Few albums can say that they have defined a generation, but (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is undoubtedly among that elite crowd. Recorded over the course of just 15 days in 1995, the album catapulted Oasis from crossover indie act to worldwide pop phenomenon, flooding the charts with retro-rock riffs and unforgettable hooks. To say that its impact was titanic would be an understatement. It became the fastest-selling album in the UK since Michael Jackson’s Bad. It has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. And it was the knockout blow in the battle of Britpop, being twice as successful as their rival Blur’s contemporaneous album The Great Escape.Following up from the incredibly popular Definitely Maybe was no mean feat, but Oasis pulled it off without a hitch. The idealistic hope-against-the-odds message from their beginnings was replaced with realism and reflection. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Noel Gallagher commented that while their first album “was all about dreaming of being a pop star in a band, the second album is about actually being a pop star in a band”. They had reached where they wanted to be, and were wondering what lay beyond fame and fortune. The Mancunians had clearly enjoyed enough sex, drugs and rock’n’roll to yield four sides of vinyl, though they never limited themselves purely to counter-culture clichés. Noel Gallagher’s songwriting took on a notably more introspective tone, nestled in amongst jauntier tracks like She’s Electric and Roll With It. His philosophising shone through perhaps most obviously on Cast No Shadow, a song which was dedicated to The Verve’s frontman Richard Ashcroft and details the struggle that songwriters (and more universally, all of us) face when they desperately try to say the right thing and it keeps coming out wrong. Elsewhere, we find the attitude and aloofness that Oasis do so well. The cocaine anthem Morning Glory rides along a continuous wave of stadium-filling guitars as Liam Gallagher sings “All your dreams are made / When you’re chained to the mirror and the razor blade”. And then of course, there are Oasis’ biggest hits: Don’t Look Back In Anger, which urges the listener to live regret-free; Champagne Supernova, which despite its famously nonsensical lyrics (Slowly walking down the hall / Faster than a cannonball we’re looking at you) resonates with people the world over; and the often-imitated-never-replicated Wonderwall, where you’d be hard-pressed to find any Brit who doesn’t know all the words. Being more than just wedding dancefloor fillers and karaoke classics, the three tracks brilliantly capture the band’s skill for drawing complexity from simplicity. Ultimately, this album marked the beginning of the long-drawn-out end for Oasis and the albums that followed never quite lived up to the glorious rock and carefree euphoria found here. But then that’s another story… © Abi Church/Qobuz

Twenty-six years after Oasis' 1996 two-night stint on the grounds of Hertfordshire's Knebworth House, their frontman, Liam Gallagher, achieved the same feat as a solo artist. This live album captures the best takes from his June 2022 Jubilee weekend dates at the same venue in front of 170,000 people. The set leans heavily on Oasis material but also features renditions of songs from his three U.K. number one solo studio albums.© James Wilkinson /TiVo

Chappell Roan's first studio full-length The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is an absolute breath of fresh air in a crowded pop landscape. Playful, a little naughty, and full of heart, this debut brims with spirited pop gems that stick in the brain long after the album is finished. Blending the youthful Gen-Z delivery of Olivia Rodrigo, the best-friend-approachability of Taylor Swift, and the songcraft of Maggie Rogers, Roan is the main draw here, taking whatever producer Dan Nigro (Kylie, Rodrigo, Caroline Polachek) throws at her and making it irresistible. Opener "Femininomenon" perfectly captures the album's ethos: transforming from a sweet, string-laden ballad into a pulse-pounding empowerment anthem, it's punctuated with a mid-song pep talk and hilariously escalating adlibs demanding a "fucking beat." From there, it's a nonstop flood of catchy, synth-backed anthems that could lay waste to mainstream radio if given the chance. The playfully horny "Red Wine Supernova" rides a bubbly beat, Roan's pure vocals, and girl gang background vocals that boost energy, while the funky strut of the confident, boyfriend-stealing "After Midnight" turns the lights down low as she purrs that "everything good happens after midnight." Taking Taylor's Midnights hit one step further, Roan takes aim at an ex on the sardonic, synth-laden "My Kink Is Karma," where she finds pleasure in the little things like watching them "ruin [their] life... losing [their] mind... [and] crashing [their] car." There's a handful of delicate ballads ("Coffee," "Casual," "Picture You," "Kaleidoscope") peppered amongst the pogo-bounce singalongs ("HOT TO GO!" and early hit "Pink Pony Club") that offer a few moments of rest while the party continues. On an album packed with highlights, standouts include the '80s-synth throwback "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl" -- a cowbell-laden, late night party saga that explodes with one of the most rousing choruses on Midwest Princess -- and the closer, "Guilty Pleasure," which mirrors the opening track's quiet-to-loud approach, morphing from warm dreampop into pulsing electro-pop. Bold and fearless, Chappell Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the best kind of pop album: capturing a generational zeitgeist and introducing the world to a refreshing new voice that can hopefully stand the test of time and a fickle industry.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

The veteran Dutch symphonic metallers seventh studio effort and first outing for German Philips/Phonogram imprint Vertigo Records, Resist arrives after a period of internal strife for powerhouse vocalist Sharon den Adel. In the wake of a heavy bout of touring following 2014's chart-topping Hydra, Adel grappled with creative burnout, the death of her father, and the stress of child-rearing while spending the majority of her days on a tour bus, leading her to question whether or not Within Temptation had run its course. Luckily, she was able to parse that emotional discord via her streamlined 2018 solo debut My Indigo and rekindle her relationship with her muse. Moving even farther into the mainstream, Resist takes those pop proclivities and tosses in a sizable amount of classic WT heft, resulting in the group's slickest and most commercial-sounding outing to date. Fans who bemoaned the band's shift to radio-friendly fare on 2011's The Unforgiving will find their prayers have gone unanswered; the majority of the ten-track set eschews the ornate symphonic metal of past efforts for a more beats-driven and electronics-forward approach that, despite its penchant for Evanescence-esque melodrama, yields its fair share of exquisite gothic bangers like "The Reckoning" and "Raise Your Banner." (The former features a guest spot from Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix, and the latter a vocal turn by In Flames' Anders Friden.) In shifting gears to stoke their creative flames, Within Temptation have created an immersive -- if not wholly original-sounding -- set of songs that play to both their strengths and weaknesses.© James Christopher Monger /TiVo

Few albums can say that they have defined a generation, but (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is undoubtedly among that elite crowd. Recorded over the course of just 15 days in 1995, the album catapulted Oasis from crossover indie act to worldwide pop phenomenon, flooding the charts with retro-rock riffs and unforgettable hooks. To say that its impact was titanic would be an understatement. It became the fastest-selling album in the UK since Michael Jackson’s Bad. It has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. And it was the knockout blow in the battle of Britpop, being twice as successful as their rival Blur’s contemporaneous album The Great Escape.Following up from the incredibly popular Definitely Maybe was no mean feat, but Oasis pulled it off without a hitch. The idealistic hope-against-the-odds message from their beginnings was replaced with realism and reflection. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Noel Gallagher commented that while their first album “was all about dreaming of being a pop star in a band, the second album is about actually being a pop star in a band”. They had reached where they wanted to be, and were wondering what lay beyond fame and fortune. The Mancunians had clearly enjoyed enough sex, drugs and rock’n’roll to yield four sides of vinyl, though they never limited themselves purely to counter-culture clichés. Noel Gallagher’s songwriting took on a notably more introspective tone, nestled in amongst jauntier tracks like She’s Electric and Roll With It. His philosophising shone through perhaps most obviously on Cast No Shadow, a song which was dedicated to The Verve’s frontman Richard Ashcroft and details the struggle that songwriters (and more universally, all of us) face when they desperately try to say the right thing and it keeps coming out wrong. Elsewhere, we find the attitude and aloofness that Oasis do so well. The cocaine anthem Morning Glory rides along a continuous wave of stadium-filling guitars as Liam Gallagher sings “All your dreams are made / When you’re chained to the mirror and the razor blade”. And then of course, there are Oasis’ biggest hits: Don’t Look Back In Anger, which urges the listener to live regret-free; Champagne Supernova, which despite its famously nonsensical lyrics (Slowly walking down the hall / Faster than a cannonball we’re looking at you) resonates with people the world over; and the often-imitated-never-replicated Wonderwall, where you’d be hard-pressed to find any Brit who doesn’t know all the words. Being more than just wedding dancefloor fillers and karaoke classics, the three tracks brilliantly capture the band’s skill for drawing complexity from simplicity. Ultimately, this album marked the beginning of the long-drawn-out end for Oasis and the albums that followed never quite lived up to the glorious rock and carefree euphoria found here. But then that’s another story… © Abi Church/Qobuz

The cover of Kylie Minogue's 15th album lets you know that, after a foray into country pop with 2018's Golden, the dance-floor queen is back—shellacked with turquoise eyeshadow and fire engine red lipstick, decked out in Studio 54 curls and chandelier earrings, and lit by disco-ball sparkle. Largely recorded at her London home during 2020's pandemic lockdown restrictions, DISCO is escapist fantasy. Feel-good music. Audio oxytocin. Opener "Magic" is a joyous 24-karat breeze of shimmering Phoenix-style synths, thumping percussion, shameless horns and infectious handclaps. The bright tropical brass and sweeping keyboards —not to mention that "whoo-whoo" backing chorus—of "I Love It" is like a shot of Vitamin C. And that's the thing with Minogue: For all that synth, these songs are warm and intimate. Even with talk-box effects, the Daft Punk-esque "Real Groove" ("Got that perfect body/ But she ain't got the moves," coos the eternally youthful 52-year-old) feels superbly human; you can easily imagine crowds happily twirling to the music. Merengue-flavored "Monday Blues" conjures up a street party dance scene and the "Xanadu"-meets-electropop "Say Something" should be the anthem of the pandemic's roller-skating revival. But there's also something appealingly melancholy in the longing of slinky "Miss A Thing"—a FOMO for the world's former "normal": "Come dance with me...I don't want to miss a thing." Yes, please. There are shades of Chic in the funk guitars of "Last Chance," and early Wham! vibes exude from "Where Does The DJ Go?" Meanwhile, "Celebrate You" improbably borrows from Saint Etienne, '60s girl groups, late '90s R&B and playground chants, to delightful effect. At once nostalgic and totally fresh, DISCO taps exactly into the zeitgeist by offering a shot of comfort and aspiration instead of complaints. And when quarantines finally lift and concerts return, we can count on one thing. Minogue’s shows will be dance parties. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

In March 2020, saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin released Pursuance: The Colltranes, her fiery, imaginative third album. While driving home from a performance in Ohio in 2021, her car left the road in a rural area and flipped over in a drainage ditch. She suffered multiple injuries including neurological damage and a broken jaw. Three weeks later she was touring Europe. Phoenix is her fourth album. Co-produced with Terri Lyne Carrington, Benjamin appended her working quartet -- Victor Gould (piano, organ, Fender Rhodes), E.J. Strickland (drums), and Ivan Taylor (basses) -- with a large guest list. She includes a string trio, trumpeters, pianist Patrice Rushen, singers, poets, and polemicists. Opener "Amerikkan Skin" commences with the sounds of sirens and gunshots before activist/writer Angela Davis intones, "Revolutionary hope resided precisely among those women who have been abandoned by history." A double bassline, piano, and muted kick drum introduce Benjamin's alto. She begins with blues then engages trumpeter Josh Evans and the band in a modernist, modal, post-bopping lope. While "New Mornings" is a jaunty, more straight-ahead adventure, the bluesy poignancy in its melody is haunting. Georgia Anne Muldrow sings and adds synth to the title cut. The spacy electronic experimentalism in its intro is offset by a lithe yet funky backbeat, knotty harmonics, and a resonant solo from Benjamin. "Mercy," featuring Dianne Reeves and a string trio, offers an elegant melody framed by Gould's insightful pianism and Benjamin's consummate lyricism. "Jubilation" is fueled by the interaction between Rushen's driving pianism and Benjamin's alto. They push the rhythm to the breaking point, and trade fours combining bop, Latin, and modern jazz. Poet Sonia Sanchez delivers "Blast" to a strutting jazz march carried by Strickland and Gould. Wallace Roney, Jr.'s trumpet and Benjamin's sax construct a labyrinthine melody that weds blues, soul, gospel, and contemporary jazz. The rhythmically complex "Moods" showcases intense interplay between Benjamin and Evans. "Rebirth" is initially contemplative. Atop canny, kinetic interplay between Gould, Strickland, and Taylor, Benjamin's alto shifts the tune's gear into something breezier and more groove-oriented. The futurist abstraction in "Supernova" features Wayne Shorter reciting a poem above synth, sax, trumpet, and piano. Two other tunes here offer the kind of sophisticated jazz Benjamin fans crave. "Trane" is a rumbling, deeply spiritual modal jam that could easily have appeared on Pursuance. Closer "Basquiat" is more uptempo, with a tight Ornette-esque head shared by the saxophonist and trumpeter. Their solos underscore that notion as Gould plots a terrain that bridges present and past. Benjamin's moaning solo emerges from and evokes the blues as Taylor soulfully accents her lines before Evans re-enters and engages the leader in an even thornier outro. The wide sense of adventure on Phoenix reveals Benjamin as ambitious as she is focused, energetic, and perceptive. She inspires her band, guests, and listeners with this set of compelling tunes.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

From the cries of “Liaaaaaaam” between each song on this MTV Unplugged, it is clear that adulation for the younger of the Gallagher brothers remains intact eleven years after Oasis broke up. And while his Beady Eye and solo recordings show that the Mancunian has no wish to retire soon, it’s the bangers from his former band that once again steal the spotlight  of this live performance in Hull. Even Liam Gallagher seems more at home as he launches into Some Might Say, Cast No Shadow and Champagne Supernova as opposed to tracks from his solo album Why Me? Why Not. For the Oasis titles, Liam manages even to bring Bonehead along, the band’s old rhythm guitarist. And to make the spectacle all that more impressive, he is joined by musicians from the Urban Soul Orchestra who provide a welcome supplementary touch of class. This MTV Unplugged highlights the vocal progression of an artist who has rarely sang so well. © Clotilde Maréchal/Qobuz

Displaying an obsession with trashy science fiction, Tonight the Stars Revolt! maintains the forceful production of Mega!! Kung Fu Radio, mixing roaring heavy metal with electronics and sound effects. Even if the record sounds great, though, Powerman 5000 still has a hard time writing consistently memorable songs; while some tracks do take hold, too many others employ moronically simple riffs and/or lyrics chanted (not rapped) in a monotone, relying on the production to put them over. Still, even if the album can't be judged a complete success, the aura of campy fun keeps going strong, and that focus makes Tonight the Stars Revolt! something of an improvement on its predecessor. There's a special guest appearance by lead singer Spider's older brother, Rob Zombie, as well as spots for Limp Bizkit's DJ Lethal and Marilyn Manson's Ginger Fish.© Steve Huey /TiVo

Infinite Disco is a live album from Australian artist Kylie Minogue featuring a recording of a livestream in support of her 2020 album DISCO. Initially released as part of a deluxe reissue of DISCO, the stream was eventually made available digitally and on vinyl in 2022. The live set features tracks from the 2020 album as well as from Minogue's vast back catalog.© Rich Wilson /TiVo

The Songs of Distant Earth blend together two motifs crafted through Mike Oldfield's atmospheric music. (Both outer space and inner space under water) are the themes of this album, but Oldfield's synthesized artistry comes up short during the course of the 17 tracks, mainly because of the intermittent talking and unnecessary vocabulary that quickly becomes irksome and ineffective. About the music, it is usually Mike Oldfield's differentiation of rhythms or styles on a song to song basis that makes his music thought-provoking and fresh. On this album, the same rhythm lurks through half of the songs, with only smidgens of add-on instrumentation to elevate its flow. Absent is the freewheeling percussion pulses, or the onslaught of strings that so often shower his music. Instead, each track seems flat as his keyboard work comes off gray and bland. Even a few sudden bursts of tempo become short lived, as the pace always falls back to its straight-lined origin. Inspired by Arthur C. Clarke, Oldfield tries to capture the wonder and mystery of the stars and the sea through washes of synthesizer, but his attempt at capturing both themes could have benefited from a multitude of other instruments, as his work usually includes.© Mike DeGagne /TiVo