With Paranoïa, Angels, True Love, Christine And The Queens embarks on a long spiritual journey, with Madonna as their guiding high priestess. The two artists met in 2015 during a concert by the American, when Madonna had invited him to go on stage to choreograph a few dance steps. For this album, Christine And the Queens called on her to speak instead of sing. Seduced by the sheer madness of the project, Madonna agreed to take part in three songs (Angels Crying in My Bed, I Met an Angel and Lick the Light Out). Christine And The Queens wanted to salute this iconic voice "which speaks with all the facets inscribed in our consciousness, taking on multiple forms and roles, from the maternal figure to the dominatrix". As for the second feature of the album, the American singer and rapper 070 Shake, who can be heard on True Love and Let Me Touch You Once, makes an appearance. The spiritual form of Paranoïa, Angels, True Love owes a lot to the music produced by Mike Dean (who works with Jay-Z and Beyoncé). Often coated with a trip hop colour that reflects the multiple influences of Christine And The Queens, the tracks cede the place of honour to spectrally high strings and ecstatic electric guitar solos. We also hear a mystical cover of Canon de Pachelbel (Full of Life). Finally, this album is a way for Christine and the Queens to showcase the full range of their voice, which has never been so mixed and reverberated, for it to have maximum effect (A Day in the Water). Paranoia, Angels, True Love can be perceived as the singer's tribute to a highly determined English-speaking pop, but the air of strange musical comedy shows that this resolutely atypical object belongs only to them. © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz

With Iechyd Da - “good health” in Welsh as he comes from West Kirby, a small town nestled in the Wirral peninsula between Wales and Liverpool - Bill Ryder-Jones begins 2024 with grace. This fifth record follows the hazy shoegaze of Yawn, released 5 years earlier, and Yawny Yawn, his stripped-back piano version. The ex-guitarist of The Coral embarked on his solo journey in 2008 with a definitive departure from the rock quintet, whose glory had become as overwhelming as its stresses. These difficulties and his own melancholy have formed the basis, throughout his career, of the Englishman’s intimate music of languid, chamber-like folk ballads.They roll out here with an immensity that is more organic and luminous, releasing the pain of thwarted love with soaring strings. Opting for orchestral pop, sometimes reminiscent of the 60s, the gritty songwriter always writes of his struggles but is now fuelled by hope. Mirroring contortions of the heart and mind, the rhythms speed up and fade out, and the orchestration builds and diminishes, illustrating his emotions with melodic precision and luxury. In this optimistic production, the mixing once again entrusted to James Ellis Ford, we hear for the first time a village children’s choir (“We Don’t Need Them”, “It’s Today Again”), which brings an innocent warmth. The whole thing gently closes with the delicate notes of the instrumental song “Nos Da” (“good night” in Welsh). Astounding. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

With Wallflower, Diana Krall has made a journey to the wellspring of pop. For this album, coming out on Verve, the Canadian singer and pianist revisits tracks that were made famous by The Mamas & The Papas, Elton John, the Eagles, the Carpenters, Gilbert O’Sullivan, 10CC, Randy Newman, Crowded House, Bob Dylan and the Beatles. Diana Krall lends this collection charm, class and refinement which are all her own… © CM/Qobuz

When Alice in Chains' debut album, Facelift, was released in 1990, about a year before Nirvana's Nevermind, the thriving Seattle scene barely registered on the national musical radar outside of underground circles (although Soundgarden's major-label debut, Louder Than Love, was also released that year and brought them a Grammy nomination). That started to change when MTV jumped all over the video for "Man in the Box," giving the group a crucial boost and helping to pave the way for grunge's popular explosion toward the end of 1991. Although their dominant influences -- Black Sabbath, the Stooges -- were hardly unique on the Seattle scene, Alice in Chains were arguably the most metallic of grunge bands, which gave them a definite appeal outside the underground; all the same, the group's sinister, brooding, suffocating sound resembled little else gaining wide exposure on the 1990 hard rock scene. Neither hedonistic nor especially technically accomplished, Alice in Chains' songs were mostly slow, oppressive dirges with a sense of melody that was undeniable, yet which crept along over the murky sludge of the band's instrumental attack in a way that hardly fit accepted notions of what made hard rock catchy and accessible. Although some parts of Facelift sink into turgid, ponderous bombast (particularly over the erratic second half), and the lyrics are sometimes immature, the overall effect is fresh, exciting, and powerful. While Alice in Chains would go on to do better and more consistent work, Facelift was one of the most important records in establishing an audience for grunge and alternative rock among hard rock and heavy metal listeners, and with its platinum sales certification, it also made Alice in Chains the first Seattle band to break through to a wider, less exclusively underground audience.© Steve Huey /TiVo

A number one album in both the Top 200 and country album charts in early 1975, this was Ronstadt's breakthrough into wider stardom, spawning hit singles on both the country and pop charts. When describing the string of mid-70s albums that were the fruit of the partnership between singer Linda Ronstadt and producer Peter Asher, the word "curated" seems to fit best. The Ronstadt/Asher song choice alchemy here reached perfection for the first time. Every track feels and sounds exactly right, the sonics are stellar, and the arrangements and playing are transcendent. Here the talented pair mix songwriters, tempos and a range of emotions stretching from the accusatory opening blast of "You're No Good" to a somber, slow duet with Maria Muldaur on the Anna McGarrigle-penned title track. Ronstadt is again backed by a crowd of supremely musical players, led this time by multi-instrumentalist Andrew Gold. Never afraid to wade into deep waters and add her own reading to songs indelibly associated with another singer, Ronstadt here turns in a compelling take on the Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham classic, "Dark Side of the Street," (otherwise best known as the signature hit for baritone soul singer James Carr). Further on, the trio of The Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved," through Lowell George's "Willin" to a duet with Emmylou Harris on Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)," is a quintessential example of the carefully calibrated, track-by-track mix of styles and arrangements that made Ronstadt's best 70s albums so listenable and their star into such a towering artist. © Robert Baird / Qobuz

With her sophomore album, 2022's Linger Awhile, Samara Joy achieved an uncommon feat, winning the Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best New Artist. While Joy is no stranger to accolades, having emerged to acclaim as the winner of the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Jazz Competition, her double success at the Grammys was a surprise for a jazz singer, especially one whose impressive style harks back to icons like the aforementioned Vaughan, Betty Carter, and Dinah Washington. Produced by Matt Pierson, Linger Awhile nicely showcases Joy's verdant tone and adept vocalese skills. Part of the album's charm is how straightforward it is, with Joy framed by her acoustic ensemble featuring longtime guitarist Pasquale Grasso, pianist Ben Paterson, bassist David Wong, and drummer Kenny Washington. There are also tasteful contributions by saxophonist Kendric McCallister, trombonist Donovan Austin, and trumpeter Terrell Stafford. Joy brings a dusky warmth to standards like "Guess Who I Saw Today," "Misty," and an achingly slow rendition of "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)." Particularly notable is her vocalese take on trumpeter Fats Navarro's "Nostalgia," for which she wrote her own romantic lyrics, including some for the legendary bebop trumpeter's original 1947 solo. While Joy isn't the first jazz singer to sing a transcribed solo with lyrics, her artful attention to detail speaks to her maturity and deep feeling for the music -- aspects redolent throughout Linger Awhile. © Matt Collar /TiVo

On her fifth R&B-inflected album, British singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé makes pop music for grown-ups. "I put my heart on my wrist, don't wanna bleed no more … You can put the blame on me, I swear/ Even though it hurts, I'll still be there for you," she sings on "There For You." It is about, she has said, continuing to feel love for exes after the relationships are over. "Even if I'm pissed off with them for a couple of years, I'll always care for them, I'll always want to know they're OK. Because once you've committed to that love with someone, it doesn't just go away." Big, sweeping R&B track "All This Love" focuses on being dumped way before you're ready: "Since you stopped calling me baby/ Things have been a little bit shady/ Been jumping out of aeroplanes/ Racing in the fastest lanes," she sings, wildly self-aware but unable to control herself. "What am I supposed to do with all this love?" Sandé implores, going from curious to desperately confused to ecstatic, her voice reaching a new high plane with seemingly no choice but to spread all that love around. The title track, a swelling breakup ballad, is equally powerful. Sandé's words suggest she's wounded and taking on blame—"We could've done better/ But sooner or later/ We stopped all love letters"—but it doesn't stop her from flying to the rafters while, beneath her, crisp, cool, giant drum beats fire off shocks to the system. That drum style also carries "End of Time," a bit of gospel soul that allows Sandé to get showy with her soprano. "My Boy LIkes to Party" is adult contemporary with a nervous edge, thanks to a skittering beat and iced, machinated effects on Sandé's vocals before she leans into the interesting rushed bridge. "Lighthouse," meanwhile, eases back with tropical dub rhythms and a slow-spinning shimmer that compliments the huskier shadow of her velvet-soft voice. It's a bit Alicia Keys-esque, as is soulful piano track "Love"—which highlights Sandé's remarkable control as she impressively alternates between dove coos and strongly delivered words. There are other familiar touchstones here, too. You can imagine Beyoncé from a different era—circa B'Day, perhaps—tackling songs like "True Colours" or "Nothing We Can't Handle."  © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

With his second solo album released in November 1982, the former Genesis drummer/singer eyes a slightly more pop sound, which leans ever so wonderfully into Soul and R&B. We thus find in the heart of this Hello, I Must Be Going, a great cover of You Can't Hurry Love by Diana Ross' The Supremes, a single which would go on to top the British charts with near ease. This album, brilliantly produced by Phil Collins himself, (the 100% 80s sound ages rather well, and with the album finally remastered in 24-Bit Hi-Res, it really comes alive) is most remarkable for Collins' unique vocals combined with the unerring ability to sign off hit songs where rhythm is always at the heart. For a drummer, perhaps its not that surprising ... © CM/Qobuz

Arriving ten years after the single-disc Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits (known as Rocket Man: Number Ones in North America) and 15 years after the double-disc Greatest Hits 1970-2002, Diamonds ups the game by offering two variations on Elton John's greatest hits: a double-CD version and a limited-edition triple-disc box set. Given John's canon is close to set, it should come as no surprise that Diamonds follows the same path as its predecessors -- indeed, the first ten songs on Diamonds are the same as those on Greatest Hits 1970-2002, with minor rejiggering; ultimately, there is a 26-song overlap -- but within its standard two-disc set, it finds a place for some important hits absent in prior comps. Notably, this has "Little Jeannie," "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That," and his live duet with George Michael, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," all welcome additions, and as it extends into the present, it also finds space for John's artistic renaissance of the 21st century in the form of "Electricity," "Home Again," and "Looking Up." The third disc on the deluxe version deepens the story further by adding a bunch of hits that could've feasibly been included on the first two discs -- "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Pinball Wizard," "Mama Can't Buy You Love," "Part-Time Love," "Victim of Love," "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," "Kiss the Bride," the superstar charity single "That's What Friends Are For" -- and also underscores his enduring stardom and cultural reach by including OK '90s U.K. hits with Kiki Dee, Pavarotti, and LeAnn Rimes, plus his 2012 U.S. dance hit with Pnau, "Good Morning to the Night" (conspicuous in their absence is any duet with Leon Russell). This last disc offers up plenty of hits but it also feels slightly messy because of the leap from "Kiss the Bride" to "Live Like Horses," but that only indicates how John would've been equally well served by a four-disc set. Instead, we get this excellent -- if incomplete -- collection that is equally satisfying in either its double-disc or triple-disc incarnation.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

One album after another, Cecile McLorin Salvant reminds us she’s anything but the stereotypical “jazz singer”. Revealed to the public in 2013 with her gorgeous WomanChild, she stepped it up a gear two years later with For One To Love, an even more masterful and complete record, on which her voice worked wonders. Born on August 28th, 1989 in Miami, Florida, she studied French law, baroque and vocal jazz in Aix-en-Provence before winning the Thelonious Monk International Competition in 2010 (at only 20, in front of a jury composed of Al Jarreau, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Patti Austin, Dianne Reeves and Kurt Elling!). She went on to display impressive qualities as a composer as well with five original songs on her 2015 album. With Dreams And Dagger the French-American, who now lives in Harlem, is releasing a third album recorded live at Village Vanguard, the New York Mecca of jazz, and at the DiMenna Center, supported by her faithful trio (pianist Aaron Diehl, bass player Paul Sikivie and drummer Lawrence Leathers) and some guests on a few tracks, such as Quatuor Catalyst and pianist Sullivan Fortner. A real choice for the artist, who wishes she could only record live albums, the context in which her band’s sound is most faithfully presented. More classic in its form than her two previous works, Dreams And Dagger is proof of her fluency no matter the repertoire. For a classic like My Man’s Gone Now, for which thousands of versions already exist, she embarks with her voice on unique paths, to astounding effect! Furthermore, Cecile McLorin Salvant fully bonds with her trio, which isn’t just a simple stooge for her amazing voice, but an essential part of her musical world. Once again, she blazes an even deeper trail, far from the Billie/Sarah/Ella Holy Trinity, because as Wynton Marsalis put it: “You only get a singer like this once in a generation or two…”. © MD/Qobuz

Blue & Lonesome is the first studio album in over a decade from The Rolling Stones. Recorded in just three days in London, England, Blue & Lonesome takes the band back to their roots and the passion for blues music which has always been at the heart and soul of the Rolling Stones. Blue & Lonesome is available in various formats and will be released on December 2nd by Polydor Records. The album was recorded over the course of just three short days in December 2015 at British Grove Studios in West London, just a stone’s throw from Richmond and Eel Pie Island where the Stones started out as a young blues band playing pubs and clubs. Their approach to the album was that it should be spontaneous and played live in the studio without overdubs. The band – Mick Jagger (vocals & harp), Keith Richards (guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ronnie Wood (guitar) were joined by their long time touring sidemen Darryl Jones (bass), Chuck Leavell (keyboards) and Matt Clifford (keyboards) and, for two of the twelve tracks, by old friend Eric Clapton, who happened to be in the next studio making his own album. Blue & Lonesome sees the Rolling Stones tipping their hats to their early days as a blues band when they played the music of Jimmy Reed, Willie Dixon, Eddie Taylor, Little Walter and Howlin’ Wolf – artists whose songs are featured on this album. The tracks are – ‘Just Your Fool’, ‘Commit A Crime’, ‘Blue And Lonesome’, ‘All Of Your Love’, ‘I Gotta Go’, ‘Everybody Knows About My Good Thing’, ‘Ride ‘Em On Down’, ‘Hate To See You Go’, ‘Hoo Doo Blues’, ‘Little Rain’, ‘Just Like I Treat You’, ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’. “This album is manifest testament to the purity of their love for making music, and the blues is, for the Stones, the fountainhead of everything they do.” - Don Was, Co-Producer of Blue & Lonesome. - @rollingstones.com

Returning to the large ensemble sound of her 2005 success, Christmas Songs, pianist/vocalist Diana Krall delivers a superb performance on 2006's From This Moment On. Although having received a largely positive critical response for her creative departure into original singer/songwriter jazz material on 2004's The Girl in the Other Room, here listeners find Krall diving headlong into the Great American Songbook that has long been her bread and butter. While she's always been a pleasant presence on album, Krall has developed from a talented pianist who can sing nicely into an engaging, classy, and sultry vocalist with tastefully deft improvisational chops. But it's not just that her phrasing and tone are well-schooled. Having long drawn comparisons to such iconic and icy jazz singers as Julie London and Peggy Lee, Krall truly earns such high praise here. In fact, tracks like "Willow Weep for Me" and "Little Girl Blue" are drawn with such virtuosic melancholy by Krall as to be far and away some of the best ballads she's put to record. Similarly impressive big swing numbers like "Come Dance with Me" showcase her muscular rhythmic chops both vocally and on the keys. Backing her here is the always wonderful Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, featuring some punchy and solid solo spots by trumpeter Terell Stafford, as well as the rhythm section talents of guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Jeff Hamilton.© Matt Collar /TiVo

Virtually ignored upon its 1989 release, Pretty Hate Machine gradually became a word-of-mouth cult favorite; despite frequent critical bashings, its stature and historical importance only grew in hindsight. In addition to its stealthy rise to prominence, part of the album's legend was that budding auteur Trent Reznor took advantage of his low-level job at a Cleveland studio to begin recording it. Reznor had a background in synth-pop, and the vast majority of Pretty Hate Machine was electronic. Synths voiced all the main riffs, driven by pounding drum machines; distorted guitars were an important textural element, but not the primary focus. Pretty Hate Machine was something unique in industrial music -- certainly no one else was attempting the balladry of "Something I Can Never Have," but the crucial difference was even simpler. Instead of numbing the listener with mechanical repetition, Pretty Hate Machine's bleak electronics were subordinate to catchy riffs and verse-chorus song structures, which was why it built such a rabid following with so little publicity. That innovation was the most important step in bringing industrial music to a wide audience, as proven by the frequency with which late-'90s alternative metal bands copied NIN's interwoven guitar/synth textures. It was a new soundtrack for adolescent angst -- noisily aggressive and coldly detached, tied together by a dominant personality. Reznor's tortured confusion and self-obsession gave industrial music a human voice, a point of connection. His lyrics were filled with betrayal, whether by lovers, society, or God; it was essentially the sound of childhood illusions shattering, and Reznor was not taking it lying down. Plus, the absolute dichotomies in his world -- there was either purity and perfection, or depravity and worthlessness -- made for smashing melodrama. Perhaps the greatest achievement of Pretty Hate Machine was that it brought emotional extravagance to a genre whose main theme had nearly always been dehumanization.© Steve Huey /TiVo

A decade of inconsistent, spotty, or simply confusing output from iconic Irish singer/songwriter Sinéad O'Connor was redeemed with 2012's refreshingly focused and honest effort How About I Be Me (And You Be You)? That album saw O'Connor effortlessly creating the same type of emotionally charged yet easily melodic fare that constituted her earliest, most popular work, and positioned her for a graceful return to form. Two years later, I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss follows the impassioned pop framework of its immediate predecessor, branching out into even more vivid stylistic dimensions and retaining all the energy, controversy, and fire that have come to define O'Connor as both a musician and a political figure. Taken at face value, the songs here are vibrant and multifaceted. The album opens with a song that curiously shares a title with the record that came right before this one, a smooth alt-pop production about desire and a quest for sweetness, driven by a melancholic chord progression and multi-tracked vocals of soft, swaying harmonies. A blues structure guides tracks like the country-flavored twang of "Dense Water Deeper Down" as well as the shuffling, heavy guitars of "The Voice of My Doctor." Saxophonist Seun Kuti shows up for a guest spot on the snaky funk of "James Brown" and Brian Eno is also somewhere on the album adding synth textures in a way no one else can. When Sinéad switches into a pop mode, the results are buoyant and beautiful, as with the yearning sentiments and hooky chorus of "Your Green Jacket" or the strident, building guitar pop of "Take Me to Church." Circumstances outside of the recording studio creep into I'm the Boss. Though none of the songs overtly address the issue, the months leading up to this album saw O'Connor writing an open letter to Miley Cyrus warning her of the exploitive nature of the music industry waiting to chew her up and spit her out as she spun out into an increasingly cartoonish public persona. Cyrus responded with aloof sarcasm and distance, picking at O'Connor's issues with shaky mental health and possibly missing the point that someone who experienced the slippery road of stardom before her could offer a valuable perspective. Instead of choosing to fire off against Miley in a venomous diss track, O'Connor turns her gaze inward, reasserting how problematic the music industry can be on "8 Good Reasons" with lines like "You know, I love to make music/But my head got wrecked by the business." Despite the controversies that have swarmed around her since the beginning, unfriendly or unfair press, and a history of musical wandering that fans couldn't fully get behind, Sinéad has rarely catered to anyone. That I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss continues a string of strong, entirely enjoyable releases is a bonus for Sinéad's audience, but as evidenced by liner notes that proclaim "this album is dedicated to me," she's still doing it for no one but herself.© Fred Thomas /TiVo

While most of the discussions of Frank Zappa have to do with his satirical and off-color lyrics, the fact remains that he was one of the finest and most underappreciated guitarists around. This collection places the spotlight squarely on Zappa's mastery of the guitar. Recorded for the most part in 1979 and 1980 (with a few tracks dating as far back as 1977), Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar is simply a collection of guitar solos. Even though most of the tracks were just edited out of their original song context, they fare well as stand-alone pieces, as Zappa was an ever-inventive player. Take, for example, the three versions of "Shut Up." These tracks were simply the guitar solos from "Inca Roads," but thanks to Zappa's ability for "instant composition," each version has its own complete story to tell, without ever being redundant. Other highlights are the reggae-tinged "Treacherous Cretins" and the beautiful "Pink Napkins." In addition to the electric guitar mangling contained on Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, there are a couple of rare tracks that feature Zappa on acoustic guitar in a trio with Warren Cuccurullo on acoustic rhythm guitar and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums. In fact, special mention goes to Colaiuta for his polyrhythmic daring all over this album. All bandmembers play great throughout, but Colaiuta's playing is mind blowing. The album closes with another oddity: a gorgeous duet between Zappa on electric bouzouki and Jean-Luc Ponty on baritone violin. This is an album that should be heard by anyone who's into guitar playing. Highly recommended. © Sean Westergaard /TiVo