Co-directed by Roger Waters and David Gilmour, The Wall, Pink Floyd's eleventh studio album, was released in the UK on November 30, 1979 on the Harvest record label and in the United States on December 8, 1979 on Columbia. It is the last studio album with the line-up of David Gilmour (guitar), Roger Waters (bass guitar and lyricist), Richard Wright (keyboards) and Nick Mason (drums). In 1977, Roger Waters — singer, bassist, lyricist, composer and arranger of Pink Floyd — sketched on a sheet of paper a wall separating audience and musicians. Based on this projection, he calls on Bob Ezrin (producer of Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Kiss, etc.) to help him realize his project. A double album with a strong concept was released and was a massive success — more than thirty million copies sold. A real introspection of Waters' life, the album combines fiction and reality through the story of Pink, a young rock star (who in fact symbolizes Waters himself) prey to his demons and who, little by little, builds a chimerical wall around him to cut himself off from the world. This particularly ambitious rock opera essentially bears the emotional mark of Roger Waters (evocation of his absent father, his abusive mother and the rigidity of a school system that traumatized him for life). The Wall was first remastered in 1994 in the UK by EMI. Then in 1997 the Columbia firm remastered the album, with better sound quality than EMI's, to be released in the United States, Canada, Australia, South America and Japan. Shortly after the album's twentieth anniversary, Capitol relaunched the 1997 edition in the United States in 2000 taking over the European remastering, and EMI did the same in Canada, Australia, South America and the United States, Japan. In 2011, the album was painstakingly remastered by James Guthrie (the sound engineer and co-producer of the original album) and Joel Plante, at das boot recording studio located in Lake Tahoe, California. © Qobuz (GG) 

Who would have figured that the English are, in reality, much less uptight and more genuinely humorous than Americans? The evidence lies in the hip-hop music that emanates from each nation. Mainstream American hip-hop of the late '90s consists mostly of posture or paranoia or darkness, a preoccupation with money, style, and MC'ing, while mainstream British hip-hop such as that spun by Touche (nee Theo Keating, founder of influential British dance music imprint Wall of Sound), who calls himself the Wiseguys and whose single "Ooh La La" rapidly shot to number two in its native country on the back of a Budweiser commercial, is stylish, mostly instrumental, and completely fun. On his debut as the Wiseguys, The Antidote, Touche fills his songs with familiar and unfamiliar vocal samples alike -- often the very same samples that American hip-hop DJs use with earnest reverence -- but places them in soundscapes full of buoyant brass and strings, lighthearted sound affects, and clever samples; what results is hip-hop that doesn't take itself seriously even as it does take seriously the history from which it comes and the legacy that it continues. Of course, The Antidote is grounded just as firmly in the British dance scene as it is in hip-hop, but that only enlarges the bag from which Touche pulls his tricks, and, arguably, places him in more of a direct line with Afrika Bambaataa and the early hip-hop innovators (as well as their disciples such as DJ Shadow and Dust Brothers) than are most practitioners in the American hip-hop milieu. It is certainly much more open to sounds and textures, so that even when MCs do grace the tracks with their toasting (various MCs, most prevalently Americans Sense Live and Season, appear on a total of four songs) -- such as on the immaculate "Experience," which opens with Pete Rock-type muted horns before really hitting its stride with a perfectly placed piano sample -- the songs end up sounding gloriously alien and entirely wonderful, much the same way as the Reprazent crew has reconfigured hip-hop into something propulsive and exciting and continental that avoids the clichés of the form while still retaining its core sense of purpose. Touche's production hits so many highs that it's impossible to take the music, with its emphasis on '60s and '70s funk and soul as well as old school hip-hop, for granted. The album is so packed full of great and fun sounds that it can be utilized either as dancefloor juice or a headphone soundtrack with equally compelling results. As for its place in hip-hop, it may not exactly be the antidote, but an antidote it is, indeed. © Stanton Swihart /TiVo

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January is barely ending, and here we already have one of the finest albums of 2024. The triumvirate formed by the two geniuses of Radiohead, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, and Sons Of Kemet's drummer, Tom Skinner, under the banner of The Smile, wastes no time. Exactly one year after their surprise revelation on the Glastonbury livestream (thanks to the pandemic) in 2021, the trio released their first full-length album, A Light For Attracting Attention. With it, the complex and fascinating universe of the Oxford quintet is finally revisited—minus Colin Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, and Phil Selway—while gaining grandeur through the strings of the London Contemporary Orchestra, already at work in 2016 on Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool, as well as the most prominent brass and winds from the London jazz scene (including Chelsea Charmichael and Robert Stillman).More compact, Wall Of Eyes lets warmth in. Opening the way with only seven other tracks, the title track teleports us to the tropics with its bossa acoustic guitar and Yorke's reverberating vocals. The smooth synths of a nearly R&B "Teleharmonic" follow, leading to the riffs of "Read The Room" and "Under The Pillows," creating a trippy rock passage. We then enter the dreamy piano ballad "Friend Of A Friend" and almost drown in the synthetic layers of "I Quit" before the deluge of distortions in the eight-minute "Bendic Hectic" explodes after an anxiety-inducing violin ascent. "You Know Me!" draws the curtain with the gentle piano, providing a final that's as cinematic as ever. Recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studios, with Sam Petts-Davies taking the place of the faithful producer Nigel Godrich, this second album showcases a trio in full alchemy, increasingly inspired by Can rather than the Beatles, and completely seasoned by their live shows. A masterpiece. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

Few are the career artists who can create music over the long haul that continually sounds fresh and contemporary without seeming faddish or desperate. Across eight solo studio albums, Norah Jones has effortlessly embraced the here-and-now, followed her muse and allowed her assured sense of self to carry her forward without any embarrassing missteps. Jones wanted to explore darkness on 2020's Pick Me Off the Floor, her most recent studio album, so she flipped the switch. Two years later she swerved to record Playing Along, an oft-buoyant album of duets with artists including Mavis Staples, Valerie June and Jeff Tweedy. It succeeded on its own terms. For Visions, Jones wanted to write with a single collaborator, Leon Michels, to make a mid-tempo record with session players and solo artists who've recorded with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Brazilian Girls, Joni Mitchell and others. So she invited him into the studio, shut the door and made Visions.Billed by Jones' label as a more carefree, upbeat record, Visions sets a mood across twelve soulful, wood-paneled originals. Despite mentions of dance or dancing in a few songs, it's often bliss driven by solitude that's suggested. The happy-go-lucky "On My Way" floats across its measures, a joyful ode to moving forward not with a partner or lover, but alone, where the notion that "no one cares what you have to say" lives in the same space as "in the dark you can dance and sway." That many of the ideas for Visions, as Jones has said, "came in the middle of the night or in that moment right before sleep," it makes sense that she's focused on solitude, and that she's embracing it."Everyday we do God's little dance," she sings on "Staring at the Wall," an uptempo groover with a twangy, Sun Records-suggestive guitar line and a piano-propelled counter melody that, combined with sturdy snare-drum snaps, could power a Saturday night dance floor at a dive bar. "Running" gets energy from a piano melody, a reverbed drum pattern and a layered chorus of Jones' voice adding responses. "Swept Up in the Night" is a ballad of longing set after midnight. Lost in a dream, Jones can't shake her memories of a certain someone: "I find you a thousand times/ Underneath the stones in my mind." These are sturdy songs, the kind that not only linger in the psyche, but are so well crafted as to be indestructible. © Randall Roberts/Qobuz

Michael Jackson had recorded solo prior to the release of Off the Wall in 1979, but this was his breakthrough, the album that established him as an artist of astonishing talent and a bright star in his own right. This was a visionary album, a record that found a way to break disco wide open into a new world where the beat was undeniable, but not the primary focus -- it was part of a colorful tapestry of lush ballads and strings, smooth soul and pop, soft rock, and alluring funk. Its roots hearken back to the Jacksons' huge mid-'70s hit "Dancing Machine," but this is an enormously fresh record, one that remains vibrant and giddily exciting years after its release. This is certainly due to Jackson's emergence as a blindingly gifted vocalist, equally skilled with overwrought ballads as "She's Out of My Life" as driving dancefloor shakers as "Working Day and Night" and "Get on the Floor," where his asides are as gripping as his delivery on the verses. It's also due to the brilliant songwriting, an intoxicating blend of strong melodies, rhythmic hooks, and indelible construction. Most of all, its success is due to the sound constructed by Jackson and producer Quincy Jones, a dazzling array of disco beats, funk guitars, clean mainstream pop, and unashamed (and therefore affecting) schmaltz that is utterly thrilling in its utter joy. This is highly professional, highly crafted music, and its details are evident, but the overall effect is nothing but pure pleasure. Jackson and Jones expanded this approach on the blockbuster Thriller, often with equally stunning results, but they never bettered it.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Stevie Ray Vaughan had always been a phenomenal guitarist, but prior to In Step, his songwriting was hit or miss. Even when he wrote a classic modern blues song, it was firmly within the genre's conventions; only on Soul to Soul's exquisite soul-blues "Life Without You" did he attempt to stretch the boundaries of the form. As it turns out, that was the keynote for In Step, an album where Vaughan found his own songwriting voice, blending blues, soul, and rock in unique ways, and writing with startling emotional honesty. Yes, there are a few covers, all well chosen, but the heart of the album rests in the songs he co-wrote with Doyle Bramhall, the man who penned the Soul to Soul highlight "Change It." Bramhall proved to be an ideal collaborator for Vaughan; tunes like the terse "Tightrope" and the dense "Wall of Denial" feel so intensely personal, it's hard to believe that they weren't the product of just one man. Yet the lighter numbers -- the dynamite boogie "The House Is Rockin'" and the breakneck blues of "Scratch-n-Sniff" -- are just as effective as songs. Of course, he didn't need words to make effective music: "Travis Walk" is a blistering instrumental, complete with intricate fingerpicking reminiscent of the great country guitarist Merle Travis, while the shimmering "Riviera Paradise" is every bit as lyrical and lovely as his previous charmer, "Lenny." The magnificent thing about In Step is how it's fully realized, presenting every facet of Vaughan's musical personality, yet it still soars with a sense of discovery. It's a bittersweet triumph, given Vaughan's tragic death a little over a year after its release, yet it's a triumph all the same.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Following a long-established production pattern, Mike Oldfield assembled some relatively simple pop- and rock-flavored numbers following one long introductory piece on his 1983 Disky release, Crisis. The 20-minute opening title-track is a quintessential Oldfield texture study that consists of sparkling synth washes with edgier material weaving in and out. A fine setup, this track cleanses the aural pallet, preparing the listener nicely for the tunes that follow. Yes fans who can adjust to the sugary highlight "In High Places" will enjoy Jon Anderson's springy vocal work on the track. The energetic guitar romp "Taurus 3" will also appeal to most prog and art rock fans. Those in search of more ethereal Oldfield material should be aware of this record's pop leanings, but open-minded listeners will have a good time exploring Crisis, one of Oldfield's better releases of this type.© Vincent Jeffries /TiVo

There are several Michael Jackson greatest-hits compilations out there, each one its own take on what should be the definitive portrait of the gloved one's career. The Ultimate Collection, The Essential Collection (different from the one here), and Number Ones have all surfaced in 2003 and 2004, and HIStory a few years prior. Each one of these collections, while commendable in its attempt to thoroughly document Jackson's accomplishments, has fallen woefully short in one aspect or another. This has finally been rectified with this installment of Sony's outstanding Essential collection. Starting with his campaign with his brothers in the Jackson 5, this two-disc set tours through every important single and every important fan favorite short of including his duet with Paul McCartney on "Say Say Say" (the Beatle does, however, make an appearance here on "The Girl Is Mine"). From Off the Wall to Dangerous, it's all here in one concise package, making it the ideal reference point from which exploration into his deeper catalog can begin. While die-hard fans will already have every single song contained herein and may be weary to purchase another greatest-hits compilation short of a greatest-hits compilation including his backing vocals on Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me," this may be the only one fans and casual listeners will ever have to purchase to get their fill of the King of Pop's magic.© Rob Theakston /TiVo

It has been a long time, perhaps going back to the days of E. Power Biggs, since an organ recital appeared on a major label, backed by real marketing muscle. Yet here is organist Anna Lapwood on Sony Classical, with not only a hair and make-up artist but also a stylist credited. She delivers, in every way, with terrific engineering treatment of a small organ at the Royal Hospital School in London, setting an intimate mood that immediately draws the listener in. Lapwood is a choir director leading young musicians, and she is young herself; one might call this a contemporary organ recital, with scores from recent films and works by a group of contemporary crossover composers such as Ludovico Einaudi and the minimalist Ēriks Ešenvalds, all mixed with Bach and Chopin and Florence Price (who, one learns from Lapwood's own intelligent notes, worked as a theater organist and wrote five volumes of organ music). The arrangments are mostly Lapwood's own, with Philip Glass, of all people, represented by a work originally for organ, Mad Rush. She notes that the Glass work makes a perfect fit with the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria, and she might have picked almost any other pair of segues on the album; her sequence of events on the album is just beautifully structured. This album has performed strongly among listeners, and it shows that even a fairly obscure genre of recording will connect with a wide audience if it is artistically approached.© James Manheim /TiVo

It is the Quebec director Denis Villeneuve who bears the heavy responsibility of tackling the sequel of Blade Runner, the science-fiction movie directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, with Harrison Ford in the role of Rick Deckard, a former cop hunting Replicants. For its music, it was first the Icelander Jóhann Jóhannsson, a regular of Villeneuve’s movies (Sicario, Arrival…), that had the just as heavy responsibility to take over from Vangelis, the composer of the soundtrack of the first movie. Finally, the director wanted to get closer in spirit to the Greek composer: he fired Jóhannsson and replaced him with Hans Zimmer, whose ability to musically dress science-fiction needs no further proof. Remember his soundtracks for Christopher Nolan (Inception and Interstellar). For this sequel, Zimmer (helped by Benjamin Wallfish) navigates the synthetic and freezing waters of the first Blade Runner soundtrack. You just have to listen to the introductory track (2049) or to Mesa to notice the striking resemblance with the layers both heavy and harrowing from Vangelis’ score. The rest of the soundtrack is stuffed with atmospheric tracks of the same ilk, designed with extreme care and great efficiency, as always with Zimmer. It’s worth noting the presence of two of Elvis Presley’s sweet songs (among which we find the hit Can’t Stop Falling In Love) and another from Frank Sinatra, which are completely at odds with the whole thing. Maybe we’ll someday have access to the movie’s rejected music, the one composed by Jóhannsson? In the meantime, it constitutes a Grail popular with collectors, as often happens in Hollywood movie score history (see the rejected soundtrack for Troy by Gabriel Yared or the one for Robin and Marian by Michel Legrand). © NM/Qobuz

Following 2020's deep cuts collection Undiscovered, the revered Italian minimalist modern-classical composer and pianist presents this second volume, comprising tracks that wouldn't fit on the first. It features a selection of rarities and underplayed tunes from across the breadth of his career as well as pieces never before available physically, including a new solo piano version of fan favorite "Experience."© TiVo