Aaliyah has a pleasant voice, but the real reason the teenager's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, was a hit is the radio-ready production courtesy of R. Kelly, her then-husband. Kelly wraps Aaliyah's voice in layers of lush synths and deep grooves, while adding songs that are frequently better than the ones on his own album, 12 Play. Age may have its share of filler, but its singles are slyly seductive.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Fans of Slowhand will be delighted to learn that the documentary written and produced by Stephen "Scooter" Weintraub and broadcast on American television in 1995 (which includes an interview carried out by Martin Scorsese in which Eric Clapton professes his love for the blues and the great artists of the genre) has been rereleased, along with its soundtrack Nothing But The Blues. Here, we see the British guitarist take to the stage at the Fillmore in San Francisco during the autumn of 1994. He performs his 12th studio album From the Cradle, a pure blues masterpiece that he released in September that same year, following the success of Unplugged (1992). As is often the case with Eric Clapton, the live version differs greatly from the version recorded at Olympic Studios in London, though this was also recorded live. This album also includes a number of unreleased tracks: Blues All Day Long by Jimmy Rogers and Malted Milk by Robert Johnson, as well as the blues classics Every Day I Have The Blues and Forty-Four. The audio tracks from the live performances from the 8th and 9th of November 1994 were previously leaked without permission, so this album is a much more official digital release. Plus, it’s in high definition! © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

Adjectives like "ambitious," "jagged," and "startling" have always defined System of a Down, and their third official full-length is no different. Prerelease, the band described Mezmerize as being the first part -- the first side -- of what's essentially a double album. The records' packaging would even slot together, making the eventual Mezmerize/Hypnotize whole. Appropriately then, there's an intro to System's first new material since 2001's brilliant Toxicity. On "Soldier Side" Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian harmonize as they do throughout the record, and Malakian's guitar has a mournful, Eastern air. But it's just a lull before "B.Y.O.B.," a thrash assault pierced with rabid and incredulous screams. "Why do they always send the poor?" Suddenly the gears switch, and the song stomps in crunchy half-time as its lyrics riff with a sick grin on cultural ignorance. The government's lying, System's saying, but "Blast off!/It's party time." The vocal exploration between Tankian and Malakian on Mezmerize is a thrill -- they spur each other on like a two-headed hardcore hero. Their intermingling voices make "Cigaro" more aggressive, frantic, operatic, and totally bananas; they'd be triumphant over the break in "Violent Pornography" if they weren't spitting out lines like "Choking chicks and sodomy." The fantastic "Pornography" is a rusty shiv of absurdity, another example of System's ability to effectively skewer society with little more than hyper guitar, blistering percussion, and weird turns of phrase. Their volatile mix of righteousness, wordiness, odd meters, and thrash has balanced System's activism since their self-titled debut, making them "unique heavy music" over the much more problematic "unique, heavily political music." And Mezmerize doesn't fail to be unique. "Old School Hollywood" essays the bizarre experience of a celebrity baseball game ("Tony Danza cuts in line!") over keyboard effects from "Beat It" and a brutally simplistic rhythm, "This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on This Song" is more twisted-tongue histrionics and explosive playing, and Tankian and Malakian's harmonies are the catalyst (again!) for making "Revenga" a truly feral epic. System of a Down -- what's another adjective for "awesome"?© Johnny Loftus /TiVo

"I saw my task... was to capture them in their delapidated glory before some more professional producer f--ked them up," Elvis Costello wrote of his role behind the controls for the Pogues' second album, Rum Sodomy & the Lash. One spin of the album proves that Costello accomplished his mission; this album captures all the sweat, fire, and angry joy that was lost in the thin, disembodied recording of the band's debut, and the Pogues sound stronger and tighter without losing a bit of their edge in the process. Rum Sodomy & the Lash also found Shane MacGowan growing steadily as a songwriter; while the debut had its moments, the blazing and bitter roar of the opening track, "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn," made it clear MacGowan had fused the intelligent anger of punk and the sly storytelling of Irish folk as no one had before, and the rent boys' serenade of "The Old Main Drag" and the dazzling, drunken character sketch of "A Pair of Brown Eyes" proved there were plenty of directions where he could take his gifts. And like any good folk group, the Pogues also had a great ear for other people's songs. Bassist Cait O'Riordan's haunting performance of "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day" is simply superb (it must have especially impressed Costello, who would later marry her), and while Shane MacGowan may not have written "Dirty Old Town" or "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda," his wrought, emotionally compelling vocals made them his from then on. Rum Sodomy & the Lash falls just a bit short of being the Pogues' best album, but was the first one to prove that they were a great band, and not just a great idea for a band.© Mark Deming /TiVo

Broken Machine is the sophomore album from British alternative rock outfit Nothing But Thieves. Produced by Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, Foals), the group deliver another collection of hook-filled modern rock numbers. The single "Amsterdam" is included.© Rich Wilson /TiVo

After two albums of muted, mature jazz-inflected pop, the last being an explicit album about death, Sting created his first unapologetically pop album since the Police with Ten Summoner's Tales. The title, a rather awkward pun on his given last name, is significant, since it emphasizes that this album is a collection of songs, without any musical conceits or lyrical concepts tying it together. And, frankly, that's a bit of a relief after the oppressively somber The Soul Cages and the hushed though lovely, Nothing Like the Sun. Sting even loosens up enough to crack jokes, both clever (the winking litany of celebrity pains of "Epilogue [Nothing 'Bout Me]") and condescending (the sneeringly catchy cowboy tale "Love Is Stronger Than Justice [The Munificent Seven]"), and the result is his best solo record. In places, it's easily as pretentious as his earlier work, but that's undercut by writing that hasn't been this sharp and melodic since the Police, plus his most varied set of songs since Synchronicity. True, there isn't a preponderance of flat-out classics -- only the surging opener "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," the understated swing of "It's Probably Me," and the peaceful ballad "Fields of Gold" rank as classics -- but, as an album, Ten Summoner's Tales is more consistently satisfying than anything else in his catalog.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

The surprise success of Beauty and the Beat meant that the Go-Go's were expected to remain hitmakers, so perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise that their second album, Vacation, is a considerably slicker affair than their debut. Sporting a glossy yet alluring finish, the album has an appealing, radio-ready sound, but it's at the expense of the giddy sense of fun that made Beauty and the Beat such a vibrant record. However, Vacation is far from a washout. Although half the album is padded with filler, the very best moments are terrific pop songs, highlighted by the bouncy "This Old Feeling" and the classic title track. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Marking saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis' centennial, the 2023 anthology Cookin' with Jaws and the Queen: The Legendary Prestige Cookbook Albums spotlights the ebulliently earthy collaborations between the tenor icon and organist Shirley Scott. As a key member of the Count Basie band of the 1950's, Davis established his authoritative style as one that could be throaty and gruff one minute and velvet-soft the next. However, it was his work with Scott -- an effusively gifted player steeped in gospel and blues -- from about 1955 to 1960 that cemented their legacies and helped to popularize the soulful, hard-swinging organ trio sound. Culled from several 1958 sessions, Cookbook, Vol. 1, Cookbook, Vol. 2, Cookbook, Vol. 3, and Smokin' (all featured here) remain some of the most potent and memorable of their recordings. They are joined by Scott's band of the time, including drummer Arthur Edgehill, reed player/flautist Jerome Richardson, and bassist George Duvivier. Together, they dig into a mix of standards and some originals that strike a warm balance between Basie-esque swing, bop, groove-oriented R&B, and slow-burning blues. Of the latter, the group's 12-minute take on Johnny Hodges' "In the Kitchen" on Vol. 1 is a standout, as is the steamy, gospel-inflected "The Rev" off Vol. 2. Equally engaging originals pop up along the way, including Davis' frenetic "Have Horn, Will Blow," the sparkling "The Chef", and the trio of food-themed cuts on Vol. 3: "Heat 'n' Serve," "The Goose Hangs High," and "Simmerin'." The standards are just as delicious, with Davis and Scott cutting deep into ballads like "My Old Flame" and "Stardust."© Matt Collar /TiVo

Steve Earle and Nashville had had just about enough of one another once it came time for him to cut his third album in 1988. Earle's first two albums, Guitar Town and Exit 0, had sold well and earned enthusiastic reviews, but his stubborn refusal to make nice, his desire to make more rock-influenced albums, and the faint but clear Leftism in his populist lyrical stance made him no friends at MCA's Nashville offices, and his growing dependence on heroin didn't help matters one bit. Earle was moved to MCA's Los Angeles-based Uni imprint, and he headed to Memphis to cut his third album, Copperhead Road. The result improbably became one of Earle's strongest albums; between its big drum sound, arena-sized guitars, and a swagger that owed more to the Rolling Stones and Guns N' Roses than country's New Traditionalists, Copperhead Road was the unabashed rock & roll album Earle had long threatened to make, but his attitude and personality were strong enough to handle the oversized production, and the songs showed that for all the aural firepower, this was still the same down-home troublemaker from Earle's first two albums. The moonshiner's tale of the title cut, the gunfighter's saga of "The Devil's Right Hand," and the story of two generations of soldiers in "Johnny Come Lately" (with the Pogues sitting in as Earle's backing band) were all tough but compelling narratives rooted in country tradition, and their rock moves updated them without robbing them of their power. And if the songs about love that dominate the album's second half don't have the same immediate impact, "Even When I'm Blue," "You Belong to Me," and "Once You Love" are honest and absorbing reflections of the heart of this dysfunctional romantic. Copperhead Road's production, which occasionally borders on hair metal territory, dates it, but the fire of Earle's performances and the strength of the songs more than compensates, and this album still connects 20 years on: if he had been able to hold himself together and make a few more records this strong, it's hard to imagine how big a star he could have become.© Mark Deming /TiVo

Wilco evolved at remarkable speed after forming in 1994, almost immediately after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. Their debut album, 1995's A.M., was an upbeat set of alt-country that bore few, if any surprises, but 1996's Being There was a major creative departure that moved far beyond the boundaries of roots music. 1999's Summerteeth was initially controversial among fans because it marked the spot where Wilco almost entirely abandoned the country influences that had once been the core of Jeff Tweedy's music. Instead, Tweedy and Jay Bennett, who had gone from being the group's guitarist to manning a massive bank of keyboards and becoming Tweedy's primary collaborator in the studio, concocted a stunning set of off-kilter pop, suggesting a Midwestern fusion of peak-era Brian Wilson and Big Star's 3rd. ("Pieholden Suite" in particular is a lovely homage to the Beach Boys' Smile, then still circulating only in bootleg form.) At the same time, this was brilliantly constructed pop music was also pop with a dark and troubling center; the violence at the heart of "She's a Jar" and "Via Chicago" is too blunt to avoid, and even the brightest moments ("Can't Stand It," "A Shot in the Arm," and "When You Wake Up Feeling Old") sound and feel emotionally out of balance, giving this a complicated emotional push-and-pull that reinforces the resonance of the performances. (The album's most lovable pop tune, "Candyfloss," significantly comes near the end of the set, bookended after a 20-second burst of silence.) While Wilco was inarguably Jeff Tweedy's band at this point, Summerteeth was the apex of his collaboration with Jay Bennett, even more so than 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and while John Stirratt and Ken Coomer were their strong, reliable selves as a rhythm section, it's Bennett's keyboards and production smarts that give life to a set of great, uncompromising songs. If Being There was the album where Jeff Tweedy embraced all that was possible with Wilco, Summerteeth was where he closed the door on the past and boldly stepped into a very different future.© Mark Deming /TiVo

The differences in Robert Cray albums are subtle but noticeable to fans of the veteran soul-bluesman. He retains the same backing trio on this 2012 release as on 2009's studio disc, with the only major difference in personnel being the addition of noted roots producer Kevin Shirley. Lyrically detailed story ballads about the trials and tribulations of love, with an emphasis on broken relationships, remain his strong suit as song titles such as "Sadder Days," "Fix This," "I'll Always Remember You," "Won't Be Coming Home," and even the album's title imply. Yet there are enough change-ups and excellent songs here to keep the pace varied. Horns that Cray hasn't utilized in a while make a welcome appearance on a few key tunes such as the big-band swing of "I'll Always Remember You" (which seems like a tribute to Ray Charles) and the terrifically melodic, midtempo "Blues Get Off My Shoulder." A little Chuck Berry rocking in the snappy and humorous "Side Dish" shows that this band can crank up the energy when the occasion calls for it. Even if their brand of rock & roll is a little on the clean-cut side, the track has a rawness and good-time feeling that is typically not associated with Cray. But the album's emotional and philosophical centerpiece is the nearly nine-minute "I'm Done Cryin'." This searing, contemporary portrait is of a male protagonist who has lost his home and his job to outsourcing but retains his dignity "because I'm still a man." Shirley adds understated but beautifully arranged strings to emphasize the sheer desperation of the situation then strips them away, leaving just Cray's soulful voice. Add one of the guitarist's patented terse, quivering solos that feels like a crying vocal, and you get a tour de force track that is one of the highlights of Cray's bulging catalog. And with 15 previous albums, that's saying plenty. The description of how a wrecked marriage is revealed in the empty residence a couple left behind in "Great Big Old House" is prime Cray, too, and a worthy successor to any of his other popular busted matrimony songs. Even if the guitarist has worked this terrain plenty of times before, he is still refining and even improving the template. That makes this another quality entry in a catalog of albums over a three-decade-and-counting-year career that has remarkably few weak spots.© Hal Horowitz /TiVo

After the demise of the much-beloved Uncle Tupelo in 1994, Jeff Tweedy regrouped with three of his four bandmates as Wilco and promptly cut A.M., a debut that sounded like he had been stashing a bunch of his best songs. It was followed by the expansive and successful Being There which dropped the alt-countryisms for a more mainstream rock tone, indicating aims for a larger canvas. Those ambitions further morphed into experimental impulses on Wilco’s third album, summerteeth, signaling a band transcending genre and turning consequential. Now remastered and re-released with a selection of demos, outtakes, alternative tracks and an entire 1999 live show, summerteeth's internal churn—a pain and passion struggle between happy pop music and troubled, downbeat lyrics—begins immediately with the tuneful but bleak "Can't Stand It," where "Our prayers will never be answered again." Uncomfortable autobiography mixes with gorgeous baroque pop in "She's a Jar," where Tweedy ends with, "A pretty war/ With feelings hid/ She begs me not to hit her." Even the violins and rising chords of "A Shot in the Arm," don't hold any joy, as he wishes for "Something in my veins bloodier than blood." It would all be just scary narcissism if it wasn't for exuberant melodies like "Pieholden Suite" where a banjo flickers through before a blast of Beatles-y brass, or the jumpy Anglo-pop of "ELT." The light-dark dichotomy persists even in the album's hookiest moment, the Magical Mystery Tour-esque outtake, "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again)" where "love’s a weed" and "a kiss is all we need," but in the end, "I'm a bomb regardless." summerteeth's musical success owes much to multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett's production and arrangement skills, and his added textures of Moog synthesizer, Farfisa organ, lap steel, drums and tambourine. In the post-Max Johnston and Ken Coomer, pre-Nils Cline and Pat Sansone version of Wilco, Bennett supplied the voltage that brought Tweedy's melodic though murky material to life. Never the excruciating struggle that the next album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot became, these are Bennett's finest moments on record, and along with Mitch Easter, he contributed to summerteeth's more defined mix and heightened sonics. While the demos are not revelatory being mostly guitar and voice—although Tweedy's dry, low tone on "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again)" is ominous—some of the alternates are choice, like the shrieking rant "Viking Dan." A funky, slow Fender Rhodes-led version of "Summer Teeth" is lounge jazz. The stripped down alternate take of "ELT" is the equal of the released take. And the "We're Just Friends / Yee Haw" soundcheck is a full tilt goof. The well-recorded live show is a telling snapshot of a band known for its roaring virtuosic performances, as they play most of their first three albums, delivering an especially strong "Passenger Side", "I Got You (At The End of the Century)" and "California Stars." A charismatic peek into an innovative, inspiring rock band evolving from eager contender to conflicted champion. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

Released to massive European acclaim, Machine Head's full-length debut, Burn My Eyes, successfully bridges the gap between second-generation Bay Area thrash (Testament, Death Angel, etc.) and the modern-day Pantera school of hard knocks. Produced by underground stalwart Colin Richardson, Burn My Eyes is a bone-shattering exercise in brutality that gives Pantera's classic, Vulgar Display of Power, a good run for its money. A veteran of the Bay Area thrash scene, guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn emerges as Machine Head's anchor. As guitar player of the riff-heavy yet vocally challenged band Vio-Lence, Flynn had already distinguished himself as a riff-making machine on tracks like "Serial Killer" and "Kill on Command." Interestingly, with the release of Burn My Eyes, every effort was made to cover up Flynn's involvement with his ex-bandmates. Looking back at it, it's easy to understand why. Because of the quick word of mouth in the underground metal community, comparisons to his ex-bandmates would have limited the impact of the record, possibly thwarting its merits. If Vio-Lence held promise, Machine Head was a different proposition all together. Anthems like "Davidian" are monstrous slabs of metal that, by far, eclipse anything Flynn had previously done. Nevertheless, Burn My Eyes is a classic debut and one that helped launch a huge European groundswell for the band that would result in a tour as Slayer's support act. A few months later, the Head would return and headline the very same venues in which they'd opened for Slayer.© John Franck /TiVo

Live in Extraordinary Times is a compilation of tracks recorded on James' 2018/2019 world tour, which took in 14 different countries over 86 nights. The album features several fan favorites as well as tracks from their 2018 album, Living in Extraordinary Times.© Rich Wilson /TiVo