This double disc is an exact replication of a concert vocalist Beth Hart and guitarist Joe Bonamassa performed in Amsterdam in support of their studio album Seesaw. What you hear is what was played: there are no overdubs or digital studio fixes. They replicate all but one track from the studio album ("Sunday Kind of Love") and five more from their 2011 offering Don't Explain, and play some other covers and a long band jam called "Antwerp Jam" as a finale. Hart and Bonamassa are backed by a killer band to boot, including a full horn section, drummer Anton Fig, bassist Carmine Rojas, rhythm guitarist Blondie Chaplin, and keyboardist Arlan Schierbaum. Highlights include their reading of Delaney Bramlett's "Well, Well," Ike Turner's "Nutbush City Limits," "Sinner's Prayer," "Something's Got a Hold on Me," "Chocolate Jesus," "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," and, of course, Ms. Hart's devastating reading of Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind." Given her considerable power and ability to convey a wide range of emotions, this is not merely a set for guitar god worshipers -- though there's plenty for them here, too. [There are also packages that pair these discs with Blu-ray and DVD.] © Thom Jurek /TiVo

After two albums, Todd Rundgren had one hit and a burgeoning cult following, plus growing respect as a hitmaking record producer. There's no question he was busy, but as it turns out, all this work only scratched the surface of his ambition. He had decided to abandon the Runt pretense and recorded a full double album by himself (save for one side). Others had recorded one-man albums before, most notably Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, but Rundgren -- without borrowing musically from either artist -- captured the homemade ambience of McCartney with the visionary feel of Music of My Mind, adding an encyclopedic knowledge of pop music from Gilbert & Sullivan through Jimi Hendrix, plus the crazed zeal of a pioneer. Listening to Something/Anything? is a mind-altering trip in itself, no matter how many instantly memorable, shamelessly accessible pop songs are scattered throughout the album. Each side of the double album is a concept onto itself. The first side is "a bouquet of ear-catching melodies"; side two is "the cerebral side"; on side three "the kid gets heavy"; side four is his mock pop operetta, recorded with a full band including the Sales brothers. It gallops through everything -- Carole King tributes ("I Saw the Light"), classic ballads ("Hello It's Me," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference"), Motown ("Wolfman Jack"), blinding power pop ("Couldn't I Just Tell You"), psychedelic hard rock ("Black Maria"), pure weirdness ("I Went to the Mirror"), blue-eyed soul ("Dust in the Wind"), and scores of brilliant songs that don't fall into any particular style ("Cold Morning Light," "It Takes Two to Tango"). It's an amazing journey that's remarkably unpretentious. He may have contributed self-penned liner notes, but Rundgren peppers his writing with self-aware, self-deprecating asides, and he also indulges his bizarre sense of humor with gross-outs ("Piss Aaron") and sheer quirkiness, such as an aural tour of the studio at the beginning of side two. Something/Anything? has a ton of loose ends throughout: plenty of studio tricks, slight songs (but no filler), snippets of dialogue, and purposely botched beginnings, but all these throwaways simply add context -- they're what makes the album into a kaleidoscopic odyssey through the mind of an insanely gifted pop music obsessive. Rundgren occasionally touched on the sheer brilliance of Something/Anything? in his later work, but this extraordinary double album is the one time where his classicist songcraft and messy genius converged to create an utterly unique, glorious record.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

As perhaps should be expected from a double-disc collection bearing 30 tracks, Just One Look: Classic Linda Ronstadt does indeed cover most of Ronstadt's career, beginning with the Stone Poneys' "Different Drum" and running into the late '90s, when she wrapped up her time with Elektra Records. This doesn't mean each era gets equal weight, however. Just One Look emphasizes her latter-day adult contemporary material over her cracking early country-rock, a trade-off that will likely satisfy listeners familiar with Ronstadt mainly through the radio. This does mean there are some terrific works left behind -- her big breakthrough "You're No Good" comes just six songs into this collection, so anything prior to that gets short shrift, but this settles into a good soft rock groove and should satisfy a listener who wants nothing but hits, and a lot of them at that.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

George Harrison returned to the stage for the first time in years in 1991; that Japanese tour is documented on the fine double-disc set Live in Japan. Backed by a stellar supporting band led by Eric Clapton, Harrison turns in surprisingly strong versions of his best solo material; it easily surpasses Paul McCartney's double-disc Tripping the Live Fantastic or Paul Is Live. Not bad for a guy who doesn't like to give concerts.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

If we're being perfectly honest, listening to Haim's music is like drinking a cold glass of water. No surprises, but always refreshing. Four years after Days Are Gone, the sisters Este, Danielle and Alana have broken their silence with a second album, which they wrote and produced themselves. It's a way of declaring that behind the massive pop machine that they represent, there are real auteurs, real musicians. And you've got to admit, every phrase, every melody, every solo, every chorus of Something to Tell You has been meticulously polished. The alloy of XXL pop, soft rock and 90s music works perfectly. Haim is not there to revolutionise the music of our times: they just want to create killer choruses and catchy melodies. And these are melodies that will keep you humming along, be it in the shower or in a stadium... This is a work that makes these three Californian sisters worthy heirs to Fleetwood Mac, one of their inspirations...© CM/Qobuz

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Fans of ABBA's sugary-sweet pop songs will no doubt be surprised by Something's Going On, the remarkably hard-edged 1982 solo album by ABBA vocalist Anni-Frida Lyngstad, better known simply as Frida. Produced by Phil Collins, Something's Going On includes a wide range of material, including songs written by Bryan Ferry ("The Way You Do"), Stephen Bishop ("Tell Me It's Over"), and Gerry Rafferty ("I See Red"), and even includes a Dorothy Parker poem set to music ("Thernody"). Something's Going On boasts impressive guitar work by Daryl Stuermer, who has toured with Genesis as well as appeared on several Collins solo albums. Collins' drum work is also outstanding, particularly on the hard-hitting hit single "I Know There's Something Going On." Frida herself shows an unexpected emotional range given ABBA's two-dimensional pop gloss. Sure, she still chirps and tweets like a bird, but the diversity of the material and the freedom of recording solo obviously allows her to enter different musical territory. Frida escapes the creative limitations of being a member of one of the world's most popular groups on this solid and often riveting album.© William Cooper /TiVo

Willie Nelson started singing about the end of the line a while back but now that he's in his mid-eighties, he's so accustomed to having death lurking around the corner that he can kid about it. That's precisely what he does throughout Last Man Standing, an album that serves as a jocular counterpart to its predecessor, God's Problem Child. Nelson didn't avoid humor on that record, but the vibe seemed haunted by a looming sense that the clock is ticking away. Willie shakes off this spookiness on Last Man Standing, whose title track finds him singing that "it's getting hard to watch my pals check out" to a jaunty rhythm. Ultimately, he decides he wants to be the last man standing, a sentiment that's reiterated a few tracks later, when Willie looks into the mirror and determines it's "better to have bad breath than no breath at all." Nelson isn't seizing the day so much as shrugging off worries, and decides just to have a good time. Despite being riddled with songs about death and aging, Last Man Standing is ridiculously fun, thanks not just to Nelson's jocularity -- it's not just gallows humor, either; the swinging honky tonk of "She Made My Day" is filled with sly one-liners -- but to the nimbleness of his band. It's no secret that his bandmembers are pros, but it's still a pleasure to hear them play -- they're as compelling sliding into the shimmering jazz overtones of "Something You Get Through" as they are kicking out the blues of "I Ain't Got Nothin'" -- and they give Nelson plenty of cover for working with his weathered voice. No longer able to croon as he once did, Nelson opts for playing around with the rhythms of his delivery, a move that makes him seem limber, adding a sense of vitality to Last Man Standing. Willie realizes he's not going to be here forever but he's made up his mind to make the most of his time here, and that's why Last Man Standing feels richer than so many self-conscious meditations on mortality.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

In many respects the group seems to be feeling their way through this. Luckily, Rags to Rufus does feature some can't-miss propositions. The great rock and funk mix of "You've Got the Love" all but sums up what Chaka Khan was going to be doing for the long haul. The biggest hit here, "Tell Me Something Good," is a rare instance of an artist like Stevie Wonder giving away a tune that he could have had a big hit with himself. That being said, it was Khan's playful and sensual vocal that put it over the top. The songs that veer from the formula suffer the most on Rags to Rufus. The cutesy "I Got the Wrong Street" and the saccharine "Walkin' the Sun" are duds. Even early on, Khan needed songs that were complicated either lyrically or musically. On Ashford & Simpson's "Ain't Nothin' but a Maybe," Khan displays the maturity and knowing that it took to make the song have that much more emotional weight. Rags to Rufus ends on a relaxing note with the tracks, "Look Through My Eyes," "In Love We Grow," and the sultry "Smoking Room." This album is far from perfect, but it's certainly representative of the band's gifts and Khan's vocal power.© Jason Elias /TiVo

Otis Redding never recorded a lighter, more purely entertaining record than King & Queen, a collection of duets with Stax labelmate Carla Thomas. In all likelihood inspired by a series of popular duets recorded by Marvin Gaye -- indeed, "It Takes Two," Gaye's sublime collaboration with Kim Weston, is covered here -- the record serves no greater purpose than to allow Redding the chance to run through some of the era's biggest soul hits, including "Knock on Wood," "Tell It Like It Is,"and "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby," and while clearly not a personal triumph on a par with either Otis Blue or The Dictionary of Soul, the set is still hugely successful on its own terms. Redding and Thomas enjoy an undeniable chemistry, and they play off each other wonderfully; while sparks fly furiously throughout King & Queen, the album's highlight is the classic "Tramp," where their battle of the sexes reaches its fever pitch in supremely witty fashion.© Jason Ankeny /TiVo

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Singer Laura Fygi is in excellent form on this set of bossa novas. Due to the sweetening of a string section and some safe arrangements, the music is quite accessible, if not too challenging. Fygi's voice is lovely and she could excel in a much more sparse setting in the future if given the opportunity. She is ably assisted by a variety of guests, including appearances by Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, and singer Michael Franks; the latter contributed two songs and shares a vocal duet with Fygi on "Tell Me All About It." An enjoyable listen.© Scott Yanow /TiVo