be missing from the recordings of so many of their contemporaries. While the group made plenty of longtime fans nervous with its sexed-up 2001 release, New Favorite, Lonely Runs Both Ways should reinstill their faith in the fact that this band is far and away the best contemporary bluegrass act recording today.© Zac Johnson /TiVo

Considering that Southern Accents took so much time and money to complete, finally hitting the stores two and a half years after Long After Dark, it wasn't surprising that Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers decided to release a double live album, Pack Up the Plantation: Live!, a mere eight months after its release. After all, Southern Accents was criticized from many corners for being too slick, too much in Dave Stewart's corner instead of the Heartbreakers', so it made sense to quickly return the focus to the band, showcasing the group as the rockers they are. Pack Up the Plantation does do that, even if it isn't quite the barnburner it should have been. Part of the problem is that the song selection isn't quite as good as it could have been, relying heavily on Southern Accents material, including the weak "It Ain't Nothin' to Me." Then again, the weaker songs and dubious choices are outweighed by a strong performance and neat surprises like a tough "Insider" and covers of "So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star," "Needles and Pins," and "Don't Bring Me Down." That alone makes it worth investigating for dedicated fans, even if it doesn't quite deliver the knockout punch many listeners might have wanted.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

A double-disc set released for the holiday season of 2000, The Essential Bob Dylan is a fine choice for the casual listener that just wants all the songs they know on one collection -- it's Dylan's equivalent of Beatles One. Outside of the remastering and the previously non-LP (and very good) "Things Have Changed," there's nothing here for collectors, but, then again, that's not who this was designed for. This collection is for the listener that wants "Blowin' in the Wind," "Like a Rolling Stone," "All Along the Watchtower," "Quinn the Eskimo," "Lay Lady Lay," and "Tangled Up in Blue" in one tidy place. Yes, it's easy to find great songs missing, but for those casual fans, and for those looking for a fairly comprehensive yet concise entry point, The Essential Bob Dylan comes close to living up to its title.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo