Released three months after Fear of the Dawn, Jack White's latest isn't so much a sequel as a completely different beast. If Fear was his Black Sabbath record, Entering Heaven Alive is his low-key, often acoustic Led Zeppelin era. The "Going to California" and "Over the Hills and Far Away" vibes are strong, and it's kind of wild how much White sounds like Robert Plant on these songs. (The title, White has said, draws biblical inspiration from the story of the prophet Elijah going to heaven without dying.) It's also the "quieter" record, but hardly quiet. "All Along the Way" is medieval folky—delicate and mysterious but not twee; in fact, the bridge majorly flexes muscle. "I've Got You Surrounded (With My Love)" starts off swampy before an electric guitar slices through the thick humidity and the whole thing rolls into a Chicago-style blues-funk strut. Excellent opener "A Tip from You to Me" is a full-on embrace of '70s classic rock and an intriguing mix of Zeppelin, the Band and Leon Russell-style piano. It also encapsulates the stubbornly independent, kinda morose, world-against-me lyrical bent White traffics in more and more: "Ask yourself if you are happy/ Then you cease to be/ That's a tip from you to me … Now I know for sure/ I don't need nobody's help now anymore." "Please God, Don't Tell Anyone" is a gothic, not goth, litany of regrets and dread ("Please God … don't show anyone all the idiot things that I've done"). As on Fear of the Dawn, White bares some surprisingly playful eccentricities. With its fairytale strings and piano, "Help Me Along" channels Yellow Submarine-era Beatles via a funny little melody, like a tugboat bobbing on the waves. "A Tree On Fire From Within" sounds at once ominous and uplifting, cruising on a groovy bass line and piano runs. And "Queen Of The Bees" is a high-drama love song with a swirly garage-psych melody—marimba!—and some of the most impish lyrics White's ever written: "Pass me the bread and the brown sugar too/ And I'll butter your bread … I want to hold you like a sloth hugs a tree."(Perhaps it's a tribute to Black Belles singer Olivia Jean, White's longtime girlfriend who he proposed to and married at a concert earlier this year.) White has admitted, "I was challenging myself to sort of see what I could get away with! If you went back when I was 25 and said, 'Would you write lyrics about buttering toast?' I would say, 'Never, I would never do that!'" Bookending the project, he revives Fear's heavy-as-all-get-out opener "Taking Me Back" here as closer "Taking Me Back (Gently)," a jazzy steampunk version recorded on 1930s equipment. The revamp feels like an Appalachian-ized Charleston and may be totally unnecessary—it's hard to imagine it becoming a live staple—but White certainly leaves you thinking. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

Rage Against the Machine isn't really the only metal band that matters, but their aggressive social and political activism is refreshing, especially in an age of blind (or usually self-directed) rage due to groups like Limp Bizkit, Bush, or Nine Inch Nails. Recorded in less than a month, The Battle of Los Angeles is the most focused album of the band's career, exploding from the gate and rarely letting go the whole way through. Like a few other famous revolution-in-the-head bands (most notably Minor Threat), Rage Against the Machine has always been blessed by the fact that the band is spewing just as much vitriol as its frontman. Any potential problems created here by Zack de la Rocha's one-note delivery and extremist polemics are smoothed over by songs and grooves that make it sound like the revolution really is here, from the single "Guerrilla Radio" to album highlights like "Mic Check," "Calm Like a Bomb," and "Born of a Broken Man." As on the previous two Rage Against the Machine albums, Tom Morello's roster of guitar effects and vicious riffs are nigh overpowering, and are as contagious as the band has ever been since their debut. De la Rocha is best when he has specific targets (like the government or the case against Mumia Abu Jamal), but when he attempts to cover more general societal problems, he falters. If anything less than one of the most talented and fiery bands in the music world were backing him, The Battle of Los Angeles wouldn't be nearly as high-rated as it is.© John Bush /TiVo

With Destroy Erase Improve, Meshuggah shattered any preconceived notions about what death, thrash, and prog metal could be with one astoundingly accurate, calculated blow. The Swedish outfit managed to surpass their startlingly original, if relatively immature debut, Contradictions Collapse, with a record so pure in concept and execution, it borders on genius. Lyrical themes visualize the integration of machines with organisms as humanity's next logical evolutionary step, while the music backing it up is mind-bogglingly technical, polyrhythmic math metal -- the work of highly skilled men with powerful instruments. While the idea looks unwieldy on paper, Meshuggah handles it with a balance of raw guts and sheer brainpower, weaving hardcore-style shouts amongst deceptively (and deviously) simple staccato guitar riffs and insanely precise drumming -- often with all three components acting in different time signatures. Guitarist Fredrik Thordendal adds an element of weirdness with Allan Holdsworth-style neo-jazz fusion leads that serve as melodic oases amidst the jackhammer rhythms. While such bold, challenging arrangements could result in a wank-fest or, even worse, a chaotic mess, Meshuggah carefully synchronizes their bludgeoning instrumentation, embracing minimalism without excess and playing to the power of the song so the listener isn't neck-deep in over-composed indulgences. As a result, "Future Breed Machine," "Suffer in Truth," and "Soul Burn" are mind-bogglingly profound, integrating body, mind, and soul into a violently precise attack, the point being that change can be extraordinarily difficult -- if not maddening -- but the results are transcendent. While industrial metallers Fear Factory have attempted to tackle similar themes, Meshuggah outclasses them on all fronts, proved by the stunning brilliance of Destroy Erase Improve. The album is a bona fide '90s classic, a record boasting ideas so well-balanced -- natural yet clinical, guttural yet intelligent, twisted yet concise -- it muscled simplistic subgenres out of the way and confidently pointed toward the future of metal.© John Serba /TiVo

The six-CD box set Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note fully documents three nights (six complete sets from June 3-5, 1994) by his trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Never mind that this same group has already had ten separate releases since 1983; this box is still well worth getting. The repertoire emphasizes (but is not exclusively) standards, with such songs as "In Your Own Sweet Way," "Now's the Time," "Oleo," "Days of Wine and Roses," and "My Romance" given colorful and at times surprising explorations. Some of the selections are quite lengthy (including a 26-and-a-half-minute version of "Autumn Leaves") and Jarrett's occasional originals are quite welcome; his 28-and-a-half-minute "Desert Sun" reminds one of the pianist's fully improvised Solo Concerts of the 1970s. Throughout the three nights at the Blue Note, the interplay among the musicians is consistently outstanding. Those listeners concerned about Jarrett's tendency to "sing along" with his piano have little to fear for, other than occasional shouts and sighs, he wisely lets his piano do the talking.© Scott Yanow /TiVo

Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium documents the last two shows from Rage Against the Machine, recorded in September 2000 for a planned November release, but canceled when the band broke up, and postponed for the second time one year later after three-fourths of the band formed Audioslave with Chris Cornell. The finished product isn't a very good look at one of the finest metal bands of the '90s, not because the performance quality is lacking but because of mixing problems and the simple problems inherent in transferring the energy of a live concert to record. Featuring highlights from the two shows, recorded September 12th and 13th, this delayed version of Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium also downplays the cover material that comprised the band's last studio album, Renegades, which is a good thing for the fans who agree that Rage performed better with originals than covers. Early on, the band storms through three of its career highlights -- "Killing in the Name," "Bulls on Parade," and "Bullet in the Head" -- with intense performances that capture its combination of heavy metal strut and punk rock disdain. Something is lacking here, though. Zack de la Rocha's vocals are too high in the mix, and the band sounds powerful but surprisingly muddy. Tom Morello's ragged guitar work and siren effects occasionally cut through the fog, but the songs here add little to what fans know of the studio albums. The two covers, cut down from five, add little to the concert; Rage's version of the EPMD classic "I'm Housin'" is a misguided attempt at injecting melodramatic tension into an original that was eerie precisely because the vocal was so nonchalant, and MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" is butchered by de la Rocha, whose attempts to sing the song are flubbed badly.© John Bush /TiVo

Birdy, the stage name of British artist Jasmine van der Bogaerde, had the difficult task of not only releasing her second album, but of releasing her first full album of original material. Two years after her 2011 self-titled debut -- which featured covers from the likes of Postal Service and Fleet Foxes -- Birdy has undertaken the majority of the songwriting credits on Fire Within, with assistance from an assortment of talented songwriters, including Dan Wilson (Adele), Rich Costey (Muse, Arctic Monkeys), and Mumford & Sons pianist Ben Lovett. This melting pot of production and songwriting talent has obviously been beneficial to Birdy's development, and she's had time to mature and develop her own songwriting strengths. There is, however, a feeling throughout that some of her rawness has been lost with the introduction of various writers, who have lent a more expansive, polished, full-band sound to the proceedings as can be heard on the opener "Wings," featuring lush strings and booming drums that are unrecognizable from the poignant cover of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" on her debut. She seems most comfortable in the moments that her commanding vocals and emotive piano playing take center stage, with ballads "Standing in the Way of the Light" and "Words As Weapons" allowed to swell gently and elegantly, while "Strange Birds" takes inspiration from Adele's epic, string-laden sound. But the surprising shift to uplifting, acoustic-strummed numbers "Maybe" and "All About You" provides some wonderful pop melodies in a welcome change of pace from the rest of the material. While the songs on Fire Within display vocal maturity beyond her young years, Birdy's lyrics don't stray far from the same emotions as every other 17-year-old -- love, broken hearts, confusion -- and this honesty feels natural and sincere without becoming cliché. With a flurry of teen internet sensations -- singers such as Gabrielle Aplin and Lauren Aquilina have both made dents in the U.K. charts -- Birdy's second release is a testament to her confidence in her own songwriting talent, and of course, to the fragility and intensity of her pure, unblemished vocals.© Scott Kerr /TiVo

It's surprising, considering the interesting back story on the studio portion of this posthumous Rory Gallagher release, that there are no notes on the actual packaging to chronicle its eventual appearance in 2011, nearly 33 years after being recorded in December 1977. According to the press release though, Gallagher clashed with producer Elliot Mazer about the mix on these dozen tunes and not only shelved the tapes, but broke up his longtime band after the San Francisco session ended. Out went keyboardist Lou Martin and drummer Rod de'Ath, replaced by skinsman Ted McKenna (bassist Gerry McAvoy remained) to strip down the sound for his next phase. About half these songs, such as "Mississippi Sheiks," "Fuel to the Fire," "Brute Force & Ignorance," "Cruise on Out," and "Overnight Bag" appeared on 1978's Photo Finish in different performances. Some, like the closing "Out on the Tiles" and "B Girl," will be new to all but the most ardent Gallagher followers. Shortly before his death, the guitarist apparently mentioned to his brother Donald that he'd like the tapes to be released someday if they were remixed, which is exactly what Donald's son Daniel did in 2011, resulting in these long-lost tracks finally seeing the light of day. Despite Gallagher's reservations, everything here is up to his usual high standard, and he obviously respected the material enough to re-record the bulk of it with a different band and producer later that year. The electric violin on "Mississippi Sheiks" is a new twist on both Gallagher's blues-rock style and the song, which helps differentiate this version from the more famous one that appeared on Photo Finish. Saxophone, played by Martin Fiero, enhances two cuts, also bringing a unique groove, especially to the lumbering "Brute Force and Ignorance." The package includes a December 1979 live show, also recorded in San Francisco, that finds Gallagher and his two-piece in typically fine fettle. They revisit the Taste-era chestnut "Bullfrog Blues" and tear into the rarity "I'm Leavin'" with their notorious paint-peeling approach. He digs back some years for a tough take on "Tattoo'd Lady," but most of the set is derived from his mid- to late-'70s albums Top Priority, Photo Finish, and Calling Card. A breathless "Sea Cruise" closes the set, and is probably a nod to Jerry Lee Lewis, on whose album Gallagher guested. It caps off a roaring, electrifying show that, along with the studio disc, makes a worthwhile addition to any Gallagher lover's collection. Even lacking detailed liner notes, this is a keeper and an important historical document in Rory Gallagher's short but eventful career.© Hal Horowitz /TiVo

John Surman (on baritone, soprano, bass clarinet and synthesizer) meets up with drummer Jack DeJohnette (who also plays congas and electric piano) for this typically introspective and spacy ECM set. Surman's playing (especially on baritone and bass clarinet) during nine group originals is worth hearing, but this is not one of his more essential outings.© Scott Yanow /TiVo