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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

Based on the opposite side of the world – well, actually Sydney in Australia is on the opposite side of the world from the Açores, but let's not quibble – to Western Europe, the Pingchut Opera troupe, based in Sydney, has been carving a niche for itself in the world of baroque music since its foundation in 2002. Their aim: to play operas, either in the baroque style or at least written before the end of the 18th century, on period instruments, with voices picked from among their Oceanian friends. Cavalli, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Rameau, Grétry, Salieri or Charpentier, all of whom the – rather conservative – Australian lyrical establishment are rather cagey about putting on, are their home turf. But also this work, Mozart's Idomeneo: his first great "mature" opera, written after he escaped a life as a dogsbody for a domineering Prince-Archbishop, and the stifling world of Salzburg society, to seek his fortune in Vienna. In it, there are great arias, of course; mind-blowing ensembles, naturally; and while the subject matter is still historical classicism – unlike in his later operas, which will deal with everyday life or the world of magic, as with the Flute – the "musical" content is that of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, the Marriage of Figaro or Don Giovanni. This is a superb addition to the discography of the work, in a musicologically rigorous reading, with utterly sumptuous voices which really have nothing to envy in either hemisphere. © SM/Qobuz

Iconic French pop singer and cultural provocateur Michel Polnareff documented a rare American tour in 1995 with this live album, recorded at one of Los Angeles' most fabled rock clubs. Live at the Roxy finds Polnareff backed by a crew made up of American rock musicians and French colleagues as he performs a career-spanning set, heavy on hits and fan favorites, with the singer pouring his heart and soul into the material.© Mark Deming /TiVo

The real test of a live album is whether it adds anything to the studio releases -- whether the performers can add another dimension to their music in concert. In the case of Paris Combo, the smoothness that has characterized their studio work might acquire a few rough edges, but that's all to the good, and their heady, sophisticated mix of jazz and chanson is something that's very audience-friendly. Considering they're only a five-piece, they manage a remarkably full sound, due in large part to the dexterity of David Lewis, who covers trumpet, bugle, and piano, and guitarist Potzi, whose adaptability between rhythm and lead roles is superb throughout. Perhaps the biggest difference is that the band stresses their instrumental skills more, with vocalist Belle du Berry taking something of a subordinate role, as on "Le Roi de la Forêt." They're helped by a great sound, which puts little flourishes of dub at the start of "Mais Que Fait la NASA?" and emphasizes the Middle Eastern texture of "Istanbul." They stretch out a little here and there, without ever making the solos tedious, and keep the hot jazz feel that's so much a part of their appeal. They cut loose on the encore of "Moi, Mon Ame et Ma Conscience" to great effect, giving the listener the full concert. It might not be quite the same as being in the same hall as the band, but it's close enough to be good.© Chris Nickson /TiVo

The composition of Un ballo in maschera caused Verdi many problems. What began as an opera called "Gustavo III" was subject to censorship by the Neapolitan and Roman authorities, so its libretto, location and title all changed. The subject, however, is still the murder of Riccardo (Gustavo) at the masked ball, couched in a musical language in which the seriousness of Italian opera is infused with French vivacity. The opera’s structure is carefully symmetrical in the great terzets, and the themes of duty, pleasure, drama and humour are rendered with masterful clarity. © Dynamic

Midnights isn't a retreat so much as a return, a revival of the moody electro-pop that kept Reputation roiling. Where that 2017 record carried a measure of defiance, the vibe of Midnights is contemplative even when beats are insistent, as they are on occasion. Despite these fleeting moments of urgency, the record is clearly a soundtrack to be played in the wee hours of the morning. In that sense, Midnights is a kindred spirit to Folklore and Evermore, the twin 2020 albums Swift released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet those records felt like collections of short stories where these songs -- whether in their standard 13-song variation or the lengthy "3 AM Edition" which runs an additional seven tracks -- all feel like confessions, even if they display the sense of exacting lyrical detail she's honed since Lover. These compositions provide a sturdy foundation on a record that wants to capture the aimless suspension of late-night insomnia, a time filled with regret, recriminations, and resignations. Swift spikes this moodiness with hints of steeliness -- witness the cool swagger of "Vigilante Shit" -- but that's merely an accent on an album designed to deliver variations on one specific mood. Although this monochromatic palette tends to highlight the limits of co-producer Jack Antonoff's bag of tricks -- nothing here feels surprising, even when he's playing with textures and teasing out the music's dream pop elements -- the narrow focus is the main attribute of Midnights, as it plays to Swift's sense of control and craft: she may be singing about messy emotions but she sculpts those tangled feelings into shimmering, resonant songs.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Taylor Swift's cottage-core era is over. For the singer's 10th album, she's revived the best bits of her 1989 album—the chill of "Blank Space," "Style"—and re-thought them for the moment. It's synth pop that's not trying to be perfect (which isn't to say every move Swift makes isn't calculated): Sometimes the sounds are warped, even grotesque. The vocals on"Midnight Rain" are slowed and warped to a David Lynch-ian place. It's ironic that Maggie Rogers borrowed a touch of Swift's folksy side for her latest record, because Midnights often sounds like Rogers' electro-pop. You can hear it on bubbling "Karma" and  "Lavender Haze," which finds Swift feeling constrained by society's prudish expectations on celebrities—the constant questions about engagements, marriage, children. "All they keep asking me/ Is if I'm gonna be your bride," she seems to be saying to longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn. "The only kinda girl they see/ Is a one-night or a wife." There are also shades of Lorde—another collaborator of Swift's producer Jack Antonoff—on  "Vigilante Shit," with its ice-cold beats. The song is supposedly a stiletto to the heart of Swift's  former manager—the one who sold the singer's master recordings out from under her. "I don't start shit, but I can tell you how it ends," she sings, seemingly having revealed that she gave a wife the evidence needed for a pricey divorce settlement. Twee "Snow on the Beach" features (barely, thanks to Antonoff's lasagna-thick vocal layers) Lana Del Rey  and a quick nod to a Jackson —"I'm all for you like Janet," name-checking the singer's 2001 hit—who sent Swift flowers in 2009 after Kanye West stole her moment at the VMAs. And while Swift keeps her loyalties close and her enmities closer, the one big surprise of Midnights is that she exposes a new villain: herself. "Did you hear my covert narcissism/ I disguise as altruism/ Like some kind of congressman?" she sings on the the album's best track "Anti-Hero," addressing years of public skepticism. "Hi/ I'm the problem/ It's me." ("This song really is a guided tour throughout all of the things I tend to hate about myself," Swift has said.) And then there's the charming closer "Mastermind," on which she confesses both to making a romantic meeting look accidental and reveals the origin story of her calculating ways: "No one wanted to play with me as a little kid/ So I've been scheming like a criminal ever since/ To make them love me and make it seem effortless." Musically, "You're on Your Own, Kid" feels as light and innocent as an early Swift country song. Lyrically, it's as revealing as anything she's ever committed to tape: "I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this/ I hosted parties and starved my body … My friends from home don't know what to say/ I looked around in a blood-soaked gown/ And I saw something they can't take away/ 'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned." © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz  

The main attraction of the orchestra Les Siècles and its conductor François-Xavier Roth is its use of period instruments from around 1900, the time period in which the group specializes. One could hardly ask for a better demonstration record (as audiophiles used to call them) than this take on Maurice Ravel's L'Heure espagnole, an edgy, rather tawdry but undeniably funny little opera about the extramarital escapades of a clockmaker's wife, complete with excellent satirical characterizations of her two lovers. The opera receives a pitch-perfect performance here from a quintet of younger singers, who deliver the kind of dry, close-to-spoken singing Ravel wanted. Even better, though, is the orchestral sound, where the opera's large contingent of winds, brass, and percussion displays the sound of Les Siècles at its most vivid. The score calls for trios of oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, and these all have a tangier sound than modern instruments provide. The program ends with Boléro, and this, too, stands out from among the hundreds or thousands of other recordings on the market. Ravel had very fixed ideas about how he wanted the work to sound, and he wrangled with Arturo Toscanini, who conducted the premiere in New York, about it: it should be played absolutely straight, with no variation in tempo and little expression. Notwithstanding the connotations that became attached to the work later on, he viewed it as an abstract work, and that is exactly what it becomes in Roth's bracing reading. Listeners who have been wanting to sample Roth's work with this orchestra are enthusiastically encouraged to try this release, which made classical best-seller charts in the summer of 2023.© James Manheim /TiVo

Be Opened by the Wonderful is the 17th album from British rock outfit James and follows 2021's All the Colours of You. The 20-track release sees the band reworking their back catalog with the help of the Andra Vornici lead orchestra Orca 22 and the Manchester Inspirational Voices gospel choir. The album also includes the new track "Love Make a Fool," which was recorded specially for the album.© Rich Wilson /TiVo