For all the slings and arrows retrospectively cast at the titans of '70s rock, the notion that these bands were somehow callow opportunists who'd sacrifice their authenticity and musical spirit to climb a few more slots on the chart is one  that never applied to Fleetwood Mac. Although the band was one of the dominant rock-adjacent musical forces in the late '70s, Fleetwood Mac was also always one of the quirkiest "big" bands around, due both to their long and varied history and the intensely weird interpersonal dynamics. Today, they only seem like a mainstream band because their unique approach became so popular that it defined the mainstream sound of the era. And while that sound found its purest representation on this lineup's three '70s studio albums, Fleetwood Mac was also a singular and powerful live presence, delivering generous and rewarding sets during their imperial period. While they certainly weren't the Grateful Dead, and they largely stuck to the same set list throughout their tours, there were a few shows in the band's history that have become somewhat legendary, among them their August 1977 three-show run at the Forum in Los Angeles.Rumours Live documents the first of the sold-out shows, which finds the band returning to their hometown during the height of their powers, in the middle of the tour. To be fair, the material doesn't diverge too much from the set list that the band relied on during the tour but the energy of this performance is electric. Of course, Stevie Nicks is the focal point throughout, and the nonchalant way she introduces "Rhiannon"—"This is a song about a witch"—is absolute peak Stevie, but this recording also demonstrates how strong of a performer she was during this era, whether it's the vocals that waver between clear harmonies and full-throated belting, or more discrete highlights like the gut-punching "oooooh" she delivers halfway through "Dreams." This show also demonstrates the often-ignored strengths of Fleetwood Mac as a band. When they find their groove—which is often on Rumours Live—it's a sight to behold, with a loose, rollicking confidence that can only come from a group of players absolutely locked into one another. Although many of the songs are delivered in relatively faithful versions, when the band does get playful with arrangements (bouncy, twangy "Over My Head," twitchy, proto-New Wave "Blue Letter," jammy, guitar-forward "I'm So Afraid") or stretch out (extended jams on "Rhiannon," "World Turning" and "Gold Dust Woman"), the deep symbiosis that these players had is abundantly clear. That's further emphasized in the encore, which is introduced with "We don't have any more songs so we're gonna jam around." They proceed to play a-now iconic number ("The Chain"), the song that opened—and thematically defined—Rumours ("Second Hand News"), and one of the best songs ever written by anyone in the band (Christine McVie's "Songbird") to close out the show in a fashion that is loose, loving, warm, and absolutely without peer. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

Cream teamed up with producer Felix Pappalardi for their second album, Disraeli Gears, a move that helped push the power trio toward psychedelia and also helped give the album a thematic coherence missing from the debut. This, of course, means that Cream get further away from the pure blues improvisatory troupe they were intended to be, but it does get them to be who they truly are: a massive, innovative power trio. The blues still courses throughout Disraeli Gears -- the swirling kaleidoscopic "Strange Brew" is built upon a riff lifted from Albert King -- but it's filtered into saturated colors, as it is on "Sunshine of Your Love," or it's slowed down and blurred out, as it is on the ominous murk of "Tales of Brave Ulysses." It's a pure psychedelic move that's spurred along by Jack Bruce's flourishing collaboration with Pete Brown. Together, this pair steers the album away from recycled blues-rock and toward its eccentric British core, for with the fuzzy freakout "Swlabr," the music hall flourishes of "Dance the Night Away," the swinging "Take It Back," and of course, the old music hall song "Mother's Lament," this is a very British record. Even so, this crossed the ocean and also became a major hit in America, because regardless of how whimsical certain segments are, Cream are still a heavy rock trio and Disraeli Gears is a quintessential heavy rock album of the '60s. Yes, its psychedelic trappings tie it forever to 1967, but the imagination of the arrangements, the strength of the compositions, and especially the force of the musicianship make this album transcend its time as well.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Lake Geneva is not Lake Pontchartrain, and Montreux is certainly not New Orleans. But regularly, during the famous Montreux jazz festival, the two cities fall into step in a swaying dance. Especially when Dr. John is on stage, who has made it up there at least seven times, in 1986, 1993, 1995, 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2012. Why has Dr. John played so many times in Montreux? In part because he was a huge figure with constant high quality performances, as good in his last decade (he died in 2019) as in his previous ones. But also because the public never tired of him. Dr. John always emanated good vibes, with music like a course of vitamin therapy.This compilation of his Montreux concerts begins with four tracks recorded in 1986. Dr. John is alone at the piano, and in great shape. Caribbean-style boogie-woogie escapes from under his nimble wanders, cool and elegant, typical of New Orleans (and partly invented by Professor Longhair, to whom Dr. John pays tribute). On the other pieces played in the group, which includes a brass and rhythm section, he showcases radiant funk and indulgent jazz, the secrets to which he has always held close to his chest. All of Dr. John’s and New Orleans classics are there, from Let the Good Times Roll, Big Chief and Right Place, Wrong Time. Everyone who has seen Dr. John on stage, in Montreux or elsewhere, will find that this compilation offers the same energy of his concerts. What’s more, it won’t fail to bring a smile to your face. © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz

A guitarist worshipped by Jimi Hendrix, an insanely good falsetto singer that even Prince looked up to, an author heavily involved in the American civil rights movement and a top-tier songwriter: Curtis Mayfield was a man of many talents. His groovy symphonies helped form solid links between funk, jazz, blues, soul and traditional gospel. After making his name with The Impressions in the 60s, he embarked on a solo career in 1970. This box set named Keep On Keeping On contains the singer’s first four studio albums, each remastered in Hi-Res 24-Bit quality: Curtis (1970), Roots (1971), Back to the World (1973) and Sweet Exorcist (1974). Here, the rhythm'n'blues enjoy a second life, supported by a wah-wah guitar, careful percussion and an always airy string section. Every topic concerned is a mini-tragedy, socially engaged, anchored in traditional gospel music. The masterful arranging of these albums (especially his masterpiece Curtis, and Roots) can be considered rivals to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. It is worth mentioning that this 1970-1974 box set does not include the soundtrack to Superfly, Gordon Parks Jr.’s 1972 film which contains the singles Pusherman and Freddie’s Dead. © 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

Where Permanent Vacation seemed a little overwhelmed by its pop concessions, Pump revels in them without ever losing sight of Aerosmith's dirty hard rock core. Which doesn't mean the record is a sellout -- "What It Takes" has more emotion and grit than any of their other power ballads; "Janie's Got a Gun" tackles more complex territory than most previous songs; and "The Other Side" and "Love in an Elevator" rock relentlessly, no matter how many horns and synths fight with the guitars. Such ambition and successful musical eclecticism make Pump rank with Rocks and Toys in the Attic.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Fleetwood Mac's 1980 double-album Live was released as a way for the physically, emotionally, and creatively exhausted group to continue the winning streak that saw them dominate the last half of the '70s with Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, and Tusk. The band recorded audio and video at every one of the 112 (!) dates they played between October 1979 and September 1980 and then proceeded to put together an album that putatively represented a Tusk tour date. In that regard, Live was perhaps the apotheosis of the Frankenstein-ed "live" album. The 2-LP set didn't just combine recordings from multiple dates on the Tusk tour ... it pulled in songs from multiple tours to present a weird, idealized version of "a Fleetwood Mac concert." The original release threw in a few cuts from the Rumours tour, a song originally released by Buckingham Nicks ("Don't Let Me Down Again") that the Mac performed on tour in 1975, and even a couple of studio rarities ("Fireflies" and a cover of the Beach Boys' "Farmer's Daughter"). However the album may fail as an accurate piece of documentary audio it more than succeeds as a cohesive piece of rock 'n' roll. While some tracks do occasionally suffer a bit from the vagaries of live performance—a cracked voice here, a late guitar melody there—thanks to the embarrassment of riches in their song pool and given that the band was at the peak of their powers, the selection of their best individual performances yielded excellent results, and nearly all of the tracks bristle with energy, vibrancy, and a sense of creative electricity that was surely a bit of a crapshoot on such a long and grueling tour. And, in some cases—"Over and Over" and "Never Going Back Again" especially—the live versions captured here are actually superior to the studio takes, gaining an intensity and immediacy that accentuates their inherent drama. This new edition continues in the original's tradition, tacking on a third disc of live rarities that's similarly wide-ranging, including tracks recorded on the Mirage tour which happened two years after Live was originally released. While those extras feel (obviously) tacked on—more than an encore, but less than a standalone show—they also lack the flowing context of the main album and feel far more disjointed in their presentation. Nonetheless, getting to hear the Rumours band take on "The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)" at the Oklahoma City State Fair Arena in 1977 or a transcendent version of "Songbird" from the tail end of the Tusk tour in Arkansas is still quite thrilling. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

It may have taken the Notorious B.I.G. a few years to follow up his milestone debut, Ready to Die (1994), with another album, but when he did return with Life After Death in 1997, he did so in a huge way. The ambitious album, intended as somewhat of a sequel to Ready to Die, picking up where its predecessor left off, sprawled across the span of two discs, each filled with music, 24 songs in all. You'd expect any album this sprawling to include some lackluster filler. That's not really the case with Life After Death, however. Like 2Pac's All Eyez on Me from a year before, an obvious influence, Biggie's album made extensive use of various producers -- DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, Clark Kent, RZA, and more of New York's finest -- resulting in a diverse, eclectic array of songs. Plus, Biggie similarly brought in various guest rappers -- Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Bone Thugs, Too $hort, L.O.X., Mase -- a few vocalists -- R. Kelly, Angela Winbush, 112 -- and, of course, Puff Daddy, who is much more omnipresent here than on Ready to Die, where he mostly remained on the sidelines. It's perhaps Puffy himself to thank for this album's biggest hits: "Mo Money Mo Problems," "Hypnotize," "Sky's the Limit," three songs that definitely owe much to his pop touch. There's still plenty of the gangsta tales on Life After Death that won Biggie so much admiration on the streets, but it's the pop-laced songs that stand out as highlights. In hindsight, Biggie couldn't have ended his career with a more fitting album than Life After Death. Over the course of only two albums, he achieved every success imaginable, perhaps none greater than this unabashedly over-reaching success. Ready to Die is a milestone album, for sure, but it's nowhere near as extravagant or epic as Life After Death.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

Still Corners' debut album, 2011's Creatures of an Hour, was a murky, reverb-covered neo-psych gem that drew from the hypnotic drone of Broadcast and the mystery of This Mortal Coil, and had a haunting air brought to life by Tessa Murray's bewitching vocals. The band's second album, 2013's Strange Pleasures, finds them stripping away most of the reverb and murk in favor of a sleek and streamlined style that's bathed in shiny synths and shines like neon reflected in rain-soaked city streets. Greg Hughes' production buffs all the rough edges off, forsaking the jangling guitars and rumbling drums of their debut in favor of subtly chiming guitars and machine-driven rhythms with banks of keys that wash over Murray's vocals. The shorthand key to their new sound is Cocteau Twins doing the soundtrack for Drive II, and if that sounds good to you, this album totally works. Tracks like "All I Know" and "Beatcity" have all the stripped-down, nocturnal drive of Chromatics; Hughes even borrows their skeletal guitar sound wholesale at times. The android pulse of "Berlin Lovers" and the rather obviously titled "Midnight Drive" are two examples of the hours Hughes must have spent absorbing the Drive soundtrack. The Cocteau Twins influence shows in both the atmospheric bath of sound Hughes dips the slower songs deeply into and also in the crystalline beauty of Murray's almost impossible clear vocals. At times on the last album, she almost sounded a little too classy for the musical backing, but that is definitely not a problem here. None of this means that the album is a pale imitation of anyone; it's more of an adept fusing of very distinct styles into something interesting and almost factory fresh, if not quite to the level of the bands they are drawing inspiration from. This different approach may put off some fans who were enchanted by the lower-fidelity, more guitar-based charms of their first album, but there is enough of that band left here to make this a departure worth following. Besides, Murray's voice is so captivating, she'd be worth following almost anywhere she chose to go.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

The triumphant third LP from Seattle-born Kassa Overall sees the drummer/rapper/producer catapulted into the farthest reaches of his creativity, spiritedly showcasing his seemingly limitless capacity for experimentation, stylistic agility and technical prowess. Much like on his sophomore record, I Think I'm Good (2020), Overall avoids any pigeonholed interpretation of his art. "What does it sound like to you? ... I just want to make the dopest shit," he quips, as if to say, who cares? Why bother with these labels? He operates on his own terms, that's for sure.At face value, it is still jazz-hop's extension and brazen fusion which drives the musicality. These aspects are complemented in equal measure by Overall's deftness as an emcee, with internal mental health struggles and an array of wider social issues forming the thematic basis. A strong musical and lyrical voice interlinks all excursions through volatile musical and verbal terrains, elevating the work to lofty echelons of conceptual and performative sophistication—qualities which the Warp imprint is only too keen to sponsor. As ever, it is fortified by a rich catalogue of collaborators new and old, who feature in absorbing and unprecedented ways.Animals finds its footing with "Ready to Ball": a modal jazz/hip-hop workout, complete with masterful keys improv from Sullivan Fortner and ultra catchy, pitch-shifted vocal hooks ("It got a shine to it/ I could get it if I put my mind to it"). Hip-hop styles continue into "Clock Ticking," which sees crunchy MPC percussion, choppy piano licks and an eerie likeness between Danny Brown's tone of voice, and that of namesake Bootie Brown (The Pharcyde) circa Bizarre Ride II era—that ain't passin' no one by. Ever the fusionist, Overall even sneaks in a few impromptu borrowings from jazz-adjacent, South American styles: quasi-bossa nova guitar flavours in "The Lava Is Calm" and the futurist tango of "So Happy." The album reaches the zenith of its maximalism in the dubby ensemble production "Still Ain't Find Me," a 1:46 whirlwind crammed full of jolty metric shifts, fizzing electronics and sprawling saxophone lines courtesy of Tomoki Sanders. To top it all off, the closer ("Going Up") is a real gem, with a wistful Francis and The Lights crooning confessions to lost loves over an emotionally charged instrumental. It's a perfect conclusion to what must surely be his most accomplished effort yet. Overall—a master stroke. © Finn Kverndal/Qobuz

Over the past five years, Luke Combs has become one of contemporary country's biggest stars, topping the charts, winning a slew of awards, joining the Grand Ole Opry and even duetting with Eric Church—who very, very rarely anoints a new artist with his stamp of approval. Combs has succeeded at what's been dubbed post-bro country, a more "traditional" backlash to the past decade's hip-hop inflected movement that embraced weekend warrior-ism and turned women into one-dimensional joke characters. Combs isn't outlaw or outsider, there's nothing "alt" about him. He's not worshiping legends like Haggard or Jennings, but you also won't find any AutoTune, borrowed trap drumbeats or pop crossover potential. And fans love that barstool authenticity. When, on new power ballad "Middle of Somewhere," he sings “Just remember when you're driving through nowhere/ To us that's the middle of somewhere," he nails what a lot of America wants to hear. "I'd be drivin' my first car, an old worn-out Dodge/ Tryin' to make rent with a dead end job, just makin' do/ With tips in a jar, my guitar," Combs sings, his voice exploding with power on "Doin' This"—as in, he'd still be playing music even if he wasn't getting paid big bucks to do it; it's easy to believe the passion. Great big "Any Given Friday Night" stomps. Just as arena-ready is "The Kind of Love We Make," which sounds like an easy-feeling Eagles song, but Combs' rasp makes it all his own. "On the Other Line" is swampy fun and clever wordplay:  “Yeah, I’ll clean up the kitchen/ I’ll do the damn dishes/ Baby, I’m wrong, you’re right ... Sorry honey, but I got to click over/ I got a six pound largemouth on the other line.” Combs duets with Miranda Lambert on "Outrunnin' Your Memory," her wild-honey angel twang a terrific complement to his macho rasp as Skynyrd-esque guitars tune the country song to Southern rock. "Ain't Far From It" namechecks George Jones, but this is a feel-good ’90s-inspired juke-joint rocker, a la Brooks & Dunn or even Shania Twain. And "Going, Going, Gone" is like a respectful male gaze case on The Chicks' "Wide Open Spaces": "Like lightnin' in the sky/ Like fireworks in July/ ... Like a whiskey shot at last call/ It's like she was made for movin' on/ That girl is going, going, gone." Combs sums up his own appeal on the Church-like "Used to Wish I Was," delivering a unique chorus pacing that makes him stand out. "I couldn’t be anybody but me, even if I tried,” he sings. “I used to wish I was, but I’m glad I’m not." © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

Presidents of the United States of America employed a bit of synergy on Election Day 2004, releasing lovingly remastered, expanded editions of their 1995 debut and the 2000 LP Freaked Out and Small. It was the debut that blew up originally, positing the Presidents in the midst of the mid-'90s grunge explosion with singles like "Peaches," "Lump," and "Kitty." With their modified lineup -- vocalist Chris Ballew played a "basitar," while cohort Dave Dederer rocked the "guitbass" -- PUSA couldn't create the thick sonics of their fellow Seattle grungers. But their quirky take on punk-pop did help expand the palette of MTV and alternative radio, and make their oddball singles part of the enduring sound of the era. This expanded edition arrives via Ballew, Dederer, and drummer Jason Finn's own PUSA imprint. It includes the original album in its entirety, as well as 12 bonus tracks and demos dating from the same era. (And mindset, as "Carolyn's Booty" proves. "I caught a glimpse of Carolyn's booty/As she was going from the bathroom into my bedroom....") Presidents fans will dig the demos, especially. Taken from Ballew's four-track cassette demos, they're a gloriously weird jumble of muffled Mellow Gold-era Beckisms ("Stranger" and "Boll Weevil," particularly) and the kind of loopy humor that would bloom on Presidents itself. If that's not enough bonus material, this "Ten Year Super Bonus Special Anniversary" edition includes a "Super Bonus Thrillpack DVD," with videos, live material, and commentary from the band. Vote yes on the Presidents!© Johnny Loftus /TiVo

After a life-threatening car accident forced him to take an extended break, guitarist extraordinaire Jeff Beck re-emerged in 1971 with a new band, a new album (Rough and Ready), and an attempt to merge a soulful Memphis sound with hard rock. 1972's Jeff Beck Group shows that Beck was already moving beyond his soul-rock hybrid and sowing the seeds for his exceptional mid-'70s jazz/rock fusion work. Jeff Beck Group also served as a precursor to Beck's next project, the blues-soul-rock trio Beck, Bogart & Appice. Produced by Booker T. & the M.G.'s guitarist Steve Cropper, Jeff Beck Group contains "Going Down," one of Beck's best-known tracks and a perennial concert favorite, as well as the album-opening highlight "Ice Cream Cakes." An important, transitional album in the career of this stylistically adventurous guitarist.© Rovi Staff /TiVo