In celebration of their 40 th anniversary, The Cure didn’t just hire out a little pub in their hometown of Crawley, Sussex – they hired out the whole of Hyde Park instead! What an epic location for an epic group. The recording of this concert on July 7, 2018 in London in front of a crowd of 65,000 people is a reminder that the style, sound, creativity, song- writing and atmosphere that Robert Smith and his gang bring to the table is like no other. With his mascara, lipstick and static hair-do, the lead singer of The Cure has never sung so well despite being only a few months off his 60 th birthday here. The concert journeys through four decades of hits (which are sometimes cold wave but are mostly pop) and you can really appreciate the breadth of their work, along with all those melodies that you recognise subconsciously and Robert Smith’s ability to just get on with it. Joined onstage by his long-time partner in crime Simon Gallup (bass), as well as Reeves Gabrels (guitar), Roger O’Donnell (keyboards) and Jason Cooper (drums), he sings some beautiful versions of Pictures of You, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, A Forest, Disintegration, Lullaby, The Caterpillar, Friday I’m in Love, Close to Me, Boys Don’t Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night and Killing an Arab. © Max Dembo/Qobuz

The Who spent much of 2015 celebrating their 50th anniversary, releasing a new compilation -- the aptly named The Who Hits 50! -- and performing two big concerts in the U.K.: headlining both the Hyde Park and Glastonbury festivals. Eagle Rock's Live at Hyde Park documents the June 26, 2015 show, presenting it as audio and video (DVD or Blu-ray according to your preference) and the band sounds older but surprisingly vigorous. Maybe one of the reasons they sound strong is the fact that Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend don't run away from their age. Daltrey relaxes into his diminished range and Townshend is comfortable being a curmudgeon, while their supporting band sounds brawny and heavier -- not as spry as classic '70s Who, but a sound that suits the duo's nonchalant acceptance of their seniority. If they're OK with sounding older, they're not going quietly into the good night: they'd rather sharpen the set list and deliver it with all the energy they can muster and the result is a surprisingly strong show, one that feels like a summation of their enduring strengths while just escaping being a last testament.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

There have been many reissues of Carole King's iconic 1971 album Tapestry, and rightfully so. Perfectly conceived, produced, and executed, it continues to resonate with virtually anyone who hears it. It became one of the defining (and best-selling) records in the history of pop. This recording documents, if the press materials are to be believed, the first-ever concert performance of Tapestry in its entirety in London's Hyde Park in front of some 60,000 people. King is decades older for one, which might have proved daunting -- especially when considering the caliber of musicians who played on the LP sessions: saxophonist Curtis Amy, guitarists Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar and James Taylor, bassist Charles Larkey, and vocalist Merry Clayton, among others. This audio/video document more than satisfies. Kortchmar is still an integral part of the band and, save for veteran Zev Katz on bass and King, are the only baby boomers on-stage. King has continued to perform with few breaks and remains vital, every bit the athletic pianist and resonant, expressive vocalist -- there's a tiny bit of grain during the first few numbers, but they add, not detract; when she warms up, you'd never know she was her mid-seventies. It's worth taking in the video portion at least the first time through. (The CD and DVD are identical in song presentation and both are offered in pristine sound.) First there are a series of tributes on the big screen before she takes the stage: Narration by Tom Hanks, and comments by Tapestry producer Lou Adler (who says it took three weeks and cost $22,000!), David Crosby, Graham Nash, Kortchmar, Taylor, songwriters Barry Mann & Cynthia Weill, and Elton John, who credits King with his entire songwriting career. When the band takes the stage, they dig right in and go for broke on "I Feel the Earth Move." "So Far Away" is offered with a lifetime of regret, sorrow, and acceptance with stills of the session team on the big screen behind the band. King offers short reminiscences between songs, but the performances are far from nostalgic; they are technically solid, and energetically loose enough for a live stage. The video projections, interspersed with shots of a multi-generational audiences, underscore the emotional impact of these songs. King's daughter Louise Goffin joins the band for "Where You Lead" and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," which are given a new poignancy in this presentation. King even straps on a Stratocaster for "Smackwater Jack." When she and the band finish the album, she takes the stage solo for a Goffin/King medley to offer a wider view of her career; they are snippets, but she pulls them off with finesse. The band rejoins for "Jazzman," "Up on the Roof," and "Locomotion" before the cast of Beautiful: A Carole King Musical joins the band for a send-off with a reprise of "You've Got a Friend." Audio, video, or both, this is a fantastic version of a bona fide classic.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

Usually, a six-year gap in activity isn’t long enough to qualify a band for reunion status -- that’s just one year longer than it took the Stone Roses to record a second album -- but in Blur’s case, their 2003 album Think Tank felt more like a coda than a conclusion, arriving several years after guitarist Graham Coxon left in a storm of bad blood. Instead of carrying on with the name, Damon Albarn pursued Gorillaz and the Good, the Bad & the Queen while Coxon carved out a career as an indie popster, Alex James retired to a farm to make cheese, and Dave Rowntree unsuccessfully ran for office. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, at least for certain fans and bandmates, so Blur kissed and made up for a quick summer reunion tour in 2009, playing only their beloved England and going no further than that. Even the double-disc live souvenir All the People: Blur Live in Hyde Park July 2 2009 didn’t appear outside of the U.K., and the album reveals that Blur’s playlist was also Brit-centric, a virtual riposte to the Brit-pop-shunning compilation Midlife that accompanied the summer reunion. In Hyde Park, Blur leaned heavily on their classic mid-period -- no less than eight songs from Parklife surface, another five from Modern Life Is Rubbish -- but whatever nostalgic bent there may be is undercut by a ferocious, aggressive performance that turns even “Country House” into a muscular stomp. It’s good to hear that the reunited Blur can still threaten to careen out of control just as they did in their peak -- “Song 2,” “Parklife,” and “Jubilee” are manic, while “Popscene” almost flies off the rails -- but there’s also no disguising this is an older band, with Albarn’s voice sounding deep and gravelly, threatening to go short of breath at times. Damon also underscores the band's advancing age by needlessly updating his lyrics -- “love in the ‘90s/was paranoid,” “and the mind gets dirty/as you get closer/to 50” -- but that’s kind of the point of this whole weird reunion: it’s designed as clear-eyed nostalgia, a one-time thing with an explicit expiration date. It may be a load of fun, but it’s clear from Albarn’s barking command that he has no interest in these good times lasting any longer than necessary.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Usually, a six-year gap in activity isn’t long enough to qualify a band for reunion status -- that’s just one year longer than it took the Stone Roses to record a second album -- but in Blur’s case, their 2003 album Think Tank felt more like a coda than a conclusion, arriving several years after guitarist Graham Coxon left in a storm of bad blood. Instead of carrying on with the name, Damon Albarn pursued Gorillaz and the Good, the Bad & the Queen while Coxon carved out a career as an indie popster, Alex James retired to a farm to make cheese, and Dave Rowntree unsuccessfully ran for office. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, at least for certain fans and bandmates, so Blur kissed and made up for a quick summer reunion tour in 2009, playing only their beloved England and going no further than that. Even the double-disc live souvenir All the People: Blur Live in Hyde Park July 2 2009 didn’t appear outside of the U.K., and the album reveals that Blur’s playlist was also Brit-centric, a virtual riposte to the Brit-pop-shunning compilation Midlife that accompanied the summer reunion. In Hyde Park, Blur leaned heavily on their classic mid-period -- no less than eight songs from Parklife surface, another five from Modern Life Is Rubbish -- but whatever nostalgic bent there may be is undercut by a ferocious, aggressive performance that turns even “Country House” into a muscular stomp. It’s good to hear that the reunited Blur can still threaten to careen out of control just as they did in their peak -- “Song 2,” “Parklife,” and “Jubilee” are manic, while “Popscene” almost flies off the rails -- but there’s also no disguising this is an older band, with Albarn’s voice sounding deep and gravelly, threatening to go short of breath at times. Damon also underscores the band's advancing age by needlessly updating his lyrics -- “love in the ‘90s/was paranoid,” “and the mind gets dirty/as you get closer/to 50” -- but that’s kind of the point of this whole weird reunion: it’s designed as clear-eyed nostalgia, a one-time thing with an explicit expiration date. It may be a load of fun, but it’s clear from Albarn’s barking command that he has no interest in these good times lasting any longer than necessary.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

When you're an institution like Paul Simon, and strictly speaking you don't have anything to prove, you can do whatever you like. So surely Art Garfunkel's former bandmate was doing exactly that when he recorded this ample (two hours!) live set in Hyde Park in London on 15 July 2012, as part of the Hard Rock Calling Festival. As so often in this kind of situation, when the artist possesses an XXL-sized body of work and discography, the recording plays the role of a kind of Best Of. And that is precisely what it is. All Paul Simon’s hits get an airing here, in pretty vigorous versions. The concert reunites Hugh Masekela and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who were present on the album Graceland, but also features a guest appearance by the great Jimmy Cliff. Solo career (Kodachrome, Graceland, Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover) or works from the Simon & Garfunkel period (The Boxer), nothing is missing from this first-rate performance. © CM/Qobuz

On his 35th album as a leader, pianist and composer David Benoit changed up his game. Remarkably, 2 in Love is the very first time in his long career that he's worked with a vocalist on an entire album. His chosen collaborator is Jane Monheit, one of the most celebrated mainstream jazz singers. All but one of these ten songs are originals co-written with three different lyricists: Lorraine Feather, Mark Winkler, and Spencer Day. Produced by the pianist, 2 in Love was cut live in the studio -- a daunting prospect for most contemporary vocalists. But Monheit is no ordinary singer. Check her delivery on the knotty, Latin-tinged opener "Barcelona Nights." She glides through the changes and imbues her canny phrasing with just a hint of samba, with each articulated syllable entrenched in the song's groove. The sultry passion in her utterance is complemented beautifully by Pat Kelly's nylon-string guitar in the bridge. The title track is a swinging bossa with charging piano and hand percussion. Monheit has demonstrated throughout her career that her grasp on the form is both expert and soulful. On "Dragonfly," a lithe country-esque waltz, she pulls back, but just enough to let the addition of a violin and cello color the parlor room feel of Benoit's melody. "Fly Away" is beautifully realized cinematic pop, while "Love Will Light a Way" and "Something's Gotta Give" offer distinct sides of popular music's theatrical side. There are two instrumentals on the set as well. "Love in Hyde Park" is a stripped-down yet elegant -- and ultimately preferable -- version of "A Moment in Hyde Park," which first appeared on Love Is Like a Samba (where the pianist was accompanied by an orchestra). This version, arranged for quartet, features flutist Tim Weisberg, who adds an exotic, breezy texture atop Benoit's shimmering pianism. The closer is a solo piano medley of Leonard Bernstein's "Love Theme from Candide" and Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns," affectionately rendered with grace and care. On 2 in Love, Benoit couldn't have chosen a more desirable collaborator than Monheit. Her openness to the range of material he offers in beautifully crafted songs is matched only by her command of their languages.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

James Bradell's second album in Funki Porcini guise is an enjoyable, quirky trip, as moodily atmospheric as it is subtly hilarious (and sometimes not so subtly). Advantageously steering away from another two-disc marathon, Love, Pussycats and Carwrecks instead takes up just over an hour of time of high-speed and meditative pieces, both touching subtly on a variety of styles in an overall context. The lengthy and slinky-by-definition (or at least by title) "Purrfect" starts everything on the right foot, a quiet and quietly dramatic combination of soft, slow beats, a mournful trumpet solo, and found-sound samples, including a subtly trippy bit of someone walking down a street. Unlike most other trip-hop types who began and ended with Portishead, there's an actual sense of a different approach here, as the buried snippets of drum'n'bass loops make clear. The energy starts picking up more with the immediately following "Groover" -- there's more trumpet, as is the case for much of the album, but there's also a lot more speed and jungle-style loops -- and from there things continue merrily on. Enough random moments throughout the album keep it from being just something to put on while turning the lights down low and practicing seduction techniques. Distorted, flanged drum hits, sudden stop-starting of the music as a whole, and deep, squelchy basslines decide to make random appearances at many different points. A few tracks are merely snippets, but others make for great, full-on experiences, such as the appropriately named "Carwreck," with sudden jump cuts, studio tweaking, rhythm changes, and more going on throughout its length. Even more hyperactive and suddenly weaving here and there is "12 Points off Your License," with abbreviated horn blasts, jumping, rolling drum loops, and sudden, organ-tinged down-speed jams. © Ned Raggett /TiVo

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