A misconception has sometimes been associate with Norah Jones: that the Texan is little more than a pleasant light-jazz singer whose albums serve as harmless background music for high-brow and proper evening dinners. Though her writing, playing and eclectic collaborations, she has clearly proved that she is far more interesting than this cliché. And this 2020 offering is a new illustration of her complexity. As is often the case with Norah Jones, Pick Me Up Off the Floor is not quite jazz, not quite blues, not quite country, etc… Her genre-defying music works primarily to suit the song being played. Here we find what has been left behind after sessions with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Thomas Bartlett, Mavis Staples, Rodrigo Amarante and several others.But for all that the result is not simply a contrived mishmash of collaborations but a collection of songs that hold the same silky groove (present on six out of 11 tracks on the record in which Brian Blade’s drums work delicate miracles) and calm sound which increasingly suits the artist, somewhere between pure poetry and realism. “Every session I’ve done, there’ve been extra songs I didn’t release, and they’ve sort of been collecting for the last two years. I became really enamoured with them, having the rough mixes on my phone, listening while I walk the dog. The songs stayed stuck in my head and I realised that they had this surreal thread running through them. It feels like a fever dream taking place somewhere between God, the Devil, the heart, the Country, the planet, and me.” Rarely has Norah Jones sang with such strength, like on I’m Alive where she sings of women’s resilience, or on How I Weep in which she tackles love and exasperation with unequalled grace. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Jason Isbell released his first solo record not long after parting ways with the Drive-By Truckers and quickly settled into a groove with his band, the 400 Unit, releasing two well-received albums and winning Song of the Year at the 2012 Americana Music Awards for "Alabama Pines." But his fourth solo record, Southeastern—the first released under his own name—is even more stunning. Produced by Dave Cobb and released in the wake of Isbell getting sober, the landmark modern Americana album feels like a collection of short stories populated by vibrant, deeply human characters grappling with challenging life experiences. "Elephant" is a striking song about the complicated emotions that crop up with a friend dying from cancer; "Songs That She Sang In The Shower" features someone in a dark mental space haunted by the memory of an ex's presence; and "Yvette" is from the perspective of a teenage boy ready to protect a classmate from abuse. And the stark "Traveling Alone" on which Isbell's wife Amanda Shires contributes solemn fiddle and vocals, focuses on a narrator who's weary of his own behaviors (and past) and is looking for a fresh start.Isbell's strident guitars cut to the emotional quick throughout, whether hewing toward delicate folk-rock or his trademark Southern rock roar. However, he also cut many of his vocals in one take, which gives Southeastern a feeling of raw immediacy that's matched by Cobb's warm production. But in a nod to one of the album's thematic undercurrents—searching for connection and community wherever you can—Isbell surrounds himself with guest musicians. Will Johnson's vocals enrich the barnstorming "Super 8," while Kim Richey appears on two songs, including the waltzing folk number "Stockholm." Isbell's 400 Unit bandmates Chad Gamble and Derry deBorja add drums and keyboards (respectively). An expanded 2023 version of Southeastern contains demos and live tracks (and is also newly in hi-res), which amplifies the nuances of the songwriting. A decade-plus on, the album remains one of Isbell's finest—and most vulnerable—moments. © Annie Zaleski/Qobuz

Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, is back with his anticipated fourth album After Hours, an intoxicating R&B record that feels like a natural progression from its predecessors. After 2016’s Starboy and the EP My Dear Melancholy 2 years later, the chart-topping singer made his acting debut in the Netflix thriller Uncut Gems alongside Adam Sandler. This may have been behind the inspiration for this new character the singer portrays with a broken nose, leather gloves and deep red tux in the album cover and the music video for lead single Blinding Lights, reminiscent of A-Ha’s Take On Me, the new wave from the 1980s and its synthwave revival. “I don’t like to leave my house too much. It’s a gift and a curse but it helps me give undivided attention to my work… It distracts from the loneliness, I guess”, confesses the Canadian. Unlike Starboy, there are no features on this album, The Weeknd choosing instead to invite a range of top tier producers to refine the music: Metro Boomin on the epilogue Until I Bleed Out, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker on Repeat After Me (Interlude), the loyal Illangelo, vaporwave pioneer Oneohtrix Point Never for Scared to Live and even hitmaker Max Martin (Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Britney Spears) for the pop-sounding Save Your Tears, resulting in 14 tracks that blend soul, R&B and new wave nuances. ©️ Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, is back with his anticipated fourth album After Hours, an intoxicating R&B record that feels like a natural progression from its predecessors. After 2016’s Starboy and the EP My Dear Melancholy 2 years later, the chart-topping singer made his acting debut in the Netflix thriller Uncut Gems alongside Adam Sandler. This may have been behind the inspiration for this new character the singer portrays with a broken nose, leather gloves and deep red tux in the album cover and the music video for lead single Blinding Lights, reminiscent of A-Ha’s Take On Me, the new wave from the 1980s and its synthwave revival. “I don’t like to leave my house too much. It’s a gift and a curse but it helps me give undivided attention to my work… It distracts from the loneliness, I guess”, confesses the Canadian. Unlike Starboy, there are no features on this album, The Weeknd choosing instead to invite a range of top tier producers to refine the music: Metro Boomin on the epilogue Until I Bleed Out, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker on Repeat After Me (Interlude), the loyal Illangelo, vaporwave pioneer Oneohtrix Point Never for Scared to Live and even hitmaker Max Martin (Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Britney Spears) for the pop-sounding Save Your Tears, resulting in 14 tracks that blend soul, R&B and new wave nuances. ©️ Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

When Jeff Beck died in January 2023, he was preparing several projects. Beck, Bogert & Appice formed in 1972 after two years of scheduling difficulties (the guitarist led the Jeff Beck Group while bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice served together in Vanilla Fudge and Cactus). BBA's self-titled studio album appeared in 1973; they toured the globe and cut a live album from concerts in Osaka, Japan. It was released there briefly. A sophomore effort was planned, but Beck abandoned the trio shortly after a January 1974 London gig. The tapes of those shows sat in Beck's vault for nearly 50 years. In the early 2020s, he and Appice mixed them from the original multi-track tapes, resulting in Live 1973 & 1974. The LP's pristine sound quality captures the trio at the very beginning of their existence and at the very end with excellent performances. The Rainbow Theater gig includes songs intended for a second studio album. The box's first two discs were recorded at Osaka's Koseinenkin Hall in 1973. It kicks off with a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." It and "Sweet Surrender" (starting off disc two) were released as a single to promote the Japanese tour. The former is raw, unruly, and explosive. Beck's intro gives way to unhinged playing from Bogert, as Appice's drumming walks the line between the propulsive power of Keith Moon and the jazz-funk savvy of Billy Cobham. Their studio album is referenced only once more on the first disc, with the raucous, blues-metal "Lose Myself with You," followed by "Beck's Bolero"/"Jeff's Boogie," a screaming "Goin' Down," and a sprawling, 14-minute "Morning Dew." Tim Bogert's vocals are serviceable but that's all: they lack identity. Appice is a stronger singer and he's used half the time. If this box has a weak point, generic vocals are it. The BBA album is also represented on disc two by "Living Alone," the shambolic "I'm So Proud," the Yarbirds-esque "Lady," and the rootsy hard rock of "Why Should I Care."The Rainbow gig opens with the unreleased "Satisfied," a bluesy soul workout with funky breaks in overdrive. Also included are performances of unissued instrumentals: "Solid Lifter" (that quotes Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone from the Sun") and the blasting "Jizz Whizz," a free-form rocking blues jam where Beck references the Allman Brothers and Les Paul. Disc four kicks off with a revisioned high-octane cover of the soul tune "Name the Missing Word (Praying)" and a pile-driving read of the traditional "Get Ready (Your Lovemaker's Comin' Home)," "Superstition," and a medley of "Blues Deluxe"/"You Shook Me," all of which gloriously elevate the proceeding. Live 1973 & Live 1974 is packaged in a handsomely designed black-and-white box with four discs with their sleeves replicated in rice paper. The box includes a 60-page hardcover book with rare photos, a facsimile tour program and poster, and an exceptional historical liner essay by manager Bruce Pilato. No odds-and-sods collection, Live 1973 & 1974 proves BBA's might as a power trio who combine a heaviness, groove, and musical virtuosity on par with Cream and the Hendrix bands, making it an essential document.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

The history of rock is full of bands that go unnoticed, along with their all-too neglected albums… Love and their record Forever Changes are at the front of the peloton in that category. Released in November 1967, this third studio album by the Californian quintet rivals some of the greatest records by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Kinks because it offers a unique alternative. The ingenious and elusive Arthur Lee mixed together every genre imaginable on the album, from pop, jazz, folk and flamenco to psychedelic rock, psychedelia and classical music. With a touch of baroque, we find rather daring and audacious brass and string arrangements by David Angel. Carried by Lee's whirling voice and Bryan MacLean's clear guitars, Love created a record that is melancholic at some points, cheerful at others, but always very profound. The eclectic sound stems from its authors; Lee veers towards more bluesy rock melodies while MacLean is open to plural sonorities, whether they are classical or world music... The Summer of Love dismantled its tent for a few months and Forever Changes, an album that meanders between baroque pop and psychedelic folk, became the soundtrack of the disillusionment of America and its citizens. They were still dreamers, just perhaps aware of the fact that years to come wouldn’t be quite so multicoloured. In short, this album fuses the sublime with the sinister, and the years slide past this masterpiece without ever eroding its beauty. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

That’s a hell of a list. With such famous friends, Sheryl Crow has turned Threads into an incredibly impressive collaborative album. The 5-star casting is wonderfully eclectic. From Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones to Public Enemy’s Chuck D., Willie Nelson, St. Vincent, Sting, Emmylou Harris, Lucius, Mavis Staples, Stevie Nicks, James Taylor, Jason Isbell and even her ex, Eric Clapton, the American singer crosses over stylistic and generational boundaries, highlighting her own colourful musical identity. Over the course of her ten previous albums, Sheryl Crow has slalomed between rock’n’roll, pop, country, blues and soul, never settling down in one genre. Such is the case again on Threads, even if the general atmosphere remains rooted in a rather classical rock’n’roll. When she topped the charts in the early 90s, this classicism already stood out next to her contemporaries such as Nirvana, Beck and The Smashing Pumpkins... Crow composed the bulk of the songs on this record, as well as adding some exceptionally tasty covers to the mix (George Harrison’s Beware of Darkness, Bob Dylan’s Everything is Broken, The Worst by the Rolling Stones, Kris Kristofferson’s Border Lord). Her prose on this record is more introspective than ever, taking on an almost confessional tone. Perhaps something to do with her recent shocking statement: Threads will be her last record! While we wait to find out if she will ever reconsider, Sheryl Crow signs her densest work at the age of 57. © Max Dembo/Qobuz

With her debut recording In the Heat of the Night, Pat Benatar wasted no time starting out of the gate with the furious leadoff track "Heartbreaker," which solidified her place in a class of women who were taking the rock world by storm in the late '70s. In the Heat of the Night was an album that obviously had its share of filler, but the one-two punch of "Heartbreaker" and the John Cougar Mellencamp tune "I Need a Lover" leading off the album made enough of a statement to put her on the pop charts. The deflated three tracks following are easily forgettable, especially the sci-fi '50s ballad "My Clone Sleeps Alone," but the remainder of the album packs enough grit and solid songwriting (especially the Blondie-esque "So Sincere") that it remains an impressive debut and foreshadows a glimpse of great things to come. © Rob Theakston /TiVo

Jason Isbell released his first solo record not long after parting ways with the Drive-By Truckers and quickly settled into a groove with his band, the 400 Unit, releasing two well-received albums and winning Song of the Year at the 2012 Americana Music Awards for "Alabama Pines." But his fourth solo record, Southeastern—the first released under his own name—is even more stunning. Produced by Dave Cobb and released in the wake of Isbell getting sober, the landmark modern Americana album feels like a collection of short stories populated by vibrant, deeply human characters grappling with challenging life experiences. "Elephant" is a striking song about the complicated emotions that crop up with a friend dying from cancer; "Songs That She Sang In The Shower" features someone in a dark mental space haunted by the memory of an ex's presence; and "Yvette" is from the perspective of a teenage boy ready to protect a classmate from abuse. And the stark "Traveling Alone" on which Isbell's wife Amanda Shires contributes solemn fiddle and vocals, focuses on a narrator who's weary of his own behaviors (and past) and is looking for a fresh start.Isbell's strident guitars cut to the emotional quick throughout, whether hewing toward delicate folk-rock or his trademark Southern rock roar. However, he also cut many of his vocals in one take, which gives Southeastern a feeling of raw immediacy that's matched by Cobb's warm production. But in a nod to one of the album's thematic undercurrents—searching for connection and community wherever you can—Isbell surrounds himself with guest musicians. Will Johnson's vocals enrich the barnstorming "Super 8," while Kim Richey appears on two songs, including the waltzing folk number "Stockholm." Isbell's 400 Unit bandmates Chad Gamble and Derry deBorja add drums and keyboards (respectively). An expanded 2023 version of Southeastern contains demos and live tracks (and is also newly in hi-res), which amplifies the nuances of the songwriting. A decade-plus on, the album remains one of Isbell's finest—and most vulnerable—moments. © Annie Zaleski/Qobuz

Cyrille Aimée isn’t the only French jazz singer to have conquered New York, but she is a genuinely talented interpreter capable of touching anyone who lends an ear to her music. The young woman has spent her entire life immersed in music, slipping away as a child to meet up with gipsies and sing. Regardless of where her sounds or influences come from, Aimée is simply capable of absorbing anything that can feed into her singing. Unbeatable on the history of New Orleans jazz, American pop music, gypsy rhythms and French classics, she wanders through sublime onomatopoeia in this live album recorded at New York Poisson Rouge in August 2017. Released on the Mack Avenue label, Aimée opens with the great Peggy Lee’s It’s a Good Day, accompanied by a guitar reminiscent of Django Reinhardt. Surrounded with guitarists Adrien Moignard and Michaël Valeanu, bassist Dylan Shamat and drummer Dani Danor, Cyrille Aimée effortlessly hypnotises her audience, who don’t refrain from applauding and showing their enthusiasm! She mixes jazz standards, turns to Sidney Bechet’s French balladSi tu vois ma mère, and even dares attempt a Michael Jackson medley with Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. Nothing can resist her golden voice, slightly nasal, a tad childlike, but overflowing with emotions, capable of embarking on improvisations that could last until dawn. © Clara Bismuth/Qobuz

IIII is the fourth album from German DJ and producer Robin Schultz and follows 2017 Uncovered. The album, which includes the single "All We Got," sees the producer delivering a blast of anthemic house-tinged pop.© Rich Wilson /TiVo

A misconception has sometimes been associate with Norah Jones: that the Texan is little more than a pleasant light-jazz singer whose albums serve as harmless background music for high-brow and proper evening dinners. Though her writing, playing and eclectic collaborations, she has clearly proved that she is far more interesting than this cliché. And this 2020 offering is a new illustration of her complexity. As is often the case with Norah Jones, Pick Me Up Off the Floor is not quite jazz, not quite blues, not quite country, etc… Her genre-defying music works primarily to suit the song being played. Here we find what has been left behind after sessions with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Thomas Bartlett, Mavis Staples, Rodrigo Amarante and several others.But for all that the result is not simply a contrived mishmash of collaborations but a collection of songs that hold the same silky groove (present on six out of 11 tracks on the record in which Brian Blade’s drums work delicate miracles) and calm sound which increasingly suits the artist, somewhere between pure poetry and realism. “Every session I’ve done, there’ve been extra songs I didn’t release, and they’ve sort of been collecting for the last two years. I became really enamoured with them, having the rough mixes on my phone, listening while I walk the dog. The songs stayed stuck in my head and I realised that they had this surreal thread running through them. It feels like a fever dream taking place somewhere between God, the Devil, the heart, the Country, the planet, and me.” Rarely has Norah Jones sang with such strength, like on I’m Alive where she sings of women’s resilience, or on How I Weep in which she tackles love and exasperation with unequalled grace. This Deluxe Edition contains two bonus tracks and a collection of 17 songs culled from Norah’s Live From Home weekly livestream series. Thie Live From Home selections include a mix of career-spanning originals and such covers as Guns N’Roses’ Patience, John Prine’s That’s The Way The World Goes Round and Ravi Shankar’s I Am Missing You. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

On Throwing Copper, Live tightened their sound, added crashing crescendos for dramatic effect, and injected some anger into their sound and songwriting. They also eased up a bit on the Eastern philosophy; the result is a more cohesive, memorable record overall, and quite an improvement from the sometimes overly precious Mental Jewelry. And for all of Mental Jewelry's ideologies, Throwing Copper is ultimately a more passionate and successful album, thanks to tracks like "I Alone," "Selling the Drama," and "All Over You," all of which received heavy radio play. The rebirth-themed "Lightning Crashes," the album's biggest hit, was written in memory of Barbara Lewis, a classmate who was killed by a drunk driver in 1993. Other standouts include the Kurt Cobain/Courtney Love-inspired "Stage," the apocalyptic "White, Discussion," the bass-driven, obsessive "Iris," and the dark "Dam at Otter Creek." Of course, Ed Kowalczyk couldn't resist throwing in a song like "T.B.D." (for the Tibetan Book of the Dead), based on Aldous Huxley's slow descent into death, aided by heroin. Its melodrama is a bit much, even for Live, and is just a sign of things to come on their next album, Secret Samadhi. But Throwing Copper is still a huge improvement from Mental Jewelry, and is the least overtly preachy Live album to date.© Gina Boldman /TiVo

On Throwing Copper, Live tightened their sound, added crashing crescendos for dramatic effect, and injected some anger into their sound and songwriting. They also eased up a bit on the Eastern philosophy; the result is a more cohesive, memorable record overall, and quite an improvement from the sometimes overly precious Mental Jewelry. And for all of Mental Jewelry's ideologies, Throwing Copper is ultimately a more passionate and successful album, thanks to tracks like "I Alone," "Selling the Drama," and "All Over You," all of which received heavy radio play. The rebirth-themed "Lightning Crashes," the album's biggest hit, was written in memory of Barbara Lewis, a classmate who was killed by a drunk driver in 1993. Other standouts include the Kurt Cobain/Courtney Love-inspired "Stage," the apocalyptic "White, Discussion," the bass-driven, obsessive "Iris," and the dark "Dam at Otter Creek." Of course, Ed Kowalczyk couldn't resist throwing in a song like "T.B.D." (for the Tibetan Book of the Dead), based on Aldous Huxley's slow descent into death, aided by heroin. Its melodrama is a bit much, even for Live, and is just a sign of things to come on their next album, Secret Samadhi. But Throwing Copper is still a huge improvement from Mental Jewelry, and is the least overtly preachy Live album to date.© Gina Boldman /TiVo

On his third album, Will to Live, Ben Harper strengthens his populist folk with a grittier groove, which even borders on funk, that makes his music more immediate. Harper still has a tendency to preach, yet his melodies are catchier than before, and he has a better sense of rhythm, helping his bluesy songs catch hold.© Leo Stanley /TiVo