Four years after the pinnacle of Stevie Wonder's mid-'70s typhoon of classic albums, Hotter Than July was the proper follow-up to Songs in the Key of Life (his Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants concept record was actually a soundtrack to an obscure movie that fared miserably in theaters). It also found Wonder in a different musical climate than the one that savored his every move from 1972 to 1977. Disco and new wave had slowly crept their way into the mainstream record-buying public, and hindered the once-ample room for socially and politically charged lyrics. However, Wonder naysayed the trends and continues to do what he did best. Solid songwriting, musicianship, and production are evident in the majority of Hotter Than July. Wonder also carries on his tradition of penning songs normally not associated with his trademark sound, from the disco-tinged "All I Do" (originally planned to be released by Tammi Terrell almost ten years previously) to the reggae-influenced smash "Master Blaster (Jammin)," which went straight to the top of the R&B charts. While admittedly there are a few less-than-standard tracks, he closes the album on an amazing high note with one of the most aching ballads in his canon ("Lately") and a touching anthem to civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King, Jr. ("Happy Birthday"). While most definitely not on the same tier as Innervisions or Songs in the Key of Life, Hotter Than July is the portrait of an artist who still had the Midas touch, but stood at the crossroads of an illustrious career.© Rob Theakston /TiVo

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

As big a hit as it was -- and it was a multi-platinum blockbuster, spinning off several chart-toppers -- it’s not easy to think of Whitney Houston’s 1985 debut as the dawning of a new era, but it was. Arriving in the thick of MTV, when the slick sounds of yacht-soul were fading, Whitney Houston is the foundation of diva-pop, straddling clean, cheery R&B and big ballads designed with the adult contemporary audience in mind. Houston’s background lay in the former -- actually, it was even riskier, encompassing a stint with the experimental Bill Laswell outfit Material -- and her benefactor Clive Davis knew all about selling records to the masses. Appealing as this album is, Davis may never have imagined how Whitney Houston would shift tastes, pushing toward skyscraping ballads where the singer’s affectations, not the songs, were paramount -- a move that later led to hollow records, but on Whitney Houston the songs were as important as the immaculate productions. Certainly, the showstopping “Greatest Love of All” provided the blueprint for decades of divas, but it’s the only overblown moment here, with the rest of the ballads -- notably “Saving All My Love for You” and “You Give Good Love” -- burning slowly and seductively, but what really impresses some 20-plus years on are the lighter tracks, particularly the breakthrough single “How Will I Know” and the unheralded “Thinking About You,” a dance/R&B hit co-written by Kashif that remains one of Whitney’s purest pop pleasures. These joyful, rhythmic moments faded away from Houston’s later work -- and also rarely surfaced on the records of those who followed her -- but their presence on this debut turns this into a fully rounded record, the rare debut that manages to telegraph every aspect of an artist's career in a mere ten songs. [The 2010 25th anniversary edition of Whitney Houston is expanded with five bonus tracks -- remixes of “Thinking About You,” “Someone for Me,” “How Will I Know,” a live version of “Greatest Love of All” from 1990, and a superfluous a cappella mix of “How Will I Know” -- and a bonus DVD containing music videos from the album, new interviews, and -- best of all -- Whitney’s star-making 1983 performance on The Merv Griffin Show.]© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

There is no overestimating the historical power and influence of Shania Twain's Come on Over. You can hear it in the music of Taylor Swift (all the way up through 1989, easily), as well as Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, Kelly Clarkson, Maren Morris, latter day The Chicks, even Harry Styles. Its success—40 million copies sold and counting—freed up boundaries (for better or worse) for countless country acts, from Rascal Flatts to Dan + Shay, to be unashamed of going pop. The album's production, by Twain's now-ex husband Mutt Lange (who was previously best known for his work with AC/DC and Def Leppard), is an epoch in the country music timeline—much the way Chet Atkins' Nashville Sound was. While some of those production flourishes sound a bit dated on the three-disc remaster (including domestic and international versions plus a grab bag of collaborations and remixes) of Come on Over, these are still killer songs that would tear it up on country and/or pop radio today. "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" packs an even bigger dose of serotonin. Every aspect—guitar, fiddle, vocals—of "Love Gets Me Every Time" sounds so crisp and clear on both the US version and its international compatriot, famously stripped of the hollering fiddle at the front of the mix. Freshened-up "You're Still the One" glistens, the pedal steel sharp as ever against the gooey cloud of backing vocals. But want something different? There's also a fun 1999 live duet with Elton John turning his twang up to 11, as well as several thumping dancefloor remixes and a largely superfluous version from Twain's 2022 Las Vegas residency, with Coldplay's Chris Martin on piano. There's both the spirited and clicky original of "I'm Holdin' On to Love (To Save My Life)" and a more down-home take with Alison Krauss. The bluegrass queen makes a second appearance on a duet of "From This Moment On," from the Up! Close and Personal live album, offering a warmer, rounder take on the pristine original with Bryan White. A 1999 Miami concert collab on the song with Backstreet Boys puts everyone's vocal acrobatics on display. "Honey, I'm Home," always one of the most countrified tracks on the album, is slick as a whistle, and cowbell positively vibrates on "That Don't Impress Me Much" (and the line "OK, so you're Brad Pitt/ That don't impress me much" still holds up). And while remastering highlights how cheesy Lange's Eurovision-style production is on "Come On Over," Twain just sounds terrific. Viva Shania. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

Lord Huron's fourth full-length effort and the follow-up to 2018's Vide Noir, the aptly named Long Lost sounds trapped in amber -- nostalgia has always been a topical and stylistic throughline for the Los Angeles-based/Michigan-bred indie-folk group. A fever dream of Baroque pop and country-western twang, the 16-track set commences with the first of several interstitial pieces before launching into the opulent single "Mine Forever." Outfitted with plenty of open road imagery, lush vistas, and wet, Morricone-inspired guitar stabs, it's unabashedly retro, stunningly beautiful, and generally indicative of what follows. Peppered with interludes that run the gamut from gang vocal callbacks to spectral radio emissions, Long Lost aims for total immersion, and when consumed in a single sitting, it is undeniably transportive. The sonic touchstones of past outings remain prominent -- the snappy "Not Dead Yet" bears the hallmarks of a Lindsey Buckingham production, and the title cut is awash in dense Fleet Foxes harmonies -- but for the most part, the band's verdant, Midwestern splendor has been consumed by rolling tumbleweeds and open prairies. Except for the jocular "At Sea," an exercise in Nilsson-esque Tiki Torch exotica, Long Lost feels like it was conceived and constructed in the alternate reality of an Old West version of the Moody Blues. Agreeable yet melancholic and peppered with moments of cinematic Lynch-ian weirdness, it's the purest and most satisfying distillation of Lord Huron's pastoral folk-pop to date, and the perfect soundtrack for a road trip to nowhere.© James Christopher Monger /TiVo

Caro Emerald came out of nowhere in 2009 with the summertime hit "Back It Up," a catchy jazz-pop song with a dance beat. The follow-up single, "A Night Like This," was an even bigger hit, topping the Dutch charts. By the time Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor came around, Emerald was well established as one of the most exciting new artists to emerge from the Netherlands in some time, and her full-length album debut was eagerly awaited. It includes the smash hit singles "Back It Up" and "A Night Like This," both written by Vincent de Giorgio, David Schreurs, and Jan van Wieringen. The latter two Dutchmen are Emerald's producers. They released Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor on their Amsterdam label Grandmono Records. In addition to the pair of singles, the album includes ten new songs quite varied in style. "Just One Dance" is straight dance-pop with dashes of jazz, and "The Lipstick on His Collar" draws from both Amy Winehouse circa Back to Black (2006) and Portishead circa Dummy (1994). "The Other Woman" is another song that brings to mind Winehouse and Portishead. Other songs like "Dr. Wanna Do" go heavy on the jazz. Emerald is a talented singer and she sings in English well, but in the end, the varied jazz-pop productions and the slick dance beats are what set her apart from the crowd. Fans of the initial singles should find plenty else to enjoy on Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor, which finds Emerald trying out a number of different jazz-pop styles.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

Shania Twain's second record, The Woman in Me, became a blockbuster, appealing as much to a pop audience as it did to the country audience. Part of the reason for its success was how producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange -- best-known for his work with Def Leppard, the Cars, and AC/DC -- steered Twain toward the big choruses and instrumentation that always was a signature of his speciality, AOR radio. Come on Over, the sequel to The Woman in Me, continues that approach, breaking from contemporary country conventions in a number of ways. Not only does the music lean toward rock, but its 16 songs and, as the cover proudly claims, "Hour of Music," break from the country tradition of cheap, short albums of ten songs that last about a half-hour. Furthermore, all 16 songs and Lange-Twain originals and Shania's sleek, sexy photos suggest a New York fashion model, not a honky tonker. And there isn't any honky tonk here, which is just as well, since the fiddles are processed to sound like synthesizers and talk boxes never sound good on down-home, gritty rave-ups. No, Shania sticks to what she does best, which is countrified mainstream pop. Purists will complain that there's little country here, and there really isn't. However, what is here is professionally crafted country-pop -- even the filler (which there is, unfortunately, too much of) sounds good -- which is delivered with conviction, if not style, by Shania, and that is enough to make it a thoroughly successful follow-up to one of the most successful country albums by a female in history.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

British chanteuse Ellie Goulding returns with her highly anticipated third studio album, 2015's expertly produced Delirium. Goulding's previous effort, 2012's Halcyon, was a hypnotically ambient, lightly experimental album that balanced catchy pop hooks with textural electronic soundscapes. While Delirium isn't devoid of this electronic atmosphere, it's somewhat more mainstream in its tone, and finds Goulding expanding her sonic palette with a melodically catchy set of more R&B-infused songs. Helping Goulding to achieve this are a handful of uber-pop producer/songwriters, including Sweden's Max Martin (Britney Spears, Taylor Swift) and Carl Falk (One Direction, Nicki Minaj), Savan Kotecha (Ariana Grande, One Direction), Greg Kurstin (Sia, P!nk), and others. Halcyon also benefited from a similarly collaborative approach, but Delirium feels less distinctly personal, bigger in scope, and brimming with a pressurized commercial energy. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Whereas Halcyon may have required several listens to grow on you, Delirium grabs you with immediately hooky, danceable tracks like "Something in the Way You Move," "Keep on Dancin'," and "Don't Need Nobody." Some of the more R&B-leaning cuts like the Police-meets-Rihanna single "On My Mind" seem at first like an odd fit for Goulding's highly resonant, throaty chirp of a voice. That said, Goulding's voice has always fit well in the contemporary pop landscape and even when you get the sense that she's trying on someone else's sound, as in the CeeLo-esque "Around U" and the swoon-worthy "Codes" with its '90s Brandy-meets-M83 vibe, the sheer craftsmanship of the material alone keeps you listening. There are also enough passionately heartfelt EDM anthems, like the effusive "Army" and bubbly, Ibiza-ready "Devotion," to please longtime Goulding fans. Ultimately, it's the unexpectedly appealing combination of Goulding's distinctive voice and the melismatic R&B bent of the songs on Delirium that makes for such an ecstatic listen.© Matt Collar /TiVo

Compiled from concert performances in both Detroit and Nashville, these recordings took place during a three-week break from Bowie's 1974 Diamond Dogs tour. There are premieres here for material from 1975's Young Americans, and Bowie is backed by the Mike Garson Band augmented by vocalists such Luther Vandross and Warren Peace.© TiVo

Verve Records have released a live album, recorded on November 26th 1961 at New York’s famous jazz club, Village Gate. On stage are Stan Getz and his new quartet comprising of pianist Steve Kuhn, double bass player John Neves and drummer Roy Haynes. Although the recordings were set aside after that night and had ended up in the record company’s archives, 58 years later, they have now re-emerged with flawless sound. Getz at the Gate understandably arouses much interest as the saxophonist’s artistic direction throughout the entirety of the 2 hours 20-minute concert is one that he did not pursue thereafter.Getz formed this new group having just returned from Europe and its more modern and aggressive sound was most likely influenced by John Coltrane’s quartet in which Kuhn played. But in 1962, his album with guitarist Charlie Byrd was a hit, sparking the trend for bossa nova-infused jazz and propelling Getz not only down other stylistic paths but also to the top of the charts with numerous albums with Luiz Bonfá, João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto. Getz at the Gate is quite clearly light years away from this exoticism but is still far from the Getz bop, cool or West Coast jazz from his early days. Here, in a highly effective post-bop style, he revisits tracks played during the 1950s such as When The Sun Comes Out, Like Someone in Love and even Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most and Roy Haynes’ drumming ties everything together brilliantly, as always. Of course, the four men also show their admiration for Coltrane by taking on his legendary Impressions. In short - a previously unreleased and utterly thrilling concert. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

In the year of his 90th birthday (which he would have celebrated on the 23rd of September 2020 had he not died in 2004), Ray Charles is honoured with a new 90-track compilation box set. Just another compilation like all the rest? Yes and no. Ray Charles is undoubtedly one of the most-compiled artists in the history of music. Published by Tangerine, the label that the musician set up at the end of the 50s to keep the rights to his songs, this box set starts out like all the others: with the post-Atlantic hits, Georgia On My Mind, Hit The Road Jack, One Mint Julep, Busted... These are timeless treasures of proto-soul, but there doesn't seem to be much novelty here. The rest is much more interesting, and much rarer: tracks recorded between the second half of the 1960s and the 2000s, many of which were only released on vinyl, never reissued on CD and until now unavailable on digital. This is the first time that Ray Charles' lesser-known years have been given the compilation treatment in this way, and it is a revelation. In the 90s and 2000s, the production of his songs had a synthetic feel, and they did not age too well. These rarer songs are often hidden gems of southern soul, flavoured with country and wrapped in sumptuous symphonic orchestrations. Whether he is singing the Muppets (It's Ain't Easy Being Green) or Gershwin (Summertime, a duet with Cleo Laine), Ray Charles is always deeply moving. Now, the dream is to hear reissues of all these albums in their entirety. © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz

Shania Twain's second record, The Woman in Me, became a blockbuster, appealing as much to a pop audience as it did to the country audience. Part of the reason for its success was how producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange -- best-known for his work with Def Leppard, the Cars, and AC/DC -- steered Twain toward the big choruses and instrumentation that always was a signature of his speciality, AOR radio. Come on Over, the sequel to The Woman in Me, continues that approach, breaking from contemporary country conventions in a number of ways. Not only does the music lean toward rock, but its 16 songs and, as the cover proudly claims, "Hour of Music," break from the country tradition of cheap, short albums of ten songs that last about a half-hour. Furthermore, all 16 songs and Lange-Twain originals and Shania's sleek, sexy photos suggest a New York fashion model, not a honky tonker. And there isn't any honky tonk here, which is just as well, since the fiddles are processed to sound like synthesizers and talk boxes never sound good on down-home, gritty rave-ups. No, Shania sticks to what she does best, which is countrified mainstream pop. Purists will complain that there's little country here, and there really isn't. However, what is here is professionally crafted country-pop -- even the filler (which there is, unfortunately, too much of) sounds good -- which is delivered with conviction, if not style, by Shania, and that is enough to make it a thoroughly successful follow-up to one of the most successful country albums by a female in history.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

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