The stalwart British rockers' sixth full-length effort, Like a House on Fire sees Asking Alexandria continuing to distance themselves from the screamo/metalcore scene in which they were forged. While much of the uncompromising heaviness remains, that aggression is tempered by a willingness to measure the sonic possibilities of melody with a much longer yardstick than in the past. Bursting at the seams with 15 tracks, Like a House on Fire could have benefitted from some pruning, since it's as protracted as it is sonically and stylistically diverse. Commencing with the titular cut, a stadium-filling anti-anthem that effectively imbues the group's trademark power and melodic angst with a radio-ready modern rock sheen, the LP cycles through a multitude of genres before coming to rest on the sugary and sleazy electro-pop closer "Lorazepam." A predilection towards electronics has always been in the band's wheelhouse, but Like a House on Fire is positively voltaic, with every palm-muted riff and beefy breakdown being carried along by a cavalcade of loops, programmed beats, and moody synth pads. Pizzicato digital string plucks accompany the verses of the otherwise hulking "One Turns to None," opaque tendrils of contemporary R&B weave themselves into "It's Not Me (It's You)" and "Here's to Starting Over," and token power ballad "I Don't Need You" -- a duet with social media star Grace Grundy -- even flirts with modern country. Still, there are plenty of muscular and grandiose moments to be found here, many of which ("Down to Hell," "Antisocialist, The Violence") retain the scope and seismic heft of the group's earlier works. That said, no longer wading into the mainstream, Asking Alexandria have officially gone swimming, and it'll be up to longtime fans to decide whether or not the water is fine or not.© James Christopher Monger /TiVo

"2 Man Show," the epilogue of Timbaland Presents Shock Value, involves 24 men and women. The title refers to Timbaland and Elton John. John, despite being Elton John, doesn't sing on the song, but he does play some loose piano. Most of the vocals are left to Timbaland, who improvises with a nonstop series of directions, comments, and grunts. He participates in some nonchalant call-and-response singing as well. It's a relaxed way to close an exhausting album, and it's also an odd way to utilize Elton John and a 19-person choir. While the song is an extreme example, it does illustrate the inexplicable and intermittently unpredictable nature of an album that would be more accurately titled Timbaland Presents Slight Confusion or Timbaland Presents an Uneven Mess. The reigning producer of R&B and rap since 1996, the year of Ginuwine's "Pony" and Aaliyah's "If Your Girl Only Knew," Timbaland has amassed piles of ingenious and commercially successful releases. Due to his work on Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" and Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack," two of the least-avoidable pop singles released in 2006, his profile has never been higher. Consequentially, there has never been more anticipation for one of his own albums. His three albums with sidekick Magoo, in addition to the solo-proper Tim's Bio, each had measurable amounts of hype around their release dates. A new level of visibility, combined with a lot of eclectic star power and a couple silly beefs, has turned Shock Value into a major release.If you haven't read any interviews with Tim from the past few years, or if you missed some of the more telling hints, such as his work on Brandy's Coldplay-sampling "Should I Go," there could be some shock involved while listening to the album for the first time. Although he has continued to contribute beats for MCs -- Young Jeezy's "3 a.m.," Snoop Dogg's "Get a Light," and Redman's "Put It Down" are a few recent examples -- Tim has frequently said that he is bored with rap and into rock, and here he takes the opportunity to reach beyond R&B, rap, and straight-up pop. "Throw It on Me," with the Hives (a good-time garage rock band from Sweden), is a frisky, careening number that must have taken all of ten minutes to put together. A remix of "Apologize," a ballad by OneRepublic (a band that might soundtrack the next season of Grey's Anatomy, or the imaginary annex between Abercrombie & Fitch and The Gap), incorporates an unobtrusive Timbaland beat and some distant vocal accents. With She Wants Revenge (a bad-time faux-British synth duo) and Fall Out Boy (you probably know about them), Tim is an interloper who takes part in songs that wouldn't be worse off without his presence. It's most jarring to hear him as a temporary member of the typically sullen She Wants Revenge, where his downcast verses give way to Justin Warfield's heavily affected drone. The four songs involving the rockers are the only ones that have the potential to shock, and they're bundled together during the last quarter of the album, so it's not as if they're even being emphasized. Otherwise, Shock Value is similar in setup to Diddy's certifiably flawed and maliciously (and/or unjustly) panned Press Play, a sprawling but often pleasurable album involving so many MCs, singers, and studio hands that a head count would rival that of the sessions for "We Are the World." Tim, along with super-talented associates Danja and Keri Hilson, are some of the common links between the two albums, which share a similar balance between rap tracks heavy on mostly empty grandstanding, pop-R&B songs with male-female exchanges, and a couple club-oriented surprises that go outside the norms of modern rap and R&B. So, in a number of ways, Shock Value can be viewed a sister release to the Diddy album.Like Press Play, many of the album's key performances come from the females. Hilson, a songwriter, arranger, and singer who has also had a hand in Mary J. Blige's "Take Me as I Am" and Omarion's "Ice Box," is central to three of the album's most memorable songs. "Miscommunication" is the greatest of the three, where she delivers one of the most advanced hooks of the last several years. She took pity on a pathetic fellow (played by a temporarily humble-ish Timbaland), was repaid with a stifling relationship that went too far, and comes up with a disarming way of saying "You're killing me." A completely unnecessary ear-sore of a closing verse from Tim's brother Sebastian does little to harm its effect."Bounce," one of Tim's toughest and most sinister beats, is offset by comically over-the-top wordplay from Missy Elliott and Dr. Dre, along with an equally ridiculous appearance from Justin Timberlake ("Like your ass had the hiccups/Like we was riding in my pickup"). Missy outdoes the guys, entering with "Hold up, hell naw/Like Britney Spears, I wear no draws." The rest of the verse is Missy at her lewd best, nothing new yet still 100 percent capable of keeping the testosterone level in check. Even though it's very possible that the involved recorded their parts in different studios, you can imagine them in fits of laughter while trying to top one another's outrageousness. The track is where the blast had by Tim and company, detectable throughout the majority of the album (a saving grace), is at its most contagious. When the album doesn't sound like a blast is being had, Tim's rhymes are usually within close proximity. They tend to leave a stale aftertaste. As with Jay-Z's Kingdom Come, listening to unrelatable boasts about extreme commercial and financial successes can get tiresome fast, especially when self-satisfaction wipes out any sense of hunger or passion. He brags about making half a million for a beat, and then, a few tracks later, the figure is a quarter of a million. Either he makes too much money to count, or his ghostwriters didn't compare notes. And while he is a competent enough MC to hang with the guest verses -- including low-wattage turns from 50 Cent and Tony Yayo, along with relatively engaging appearances from Attitude, D.O.E., and Magoo -- he's much more effective when restricting himself to incidental goading and singing that merely glides over the beat.Beyond the Elton John feature, the flat-out puzzling moments are limited, yet they certainly add to the album's lack of sturdiness. Bearing a heavy resemblance to Ciara's "Promise," "Fantasy" was produced by Walter "Lil' Walt" Millsap with Boss Beats and bears no credit to Timbaland. It's also the only song on the album where vocals are provided by one person. "Release," strangely placed third on the album -- just after lead single "Give It to Me" -- is a tossed-off house track, just as much of a Basement Jaxx rip as Basement Jaxx's own "U Can't Stop Me" (off 1999's Remedy) is a rip of Tim and Missy Elliott's earlier hits together.Shock Value would be less of a hot-and-cold affair with a couple more songs in the vein of "Give It to Me." A leisurely club track full of swagger, it is immediate enough to connect on the first listen, while Tim also sneaks in enough subtle layers to make it increasingly insidious with each play. This song isn't lacking bizarreness or complications, either. Furtado's words are benign enough, but it's evident that Timberlake is taking an ignorant shot at Prince, while Timbaland (despite claiming that he is not targeting one specific person) is most likely referring to one-man beat factory slash opportunist Scott Storch. These are two of the most pointless beefs in the history of pointless beefs, so the details needn't be recounted. It is worth noting, however, that "Give It to Me" provoked Storch to record a laughably inept response track. Regardless of Shock Value's missteps, Tim's track record says all that is necessary.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

Following the 2014 mixtape Soundtrack to a Death and numerous singles, including a few viral hits, British producer Mura Masa (Alex Crossan) released his self-titled debut album in 2017, when he was all of 21 years old. The release already seems like a virtual greatest-hits compendium, with numerous singles dating back to 2015 included, and it's loaded with guest stars -- everyone from A$AP Rocky to Jamie Lidell to Damon Albarn make appearances. Musically, Crossan's work is a mix of various "future" styles (bass music, trap, house, etc.), and he often combines light, sunny, island-like tones with lovesick, melancholy themes. His production style is expressive and detailed yet a bit restrained, rather than going for over the top maximalism at every opportunity. "Messy Love" opens the album with wavy, offbeat percussive tones (halfway between steel drums and chimes) and hand claps, along with Crossan's own Auto-Tune-drenched vocals. After the requisite choppy vocals form the track's bridge, a watery, bubbly guitar solo brings the track to a close. "Love$ick," easily Crossan's calling card to date, starts off with a bumping hip-hop beat and lyrics by A$AP Rocky, who doesn't quite steal the show. Instead, the track blooms into steel pan drumming and pitched-up vocals pleading "I need you/I want you," leaning hard on the song's sentiment of heartache. Charli XCX provides one of the album's most bubblegummy moments with the thumb piano-laced dance-pop tune "1 Night," but much more affecting is "What If I Go?," featuring Crossan's longtime collaborator (and relative unknown) Bonzai. As with "Love$ick," the heartfelt lyrics build up the song's sentiments, but then she steps out of the way and lets Crossan's sample wizardry provide the emotional climax. "Firefly" is another highlight, with Nao sweetly pleading "Just say yes, I'd rather have everything than nothing at all" over a just-right, not overcooked tropical dance beat. "Second 2 None" is a slow burner featuring Christine and the Queens, starting out slow and shadowy, but occasionally sneak attacking with some Amen breaks. Not every track leaves a major impression, but Mura Masa is still a quality effort from an ambitious, inventive producer.© Paul Simpson /TiVo

When Marvin Gaye was pressured to make a commercial dance record, the singer responded with "Got to Give It Up," which went to the top of the Hot 100. Thirty-five years later, Robin Thicke -- he of the perpetual Marvin fixation -- offhandedly recorded "Blurred Lines," musically based on that 1977 hit, with producer Pharrell. Thicke wasn't gunning for number one, but a deliberately sexist video further polarized opinions and pushed the song to that spot -- a very rare achievement for a 2013 single within the marginalized genre of R&B. Ironically, the album of the same title also contains a motley assortment of high-gloss dance tracks seemingly made for pop-chart contention. "Take It Easy on Me" (produced by Timbaland and J-Roc), "Give It 2 U" (Dr. Luke and Cirkut), "Feel Good" (will.i.am), and the deluxe edition bonus cut "Pressure" (the Cataracs) are nothing like the title track's undeniable disco-funk groove, and not one of them is among Thicke's best. They do, however, lack desperation and help convey the album's prevailing casual, lighthearted feel. Several other songs are more rooted in soul but are just as spirited, if not as moving as 2008's "Magic." Best of all is career highlight "Ooo La La," slick and perfectly crafted -- a 1979/1980 smooth soul throwback featuring some of Thicke's finest melodies and falsetto lines. Tucked near the end, after all the revelry, is "4 the Rest of My Life." A great soul ballad filled with personal flashbacks, like the time young Robin serenaded then-future wife Paula Patton with a Jodeci song, it's nonetheless relatable enough to be played at as many wedding receptions as "Blurred Lines." It adds a little something for longtime fans who might not be all that receptive to the glitzy synthesizers and pounding bass drums.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

His first record was the hottest rap debut of 2001 (despite an ominous release date: 9/11), and Fabolous consolidated his commercial clout, if not his artistic importance, with a safe sophomore record called Street Dreams. There's little doubt that Fabolous has rapping talents to match his name, with the smoothest flow of any East Coaster and dozens of great ideas. To capitalize on what made Ghetto Fabolous such a big hit, Street Dreams has plenty of club tracks ("Can't Let You Go," and "Trade It All, Pt. 2" featuring P. Diddy) and a few that advertise his hardcore credentials ("Not Give a F***," "Up on Things" featuring Snoop Dogg, "Keepin It Gangsta" with Styles and Jadakiss). Elsewhere he dismisses a raft of female admirers ("Call Me," "Into You" featuring Ashanti) and shows a level of general disinterest to rival anyone with a major-label deal. One of the singles, "This Is My Party," is one of the worst tracks on the album, a lame mid-tempo grind with a one-note chorus featuring Fabolous intoning "This is my party, so get fly if you like to" over and over. The productions are much better than the songs, with good work coming from Tone & Poke, Timbaland, and executive producers DJ Clue and Duro.© John Bush /TiVo

The single-disc distillation of the epic triple-disc box Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones naturally pales in comparison to its parent set, which thrives on the kinds of details and detours that can't be captured in a tight 16-track disc. Where the box overspills with dancefloor smashes and club staples, this condensed Finally Enough Love focuses on edits and remixes of big pop hits. The concentration means that Madonna's 1980s and '90s singles occupy a greater percentage of space than they did on 50 Number Ones, yet the concentration on dance tracks and mixes still makes this version of Finally Enough Love feel fresh: this presents a portrait of Madonna as a dance artist, not a pop star, and it's a useful and instructive comp for that very reason.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Marvin Gaye left behind one of the greatest legacies in American pop music, a fascinating and irresistible string of chart hits and stunning album-long suites that explored the sacred/secular divide in his own soul, and by extension, the philosophical divide in the American psyche, and he did it all with grace, ease, assurance, and style. This double-disc anthology hits the obvious high points, but also is deep enough to include some rarities (like the wonderful What's Going On footnote song "Where Are We Going?"), live tracks (his famous live performance of "Distant Lover" from an Oakland concert is included), a generous selection of his classic duets with Tammi Terrell, and his late, last burst of brilliance, 1982's "Sexual Healing." There are countless Marvin Gaye compilations on the market, but Gold does as well a job as any of them at skating across the high points of his career. The thing to remember, though, is that the water is deep, and listeners owe it to themselves to eventually dive down past these kinds of "greatest hits" collections into the full sweep of this brilliant singer's body of work. [The track listing on Gold is identical to that on the 2001 Motown compilation The Very Best of Marvin Gaye.]© Steve Leggett /TiVo

Ain't It Funky Now! is the third of three thematically organized Grant Green compilations in the Blue Note Original Jam Master Series -- all of which focus on his final period recording for the label, between 1969 and 1972. Green was deeply interested in popular Black music in his late period and that is reflected in these seven cuts taken from six different albums. The title track, of course, is the a read of the James Brown classic and also features Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Idris Muhammad on drums, among others. At nearly ten minutes, it's a deep-stretch groove piece with Green's guitar playing gritty and dirty center-stage. Other highlights include "Ease Back," a Meters cover from Green's Carryin' On outing, and a nasty version of the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing," with Chuck Rainey and Muhammad in the rhythm section. The set closes with a decidedly non-funky yet very soulful cover of the Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly Wow" with Wilton Felder on bass, Hall Bobby Porter on congas, and fine soprano and tenor work from Claude Bartee, Jr.. Most Green-o-philes will have all this stuff, but these comps are cheap and sequenced wonderfully. © Thom Jurek /TiVo

"2 Man Show," the epilogue of Timbaland Presents Shock Value, involves 24 men and women. The title refers to Timbaland and Elton John. John, despite being Elton John, doesn't sing on the song, but he does play some loose piano. Most of the vocals are left to Timbaland, who improvises with a nonstop series of directions, comments, and grunts. He participates in some nonchalant call-and-response singing as well. It's a relaxed way to close an exhausting album, and it's also an odd way to utilize Elton John and a 19-person choir. While the song is an extreme example, it does illustrate the inexplicable and intermittently unpredictable nature of an album that would be more accurately titled Timbaland Presents Slight Confusion or Timbaland Presents an Uneven Mess. The reigning producer of R&B and rap since 1996, the year of Ginuwine's "Pony" and Aaliyah's "If Your Girl Only Knew," Timbaland has amassed piles of ingenious and commercially successful releases. Due to his work on Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" and Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack," two of the least-avoidable pop singles released in 2006, his profile has never been higher. Consequentially, there has never been more anticipation for one of his own albums. His three albums with sidekick Magoo, in addition to the solo-proper Tim's Bio, each had measurable amounts of hype around their release dates. A new level of visibility, combined with a lot of eclectic star power and a couple silly beefs, has turned Shock Value into a major release.If you haven't read any interviews with Tim from the past few years, or if you missed some of the more telling hints, such as his work on Brandy's Coldplay-sampling "Should I Go," there could be some shock involved while listening to the album for the first time. Although he has continued to contribute beats for MCs -- Young Jeezy's "3 a.m.," Snoop Dogg's "Get a Light," and Redman's "Put It Down" are a few recent examples -- Tim has frequently said that he is bored with rap and into rock, and here he takes the opportunity to reach beyond R&B, rap, and straight-up pop. "Throw It on Me," with the Hives (a good-time garage rock band from Sweden), is a frisky, careening number that must have taken all of ten minutes to put together. A remix of "Apologize," a ballad by OneRepublic (a band that might soundtrack the next season of Grey's Anatomy, or the imaginary annex between Abercrombie & Fitch and The Gap), incorporates an unobtrusive Timbaland beat and some distant vocal accents. With She Wants Revenge (a bad-time faux-British synth duo) and Fall Out Boy (you probably know about them), Tim is an interloper who takes part in songs that wouldn't be worse off without his presence. It's most jarring to hear him as a temporary member of the typically sullen She Wants Revenge, where his downcast verses give way to Justin Warfield's heavily affected drone. The four songs involving the rockers are the only ones that have the potential to shock, and they're bundled together during the last quarter of the album, so it's not as if they're even being emphasized. Otherwise, Shock Value is similar in setup to Diddy's certifiably flawed and maliciously (and/or unjustly) panned Press Play, a sprawling but often pleasurable album involving so many MCs, singers, and studio hands that a head count would rival that of the sessions for "We Are the World." Tim, along with super-talented associates Danja and Keri Hilson, are some of the common links between the two albums, which share a similar balance between rap tracks heavy on mostly empty grandstanding, pop-R&B songs with male-female exchanges, and a couple club-oriented surprises that go outside the norms of modern rap and R&B. So, in a number of ways, Shock Value can be viewed a sister release to the Diddy album.Like Press Play, many of the album's key performances come from the females. Hilson, a songwriter, arranger, and singer who has also had a hand in Mary J. Blige's "Take Me as I Am" and Omarion's "Ice Box," is central to three of the album's most memorable songs. "Miscommunication" is the greatest of the three, where she delivers one of the most advanced hooks of the last several years. She took pity on a pathetic fellow (played by a temporarily humble-ish Timbaland), was repaid with a stifling relationship that went too far, and comes up with a disarming way of saying "You're killing me." A completely unnecessary ear-sore of a closing verse from Tim's brother Sebastian does little to harm its effect."Bounce," one of Tim's toughest and most sinister beats, is offset by comically over-the-top wordplay from Missy Elliott and Dr. Dre, along with an equally ridiculous appearance from Justin Timberlake ("Like your ass had the hiccups/Like we was riding in my pickup"). Missy outdoes the guys, entering with "Hold up, hell naw/Like Britney Spears, I wear no draws." The rest of the verse is Missy at her lewd best, nothing new yet still 100 percent capable of keeping the testosterone level in check. Even though it's very possible that the involved recorded their parts in different studios, you can imagine them in fits of laughter while trying to top one another's outrageousness. The track is where the blast had by Tim and company, detectable throughout the majority of the album (a saving grace), is at its most contagious. When the album doesn't sound like a blast is being had, Tim's rhymes are usually within close proximity. They tend to leave a stale aftertaste. As with Jay-Z's Kingdom Come, listening to unrelatable boasts about extreme commercial and financial successes can get tiresome fast, especially when self-satisfaction wipes out any sense of hunger or passion. He brags about making half a million for a beat, and then, a few tracks later, the figure is a quarter of a million. Either he makes too much money to count, or his ghostwriters didn't compare notes. And while he is a competent enough MC to hang with the guest verses -- including low-wattage turns from 50 Cent and Tony Yayo, along with relatively engaging appearances from Attitude, D.O.E., and Magoo -- he's much more effective when restricting himself to incidental goading and singing that merely glides over the beat.Beyond the Elton John feature, the flat-out puzzling moments are limited, yet they certainly add to the album's lack of sturdiness. Bearing a heavy resemblance to Ciara's "Promise," "Fantasy" was produced by Walter "Lil' Walt" Millsap with Boss Beats and bears no credit to Timbaland. It's also the only song on the album where vocals are provided by one person. "Release," strangely placed third on the album -- just after lead single "Give It to Me" -- is a tossed-off house track, just as much of a Basement Jaxx rip as Basement Jaxx's own "U Can't Stop Me" (off 1999's Remedy) is a rip of Tim and Missy Elliott's earlier hits together.Shock Value would be less of a hot-and-cold affair with a couple more songs in the vein of "Give It to Me." A leisurely club track full of swagger, it is immediate enough to connect on the first listen, while Tim also sneaks in enough subtle layers to make it increasingly insidious with each play. This song isn't lacking bizarreness or complications, either. Furtado's words are benign enough, but it's evident that Timberlake is taking an ignorant shot at Prince, while Timbaland (despite claiming that he is not targeting one specific person) is most likely referring to one-man beat factory slash opportunist Scott Storch. These are two of the most pointless beefs in the history of pointless beefs, so the details needn't be recounted. It is worth noting, however, that "Give It to Me" provoked Storch to record a laughably inept response track. Regardless of Shock Value's missteps, Tim's track record says all that is necessary.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

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The single-disc distillation of the epic triple-disc box Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones naturally pales in comparison to its parent set, which thrives on the kinds of details and detours that can't be captured in a tight 16-track disc. Where the box overspills with dancefloor smashes and club staples, this condensed Finally Enough Love focuses on edits and remixes of big pop hits. The concentration means that Madonna's 1980s and '90s singles occupy a greater percentage of space than they did on 50 Number Ones, yet the concentration on dance tracks and mixes still makes this version of Finally Enough Love feel fresh: this presents a portrait of Madonna as a dance artist, not a pop star, and it's a useful and instructive comp for that very reason.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Long an icon among jazz musicians and fans alike, this album samples tunes from the six albums Blossom Dearie made for Norman Granz' Verve label during the period 1956 to 1960. Dearie doesn't have a particularly big voice, but, like a will-o-wisp, she skirts through her material in a whispery, smoky tone that demands and receives attention from her audience, whether that audience be in a club or concert, or listening to one of her many albums. She exudes a coy sexiness that adds an aura to her interpretations few other vocal artists have been able to match. This album is loaded with Dearie gems. Her classic rendition of "Once Upon a Summertime" with Mundel Lowe, Ray Brown, and Ed Thigpen typifies her ability to avoid the routine by turning the song she is performing into an intimate storytelling session. "Someone to Watch Over Me" comes across like a waif begging to be cuddled against the world's trials and tribulations, made even more endearing by the slight tremor in Dearie's voice. Her ability to get away with an unusual interpretation of a well-worn standard comes through on her slow, languorous rendition of "Tea for Two" with her piano inserting exclamation points at the right places, helping her to make her musical point. Her renowned ability to expand her interpretative ability by singing in French is shown off in "I Won't Dance." Dearie was also equally at home with less familiar material. In fact, she excels at delivering the lesser-performed tunes, infusing a life into them others seem unable to achieve. Along these lines, this album treats us to such melodies as "Little Jazz Bird" (which Dearie pretty much has made her own), "Bang Goes the Drum," and on her own "Dearie's Blues," showcasing her facility for combining wordless and regular singing the same line of lyric. All of the cuts but one on the album are small group sessions with the artist doing her own work on piano, thus avoiding the task of coming up with a good accompanist which most vocalists must cope with. The one cut with an orchestra, led by Russ Garcia, confirms that Dearie, with her light voice, is more effective with a small group. For those who want to sample Dearie's work, this compilation should fill the bill. And for her dyed-in-the-wool fans, this album allows them to visit highlights of her work with Verve on a single CD.© Dave Nathan /TiVo

461 Ocean Boulevard was Eric Clapton's comeback, the record that saw him returning from a struggle with heroin addiction to reclaim his position as one of the world's biggest rock stars. The 1974 album forms the core of Give Me Strength: The 1974/1975 Recordings, a massive five-CD/one-BluRay box set documenting Clapton's mid-'70s recordings. The first CD is dedicated to an expanded version of 461 Ocean Boulevard -- an expansion that is different than the 2004 double-disc Deluxe Edition -- while the second CD is an expanded version of 1975's There's One in Every Crowd. Discs three and four are handed over to an expanded version of the 1975 live album E.C. Was Here, turning the single-LP into a double, while the fifth disc is devoted to a jam session at Criteria Studios with Freddie King. Finally, the BluRay contains a previously unreleased 5.1 mix of 461 Ocean Boulevard, along with its original quadraphonic mix, plus the quad mix of There's One in Every Crowd. It's a rather exhaustive overhaul of an era of E.C.'s career that isn't particularly storied, and all the extra material doesn't add mystique but it does re-create context, capturing how the mid-'70s could often feel like a long series of languid, meandering blues and reggae jams. Neither There's One in Every Crowd nor E.C. Was Here were particularly focused, and the additional material accentuates their laziness while having the side effect of having 461 Ocean Boulevard sound bolder (even though it already was a decidedly relaxed affair). All this drifting blues doesn't mean Give Me Strength isn't worthwhile. Quite the contrary: this is precisely the kind of archival release that does deepen the historical record, revealing the extent of the guitarist's reggae fixation while emphasizing how quickly Clapton settled into a relaxed groove after his comeback. Sometimes the jams do wind up cooking -- this is particularly true of the jam with King -- but usually they're improvisation as mood music, smoke-filled superstar sessions where the intention is to play on and on until the night is gone.© Stephen Thomas /TiVo