On 2012's The Absence, Melody Gardot made her first shift away from the jazz-tinged ballads that drew such heavy comparisons to Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux. Lushly orchestrated, it was chock-full of songs inspired by Brazilian, Latin, and French forms. On Currency of Man, Gardot takes on a rootsier sound, embracing West Coast soul, funk, gospel, and pop from the early '70s as the backdrop for these songs. It is not only different musically, but lyrically. This is a less "personal" record; its songs were deeply influenced by the people she encountered in L.A., many of them street denizens. She tells their stories and reflects on themes of social justice. It's wide angle. Produced by Larry Klein, the cast includes members of her band, crack session players -- guitarist Dean Parks, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, Larry Goldings, the Waters Sisters, et al. -- and strings and horns. The title track is a funky blues with a rumbling bassline, dramatic strings (à la Motown) and fat horns. Gardot uses the lens of Sam Cooke to testify to the inevitability of change: "We all hopin’ for the day that the powers see abdication and run/Said it gonna come…." First single "Preacherman" is similar, employing a wrangling, smoldering blues that indicts racism in the 20st century by referring to the violent death of Emmett Till, a catalyst in the then-emergent Civil Rights movement. A driving B-3, saxophone, and menacing lead guitar ratchet up the tension to explosive. A gospel chorus mournfully affirms Gardot's vocal as a harmonica moans in the background. "Morning Sun" and closer "Once I Was Loved" are tender ballads that emerge from simple, hymn-like themes and quietly resonant with conviction. "Same to You" evokes the spirit of Dusty Springfield atop the punchy horns from her Memphis period, albeit with a West Coast sheen. The nylon-string guitar in "Don't Misunderstand" recalls Bill Withers' earthy funkiness. The song's a groover, but it's also a warning to a possessive lover. "Don't Talk" uses spooky polyrhythms (à la Tom Waits) as brooding, spacy slide guitars, B-3, and backing singers slice through forbidding blues under Gardot's voice. "If Ever I Recall Your Face" is jazzier, a 21st century take on the film noir ballad with glorious strings arranged by Clément Ducol that rise above a ghostly piano. "Bad News" simultaneously looks back at L.A.'s Central Avenue and burlesque scenes. It's a jazz-blues with a sauntering horn section, snaky electric guitar, and squawking saxophone solo. Vocally, Gardot is stronger than ever here, her instrument is bigger and fuller yet it retains that spectral smokiness that is her trademark. Currency of Man is a further step away from the lithe, winsome pop-jazz that garnered her notice initially, and it's a welcome one.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

When Blixa Bargeld left Nick Cave's Bad Seeds, who would have predicted his departure would result in one of the finest offerings in the band's catalog? Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus is a double CD or, rather, two completely different albums packaged in one very handsome box with a stylish lyric booklet and subtly colored pastel sleeves. They were recorded in a total of 16 days by producer Nick Launay (Kate Bush, Midnight Oil, Girls Against Boys, Silverchair, INXS, Virgin Prunes, et al.). Abbatoir Blues, the first disc in the set (packaged in pink, of course), is a rock & roll record. Yeah, the same guy who released the Boatman's Call, No More Shall We Part, and Nocturama albums has turned in a pathos-drenched, volume-cranked rocker, full of crunch, punishment -- and taste. Drummer Jim Sclavunos' aggressive, propulsive kit work is the bedrock of this set. It and Mick Harvey's storm-squall guitar playing shake things loose on "Get Ready for Love," which opens the album. As Cave goes right for God in the refrain -- "get ready for love" -- in the maelstrom, a gospel choir roaring "praise Him" responds. His tense, ambivalent obsession with theology is pervasive; he mocks the Western perception of God in the heavens yet seeks the mystery of His nature. That he does so while careening through a wall of noisy rock damage is simply stunning. It leaves the listener revved up and off-center for what comes next. The chorus -- members of the London Community Gospel Choir -- is prevalent on both records; the Bad Seeds' arrangement utilizes them wisely as counterpoint and mirror for Cave's own baritone. "Cannibal's Hymn" begins as a love song musically; it's chocked with Cave's dark wit and irony and ends far more aggressively while retaining its melody. The single, "Nature Boy," finds itself on Scalvunos' big beat. Cave and his piano use love's irony in contrast with cheap innuendo as underlined by the choir in their best soul croon. "Let Them Bells Ring" is a most dignified and emotionally honest tribute to Johnny Cash and the world he witnessed. The Western wrangle of "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" references Morricone's desert cowboy groove against a swirling cacophony of drums, bashing piano, and the chorus swelling on the refrain, while Cave name drops Johnny Thunders and poet Philip Larkin. The pace is fantastic; its drama and musical dynamics are pitched taut, with lulls in all the right places.The Lyre of Orpheus, by contrast, is a much quieter, more elegant affair. It is more consciously restrained, its attention to craft and theatrical flair more prevalent. But that doesn't make it any less satisfying. It is a bit of a shock after Abbatoir Blues, but it isn't meant for playing immediately afterward; it is a separate listening experience. The title track tells the myth's tale in Cave's ironical fashion, where God eventually throws a hammer at the subject and Eurydyce threatens to shove his lyre up his nether orifice. Warren Ellis' swampy bouzouki and Thomas Wydler's more stylized drumming move the band in the tense, skeletal swirl where chorus and Cave meet the music in a loopy dance. But in "Breathless," the bard of the love song emerges unfettered at the top of his poetic gift. On "Babe You Turn Me On," he wraps a bawdy yet tender love song in a country music waltz to great effect. But on this album, along with the gentleness, is experimentation with textures and wider dimensions. The sparser sound is freer, less structured; it lets time slip through the songs rather than govern them -- check the wall of Ellis' strings married to a loping acoustic guitar on the moving "Carry Me" as an example. Cave's nastiness and wit never remains absent for long, however, and on "O Children," the album's closer, it returns with this skin-crawlingly gorgeous ballad of murder and suicide. This set is an aesthetic watermark for Cave, a true high point in a long career that is ever looking forward.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

For what is supposed to be another getaway from ZZ Top (the second attempt after Perfectamundo in 2015), the first track on the album - Missin' Yo' Kissin' - sounds suspiciously like the great grandson of La Grange, ZZ Top’s absolute classic. Far from making the revolutionary technology of the Eliminator era, Gibbons is turning back his old pocket watch to the time of the most classic blues-rock. But classic does not mean old-fashioned, especially in the expert hands of this timeless rascal who would never be seen playing for a crowd of old connoisseurs. This opening song (that was written by Gilligan "Gilly" Stillwater, his wife of more than twenty-three years) is proof that he's always open to new innovation. Without using any sophisticated electronic gadgets, The Big Bad Blues is certainly contemporary. It’s hard to believe that he’s 69 years old! Gibbons has nothing to envy of the youngsters that have been flooding into the scene over the past few years.No guest performances this time, instead we find a smaller team composed of Joe Hardy (on bass, as well as co-producer of the album), Mike Flanigin (keyboards) and Greg Morrow (drums), as well as Matt Sorum, who left the Hollywood Vampires, (and also The Cult and Guns N' Roses...) occasionally on drums. Joining the next tour will be Austin Hanks (rhythm guitar) and James Harman (harmonica). As big, bad and blues as the title claims, the atmosphere is more like a "semi-dark fiesta", even on Muddy Waters' song Standing Around Crying. On this track, as on Bring It to Jerome and the classic Rollin' and Tumblin' (also by Muddy Waters), Gibbons lets himself go on his guitar for a performance which would give Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton a run for their money. © Jean-Pierre Sabouret/Qobuz

Keb' Mo's self-titled debut is an edgy, ambitious collection of gritty country blues. Keb' Mo' pushes into new directions, trying to incorporate some of the sensibilites of the slacker revolution without losing touch of the tradition that makes the blues the breathing, vital art form it is. His attempts aren't always successful, but his gutsy guitar playing and impassioned vocals, as well as his surprisingly accomplished songwriting, make Keb' Mo' a debut to cherish.© Thom Owens /TiVo

An essential compilation published in two volumes back in 1988 is rolled into one here, the Past Masters reunite songs that were mainly released as singles (sides A and B), and many of which are missing from the thirteen official studio albums (so, essential!), as well as some rarities (the Fab Four in German!). An avalanche of masterpieces recorded between September 1962 and January 1970, where just reading the title speaks for itself: Love Me Do, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Day Tripper, We Can Work It out, Paperback Writer, Rain, Hey Jude, Revolution, The Ballad of John and Yoko, Across the Universe, Let It Be... ©MZ/Qobuz, Translation/BM

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, the Black Crowes decided to revisit several of their staples from the past two decades, giving them acoustic rearrangements. While some of the songs are revised heavily, some are merely given strength by the new setting, not so much because the songs sound better stripped down to bare bones, but because the Crowes are still riding the wave that started with their 2008 comeback Warpaint, retaining the rustic, ragged live vibe of Before the Frost/Until the Freeze. This is the opposite of that live-in-the-studio record, where the band laid down new songs on tape preserving their freshness; instead, this is the sound of seasoned veterans still finding new ways to play old favorites. Naturally, this makes this set the province of diehards, but at two discs, this is a generous, entertaining gift to the fans who have stayed true throughout the years.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

The Wham! collection The Final stands as the most accurate compilation of the duo's hits, even including the correct single versions of hits that were not available on their respective albums. From the early bubblegum silliness of "Bad Boys," "Wham! Rap," and "Young Guns" to the singles that made them an international pop phenomenon ("Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Everything She Wants," "Careless Whisper," and "I'm Your Man"), the hits are all here. "Everything She Wants" and "Freedom" are included in their single versions which did not appear on the multimillion-selling Make It Big. Also included is George Michael's first true solo hit, "A Different Corner," which, along with "Careless Whisper," hints at the later, more sophisticated styles of music that would further propel him into international superstar status. To round out the collection are other hits including their last U.S. Top Ten, "The Edge of Heaven," their yearly resurrected Christmas single "Last Christmas," and the overlooked "Where Did Your Heart Go." For fans of their brief but very successful reign at the top of the pop charts, this hard-to-find collection packs the most bang (or Wham!) for its buck.© Jose F. Promis /TiVo

Firehouse's self-titled debut was a slick, polished collection of pop-metal. While louder numbers like "Don't Treat Me Bad" sounded good on the radio, the true strength of the record was the group's knack for power ballads like the Top 10 hit "Love of a Lifetime." Firehouse had trouble coming up with a consistent set of high-quality material throughout their debut, but when they landed on a power ballad, they never sounded less than fine.© David Jehnzen /TiVo