Who's Next is not an album lacking for reissues. In addition to a deluxe edition from 2003, there have also been multiple audiophile editions and remasters of the album since its 1971 release. So what could a "super deluxe edition" possibly contain? Quite a bit, as it turns out. As even casual Who fans know, the genesis of Who's Next was as Lifehouse, a multimedia rock opera even more ambitious than Tommy. Pete Townshend had developed a bizarre, dystopian story that somehow merged his devotion to Indian guru Meher Baba, his recent fascination with synthesizers, and the idea that the only thing that could save humanity from a test-tube-bound future was "real rock 'n' roll." Yeah, the aftereffects of the '60s were wild. After some live shows at the Young Vic in London and a series of marathon recording sessions, a 16-song tracklist was finalized, but by this point, it was collectively decided—both creatively and commercially—that perhaps another concept-dense double album might not be the best studio follow-up to Tommy. So, eight Lifehouse songs were re-cut and one new song ("My Wife") was recorded and the leaner, meaner Who's Next was released in August 1971. The album was both an instant success and has become an undisputed part of the classic rock canon, thanks to the inclusion of absolutely iconic tracks like "Won't Get Fooled Again," "Baba O'Riley," and "Behind Blue Eyes."While one could make an argument that the taut and focused power of Who's Next inadvertently proved the point of the Lifehouse story (namely, that rock 'n' roll is most effective when it's at its most primal), it's important to remember that Who's Next was also a giant artistic leap forward for the Who, as it found them at the peak of their powers as a pummeling rock band and as a band willing to be experimental and artful in their approach to being a pummeling rock band. (If any evidence is needed of the group's unrivaled power, check out take 13 of "Won't Get Fooled Again" on this set, which is so immediate and electric that it could easily be mistaken for a concert performance.) While several Lifehouse tracks found their way to other Who and Townshend records, getting a sense of the contours of the project has been difficult. But this massive, 155-track set creates those lines thanks to the inclusion of multiple Townshend demos as well as recording sessions of Life House tracks that occurred both before and after the release of Who's Next, and, most notably, two freshly mixed live shows from 1971 (including one of the Young Vic shows) that provided both the energy and, in some cases the basic tracks, for the album versions. While nothing on this bursting-at-the-seams edition overrides the all-killer-no-filler approach of Who's Next, it does provide plenty of long-desired context and documentation for what made that record so powerful. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

On the 13th of March 2017, Tommy LiPuma died at the age of 80. The Grammy-adorned producer had, one year prior, began work on a new album for his protege Diana Krall. The Canadian singer was therefore left to mix the record entirely alone... The calibre of musician on this record is impressive: guitarists Russell Malone and Anthony Wilson, bassists John Clayton and Christian McBride, drummer Karriem Riggins and Bob Dylan’s bassist, Tony Garnier, all come along to finish off the recording of This Dream of You. A great fan of Dylan, Krall used a song name from his 2009 album Together Through Life as the title of this 15th album released by Verve. Whether in duet, trio or quartet, Madame Costello plays and sings in diverse contexts but ultimately returns to her preferred repertoire: the Great American Songbook. The standards that have come to be expected a thousand times over are met as if by magic. Autumn in New York by Vernon Duke, How Deep is the Ocean by Irving Berlin and the unmistakeable Singing in the Rain by Gene Kelley as well as other classics from giants like Sinatra and Nat King Cole become her own. A whisper, a murmur, a refined arrangement, an instrumental treasure, Diana Krall prevails time after time. One could fault her for not daring to reimagine the songs more, but when the standard of these renditions is so high and of such depth, we can do nothing but yield and wonder. Also note that for the first time Diana Krall’s face doesn’t appear on the album cover! © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

In an odd bit of programming, Columbia placed the ballads from Miles Davis' February 12, 1964, concert on My Funny Valentine and the uptempo romps on this LP. Davis, probably a bit bored by some of his repertoire and energized by the teenage Tony Williams' drumming, performed many of his standards at an increasingly faster pace as time went on. These versions of "So What," "Walkin'," "Four," "Joshua," "Seven Steps to Heaven," and even "There Is No Greater Love" are remarkably rapid, with the themes quickly thrown out before Davis, George Coleman, and Herbie Hancock take their solos. Highly recommended and rather exciting music, it's one of the last times Davis would be documented playing a full set of standards.© Scott Yanow /TiVo

Hoping for the reformation of Pink Floyd, the band’s drummer Nick Mason grew tired of awaiting a call from bandmates David Gilmour or Roger Waters. Mason, the only member to have played on all the albums by the group, launched his project Saucerful Of Secrets in 2018, also the name of the Englishmen’s second album which saw singer Syd Barrett’s dismissal during the recording. The idea being to have some fun playing tunes from Pink Floyd’s early days in a sort of five star “tribute band”. Accompanied by guitarist Gary Kemp from British group Spandau Ballet and Guy Pratt (who has taken Roger Walter’s place) on the bass and microphone, Mason set off on a large international tour with the aim of “capturing the spirit” of Pink Floyd before the album The Dark Side of the Moon. An essential step in the tour was at London’s famed venue, The Roundhouse. Here, the English group performed their legendary concerts in 1967 and 1971. And this double album is just as grandiose. Nick Mason and his lackeys are liberal with their long, ultra-psychedelic passages from the incipit Interstellar Overdrive, followed by a nod towards Astronomy Domine, another track written by Barrett, whose ghost haunts a record which will delight all Floyd fans and impress passers by. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz

This double disc is an exact replication of a concert vocalist Beth Hart and guitarist Joe Bonamassa performed in Amsterdam in support of their studio album Seesaw. What you hear is what was played: there are no overdubs or digital studio fixes. They replicate all but one track from the studio album ("Sunday Kind of Love") and five more from their 2011 offering Don't Explain, and play some other covers and a long band jam called "Antwerp Jam" as a finale. Hart and Bonamassa are backed by a killer band to boot, including a full horn section, drummer Anton Fig, bassist Carmine Rojas, rhythm guitarist Blondie Chaplin, and keyboardist Arlan Schierbaum. Highlights include their reading of Delaney Bramlett's "Well, Well," Ike Turner's "Nutbush City Limits," "Sinner's Prayer," "Something's Got a Hold on Me," "Chocolate Jesus," "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," and, of course, Ms. Hart's devastating reading of Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind." Given her considerable power and ability to convey a wide range of emotions, this is not merely a set for guitar god worshipers -- though there's plenty for them here, too. [There are also packages that pair these discs with Blu-ray and DVD.] © Thom Jurek /TiVo

Damn Right ! Who could disagree? Of course Buddy Guy has blues in the blood! The Chicago guitar legend is saying it loud on this album: The Blues Is Alive And Well! At 81 years old, he seems on better form than ever, and has a lot to teach the youth. This is a punkier, rockier bluesman than the present generation, who knows how to bring the blues to a white audience. Old fashioned? The accusation wouldn't offend Buddy Guy, who's just playing his guitar right. Here, the guitarist is discussing the blues with guests who have the stature to hold a conversation with him. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck and James Bay feed his talent, and stay in perfect harmony with his genius. And what would be blues without talk of booze and old friends? On Cognac, Buddy Guy seems to shed twenty years when he evokes Muddy Waters. It's too late to sip a brandy with him, but now he's got Keith and others for company. Getting wasted in style, filling up on booze and the blues, dealing out a hand that can't ever end: that's the spirit of the blues. Beyond the music, there is a real discussion that starts between guitar riffs, piano chords and the singer's penetrating voice. Better than a trance, this is a stairway to the underworld opening up. And then there's such a captivating groove on The Blues Is Alive And Well. It's a grand declaration of love for the genre, which, through solitude, poverty and suffering, remains a faithful friend, a life-saver, an intimate journal. Perhaps the album should be seen as a kind of passing-onward of the blues to the generations to come. Blue No More gives a fair account of the idea. It's a duet where Buddy Guy is singing face-to-face with the Pearly Gates. It doesn't dampen his mood at all, through, because he knows that others down below will pick up his baton. And James Bay echoes his master's words back to him: "I won’t be blue no more". © Clara Bismuth/Qobuz

American roots singer and songwriter Tracy Nelson has been absent from the recording studio since 2011. The roots music icon released her debut album in 1965 and co-founded and fronted the rock band Mother Earth in 1969; that band cut four acclaimed albums before splitting in 1973. Nelson issued solo records in the '70s, did session work in the '80s, and returned to solo recording in the '90s. Her last outing was 2011's Victim of the Blues. Life Don't Miss Nobody is a collection of standards, covers, and originals. Co-produced with Roger Alan Nichols, it was recorded in Nashville with a cast of session players and longtime friends including Willie Nelson, Charlie Musselwhite, Irma Thomas, Marcia Ball, Jontavious Willis, Mickey Raphael, and Terry Hanck. A stomping, rent-party read of "Strange Things Happening Every Day" opens the set. An old gospel-blues associated with guitar virtuoso Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Nelson reinvents it with a boogie and Kevin McKendree's pumping piano as the frontline instrument. She follows it with a stellar, innovative read of Doc Pomus' "There Is Always One More Time." Nelson takes the original rock & roll ballad and transforms it into a gospel song as Raphael's bluesy harmonica fills the spaces between. The title track by Nelson and partner Mike Dysinger is written as a Cuban son. The Latin tinge is adorned by guitar, quatro, guiro, piano, congas, and stately horns. Nelson's lyric directly addresses loss and life's fragility as hardships inevitably come for us all. She follows with a rollicking cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Your Funeral, My Trial" in duet with resonator guitarist Jontavious Willis. Nelson reunites with Irma Thomas and Marcia Ball on the New Orleans-styled R&B fueling "I Did My Part." (She cut the Grammy-nominated Sing It with them in 1998.) There are two excellent versions of Stephen Foster's "Hard Times" included. While Nelson plays acoustic 12-string guitar on both -- the first time she's played it on a recording since 1965 -- the first adds drums, accordion, electric guitar, upright bass, and a B-3, while the second is unaccompanied. Nelson's delivery is resonant, bearing the sadness of the ages with the support of a trio of backing singers. While Willie Nelson (no relation) duets on a hip, western swing version of Hank Williams' "Honky Tonkin'," Musselwhite blows dirty harmonica on Wilie Dixon's "It Don't Make Sense." Nelson and band get righteously funky on Gene McDaniels' "Compared to What." "Where Do You Go When You Can't Go Home" was co-written by Nelson and Marcia Ball. A gospel processional framed by B-3 and piano, its lyric covers all manner of war, famine, and natural disasters. Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" is riotously delivered as pumping NOLA R&B with Ball and Thomas. Life Don't Miss Nobody is a welcome return for an artist who, at nearly 80, remains in total command of her powers as both singer and songwriter.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

Nat King Cole possessed one of the most accessible and appealing voices of any singer in the 1950s. This ballad-oriented set puts the emphasis completely on his voice (there is no piano playing or any hint of his jazz-oriented past) and features Cole accompanied by Gordon Jenkins' sweet arrangements for a string orchestra. Many other singers might find it difficult to overcome, much less uplift this type of accompaniment, but Cole's basic and honest delivery works quite well in this setting. Highlights include "The Very Thought of You," "But Beautiful," "This Is All I Ask," "For All We Know," and "The More I See You."© Scott Yanow /TiVo

The late Ian Dury was probably the most lovable figure to emerge from the late '70s UK punk movement. Rooted in pub rock and jazz, his songs were less confrontational than those of his cronies (though not without their share of controversy, as with the plainspoken title track). Dury's lyrics, endlessly clever without seeming show-offy, were brilliant, ranging from tender ballads like "Sweet Gene Vincent" to hilarious rants like "Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part 3)" and "There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards." The Blockheads, led by the excellent jazz-rooted pianist Chaz Jankel and the strapping drummer Mickey Gallagher, were one of the finest bands of their era, as conversant with funky dance tracks like "Wake Up And Make Love With Me" as cocktail lounge ballads like "Common As Muck." This is simply essential for anyone with an interest in the original UK punk scene.© TiVo

Recorded at the start of Dinah Washington's climb to fame, 1954's Dinah Jams was taped live in front of a studio audience in Los Angeles. While Washington is in top form throughout, effortlessly working her powerful, blues-based voice on both ballads and swingers, the cast of star soloists almost steals the show. In addition to drummer Max Roach, trumpeter Clifford Brown, and other members of Brown and Roach's band at the time -- tenor saxophonist Harold Land, pianist Richie Powell, and bassist George Morrow -- trumpeters Maynard Ferguson and Clark Terry, alto saxophonist Herb Geller, and pianist Junior Mance also contribute to the session. Along with extended jams like "Lover Come Back to Me," "You Go to My Head," and "I'll Remember April" -- all including a round of solos -- there are shorter ballad numbers such as "There Is No Greater Love" and "No More," the last of which features excellent muted, obbligato work by Brown. Other solo highlights include Land's fine tenor solo on "Darn That Dream" and Geller's alto statement on the disc's standout Washington vocal, "Crazy." And even though she's in the midst of these stellar soloists, Washington expertly works her supple voice throughout to remain the star attraction, even matching the insane, high-note solo blasts trumpeter Ferguson expectedly delivers. A fine disc. Newcomers, though, should start with more accessible and more vocal-centered Washington titles like The Swingin' Miss D or The Fats Waller Songbook, both of which feature top arrangements by Quincy Jones.© Stephen Cook /TiVo

Damn Right! Who could disagree? Of course Buddy Guy has blues in the blood! The Chicago guitar legend is saying it on this album:  The Blues Is Alive And Well ! At 81 years old, it seems better than ever, and has a lot to teach the youth. This is a punkier, rocker bluesman than the present generation, who knows how to bring the blues to a white audience. Old fashioned? The accusation would not offend Buddy Guy, who's just playing his guitar right. Here, the guitarist is discussing the blues with guests who have the stature to hold a conversation with him. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck and James Bay feed his talent, and stay in perfect harmony with his genius. And what would be blues without talk of booze and old friends? On  CognacMuddy Waters, Buddy Guy seems to shed twenty years when he evokes.It's too late to sip a brandy with him, but now it's got Keith and others for company. Getting up in style, filling up on booze and the blues, dealing with a hand that can not end: that's the spirit of the blues. Beyond the music, there is a real discussion that starts between guitar riffs, piano chords and the singer's penetrating voice. Better than a trance, this is a stairway to the underworld opening up. And then there's such a captivating groove on  The Blues Is Alive And Well . It's a great declaration of love for the genre, which, through loneliness, poverty and suffering, remains a faithful friend, a life-saver, an intimate journal. Perhaps the album should be seen as a kind of passing-onward of the blues to the generations to come. Blue No More give a fair account of the idea. It's a duet where Buddy Guy is face-to-face singing with the Pearly Gates. It does not dampen his mood at all, because he knows that he is going to pick his baton. And James Bay echoes his master's words back to him: "I will not be blue no more". © Clara Bismuth / Qobuz

On the January 27, 2016 legendary folk artist Joan Baez celebrated her 75th birthday with a performance at the Beacon Theater in New York. Joined by all-star cast of musicians including Judy Collins, Emmylou Harris, Richard Thompson, and Jackson Browne, the concert was captured for posterity on this 21-track collection. © Rich Wilson /TiVo

Leaving Songs by Tindersticks frontman Stuart Staples is his second solo album; his first, Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04, wasn't released in the States until now, as it is included here, thankfully, as a bonus disc. Leaving Songs is a true departure for Staples. The vocals and backing tracks were recorded in Nashville by Mark Nevers with the overdubs recorded back at Lucky Dog in the U.K. After the first lines of "Goodbye to Old Friends," the opening cut, it's obvious that this record is different, in its way, from what Staples has done before, either with or without his band; the tempo, horn lines, the chorus of female backing vocalists. That's not to say it's not immediately identifiable as Staples. There's no hiding that voice. He emerges here as a more "traditional" kind of songwriter; the tunes are more conventional in structure, but like his spiritual mentor Leonard Cohen, Staples' lyrics are rooted firmly in the terrain of love, loss, regret, passage, dissolution, and absence. The cover, a painting of a seaman smoking a pipe, is telltale, as is the title. Each song here is about transition, walking away, looking back after having left, preparation for leaving, and all of them read through the guise of love. "There Is a Path," which closely resembles a Cohen track with its gentle female vocalists crooning in the background, finds Staples continuing to move ahead despite the pull of memory and sense impression. Strings, a glockenspiel, and acoustic guitars wind their ways around every word. "The Road Is Long" is a duet with Maria McKee. Its languid tempo, with sparse piano and acoustic guitars and a whispering organ ushering it in as Staples enters almost immediately, spelling out his desire to be with the Beloved, no matter what else he has to leave behind. McKee answers, she's tired of movement and running. A pedal whines in the dance, and McKee's conviction is complete; there is no compromise. Think Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood and you get the picture. The other duet here is with Llasa de Sela. The sheer open country melody finds Staples talking about his feeling of leaving supported by an upright piano, a double-time acoustic guitar whispering to his every word. And when the drums kick in, it's de Sela replying about the personal loss incurred in wiping away the past and the people leaving loved ones behind. The drums become more insistent, underscoring these lines with urgency. And then the horns and the strings create the third possibility: the promise of a new start, one in pastoral grandeur. They back off a bit when Staples insists in on having his way and de Sela wins over the strings and horns as the argument continues. It's a breathtaking moment. The strolling country of "This Old Town" is utterly charming. "Already Gone" is one more song about the desire to leave and its cost. Each song winds into the next, resulting with "Pulling into the Sea," where both departure and arrival become the same thing with softly articulated electric and acoustic guitars, brushed snares, and a piano filling the ends of lines of two lovers together not running, not arriving, simply together in the no man's land of the sea, as the ebb and flow of the music is relaxed, gently, oh so gently, lapping up against the lyric. For those who haven't heard Lucky Dog Recordings, the contrast will be startling, though Leaving Songs is enough on its own as Staples' most mature statement yet. © Thom Jurek /TiVo

Live at Earls Court finds British rock icon Morrissey and his band performing in London at the end of the You Are the Quarry tour. Not to be confused with the DVD Who Put the "M" in Manchester? recorded at the beginning of the tour in May, Live at Earls Court is a completely different concert from December 2004 and features a vastly different set list. While past live Morrissey albums such as Beethoven Was Deaf featured the singer's penchant for beautifully ragged ersatz rockabilly, Earls Court showcases the more polished group sound developed out of the You Are the Quarry sessions, which isn't to say that Morrissey has lost his edge. On the contrary -- such songs as "I Have Forgiven Jesus" and "The World Is Full of Crashing Bores" prove that his legendary wit and sardonic tongue are fully intact and as sharp as ever. Similarly, his burnished baritone vocals have arguably never sounded better and the lush, muscular band arrangements frame him with a glam regality befitting his late-career resurgence. Although newer songs off You Are the Quarry are the focus, longtime Moz fans will be delighted at the amount of Smiths songs included here. In fact, the mix of the old, the new, and the unexpected -- he also performs some rare B-sides -- makes Live at Earls Court one of the most successful albums of Morrissey's career.© Matt Collar /TiVo

Recorded live at the Sydney-based Hillsong Church, There Is More is the 26th live praise & worship album from acclaimed Australian CCM ensemble Hillsong Worship, whose catalog boasts numerous influential and well-loved worship songs. Featuring new original songs by one of Hillsong's leading hitmakers, Brooke Ligertwood, the album is led by the single "Who You Say I Am" and explores themes taken from the Book of Genesis 32.© Timothy Monger /TiVo