On her twelfth album with the Pretenders—truly her band, as not even drummer Martin Chambers returns for this one—Chrissie Hynde is aware of her age but not necessarily feeling it. There are no idle hands or thoughts of retirement on "Let the Sun Come," with its Peter Buck-sounding guitar. "We don't have to get fat, we don't have to get old/ We don't have information that we have to withhold … we don't have to fade to black/ Let the sun come in," the 71-year-old legend sings. But that's not to say she's stayed in the same place. The production is crunchier, darker than the Windex-clear sounds on the band's early now-classics like "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "Brass in Pocket," and Hynde is, as she has been for the past decade or so, in a balladeer mood. She sounds like a chanteuse on the torch-song burn of "The Promise of Love," occasionally breaking through the smoke to soar light and aloft. On "The Copa," her voice tracks an ancient-sounding Renaissance melody against lovely guitar noodling. She's not afraid to look back, but it's rarely with nostalgia. "I Think About You Daily"—featuring a lovely string arrangement by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood—finds Hynde slightly trembling with emotion as she offers an apology to someone she hurt in the past. There are no such regrets on "Just Let It Go," seemingly about refusing to get comfortable or meet expectations. "What kind of career means a life in a cage?/ One day I could hear a distant bell toll ... I let it go/ maybe it's best to just let it go/ The changes were fast but the torment was slow," she sings, low and hazy on the verses as wailing guitar sounds like a cry for mercy, then flying on the chorus and supported by drums rumbling like release. "A Love" slightly echoes the energy of oldie "Kid" as Hynde plays it cautious in romance: "I'm not scared of your dark eyes/ They mesmerize and soothe/ But I don't mess with burning coal/ Or anything I can't control … I'm not scared of you/ I'm scared of what could be/ Like certain drugs/ One taste and then you're never free." Meanwhile, on "Merry Widow," she rides a gnarled melody to gleefully claim independence, declaring, "He thought love was competitive like sport ... so I left him at the port / I'm a divorcee, but I feel like a widow, a merry, merry widow." The music is a little bit mystery, a little doom-rock shadow and takes a snaking tarantella turn at the end. There are two real rockers here—"Losing My Sense of Taste" and garage banger "Vainglorious"—and Hynde sounds fantastic on both, especially as she delights in repeating the latter's title over and over, trying on different inflections and emotions like personalities. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

Born in Philadelphia in 1976, Johnathan Blake is incontestably one of the most prominent drummers of his generation, equally at ease in small groups, where his ear and sense of colour and accent marvel (heard notably in pianist Kenny Barron’s trio as well as alongside Tom Harrell, Pharoah Sanders, or Dr. Lonnie Smith), as he is amongst large orchestras (he brilliantly provided the rhythmic support for the Mingus Big Band in the 2000s). Blake leads a rich life as a sideman (over 70 records and counting) parallel to a successful solo career that began in 2012 with the very beautiful Eleventh Hour (with Mark Turner on tenor saxophone). Picking up where he left off on his previous record Homeward Bound (released in 2021 on the prestigious label Blue Note), Blake’s Passage is perhaps his most personal and accomplished record to date.Still supported by Pentad, bringing together a who’s who of the new US scene (Immanuel Wilkins on alto saxophone, Joel Ross on vibraphone, David Virelles on piano and keyboard, and Dezron Douglas on bass), the drummer and composer renews his homage to Philadelphia jazz and all those who inspired it, starting with his father, the violinist John Blake Jr. (the title track of the album is one of his compositions and attests to the eclecticism of his influences, which span from classical to gospel) and his mentor, drummer Ralph Peterson Jr. (“Tears I Cannot Hide”). Alternating orchestral combinations (from pure solo to quintet, including two magnificent trios (“Tiempos”) and a quartet (“Out of Sight, Out of Mind”), which emphasises Virelles’ lyrical qualities in particular, Blake has created a magnificent modern jazz record that is, at once, sophisticated in its arrangements and profoundly spontaneous in its expression.  © Stéphane Ollivier/Qobuz

Fifteen years on from Changing Places, his first album for the label ECM, Tord Gustavsen is once again offering up an album performed with a trio, which seems to be the line-up most in keeping with his jarrettian tendencies. With his trusty drummer Jarle Vespestad and Sigurd Hole on double bass (replacing Harald Johnsen who passed away in 2011), the Oslo pianist mixes original compositions with Norwegian folk standards and even pieces by Bach. He ties together these apparently disparate themes with lyricism, and with a groove that's all his own. What makes The Other Side even more thrilling is the perfect unison between the players. © Clotilde Maréchal/Qobuz

The first building block of the Beatles discography - in full format – was released on 22 March, 1963. Singles from the album released a few months earlier had already launched the beginning of Beatlemania, but nobody could have predicted what was to come... In this introduction, the duo of Lennon/McCartney sign off eight original songs supplemented by six cover tracks, most of it the R&B and Soul music they loved so much. A repertoire performed by Fab Four in the small clubs of Hamburg and Liverpool, and as such one which they have already mastered from a to z. With tracks like I Saw Her Standing There, Please Please Me, P.S. I Love You, and especially Love Me Do, the Fab Four gave birth here to a totally unique and innovative pop. Music that is rooted in R&B, the girl groups and the rock'n'roll of the Atlantic. And then we have a startling reinterpretation of Twist & Shout by Phil Medley and Bert Berns, a track made famous a year previous by the Isley Brothers. Fresh, authentic, intense and above all, a precursor. This first album of the anthology would remain at top stop in the UK charts for over seven months! ©MZ/Qobuz, Translation/BM

Patricia Barber, who is both a fine keyboardist and an atmospheric singer, contributes roughly half of the material to her Premonition debut. Her dark voice and the generally esoteric program takes awhile to get used to (listeners will have to be patient), but after two or three listens, this thought-provoking and rather moody set becomes more accessible. The music ranges stylewise from sophisticated pop sensitivities to the avant-garde and even touches of minimalism, while not fitting securely into any category. Barber gives a new slant to "The Thrill Is Gone," "Ode to Billy Joe," and even "A Taste of Honey," and her vocals are all quite haunting and contemporary. An added plus to this unusual music is adventurous guitarist John McLean.© Scott Yanow /TiVo

Fiona Apple demonstrates considerable talent on her debut album, Tidal, but it is unformed, unfocused talent. Her voice is surprisingly rich and supple for a teenager, and her jazzy, sophisticated piano playing also belies her age. Given the right material, such talents could have flourished, but she has concentrated on her own compositions, which are nowhere near as impressive as her musicianship. Most of Tidal is comprised of confessional singer/songwriter material, and while they strive to say something deep and important, much of the lyrics settle for clichés. Apple does have a handful of impressive songs on Tidal, like the haunting "Shadowboxer" and "Sullen Girl," but the gap between her performing talents and songwriting skills is too large to make the album anything more than a promising, and very intriguing, debut.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Definitive easy listening instrumental pop classic, featuring one of the most iconic (and parodied) album covers of all time.© TiVo

In 2016, Louis Kevin Celestin, aka Kaytranada, stepped out from behind the sound booth to make his debut solo album, a bold move considering albums made by beatmakers can often become clunky collages of disparate singles with no real artistic unity. Not the case for the excellent 99.9%, for which the Quebecer with Haitian origins joined forces with Craig David, BadBadNotGood, Phonte, Syd from The Internet, Anderson .Paak, AlunaGeorge, GoldLink, Vic Mensa, Karriem Riggins and the Swedes from Little Dragon. Three years later, and his second album also brings out the big guns, this time featuring Kali Uchis, Pharrell Williams, Tinashe, Mick Jenkins, Charlotte Day Wilson, Estelle, GoldLink, SiR, Iman Omari, Masego, VanJess, Eight9Fly, Ari PenSmith, Durand Bernarr, and Teedra Moses. Once again, the eclectic nature of the varying styles and voices on the album never stop Kaytranada from taking the lead. Bubba has the allure of a groove mixtape centred around a core of house and soul, all while touching on a plethora of other styles along the way (indie R&B, smooth hip-hop, chillwave, funky pop, light downtempo). The Canadian, like many of his counterparts of the same generation, consistently manages to deliver an unstoppable and individual beat that allows the featured vocals to blend in perfectly with it. This technique is best exemplified on 10% with Kali Uchis, a banger that exhibits the power of a catchy melody without having to reinvent the wheel. Addictive. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Mazzy Star's debut, She Hangs Brightly, picks up where Opal's Happy Nightmare Baby left off; merely exchanging Kendra Smith's languorous vocals for the sultrier presence of Hope Sandoval, David Roback continues chasing the neo-psychedelic holy grail he's pursued since his days with the Rain Parade, albeit with mixed success here. After opening with a pair of standouts, the dreamy "Halah" and the garage-inspired "Blue Flower,"...the group demonstrates a solid grasp of atmosphere and texture...© Jason Ankeny /TiVo

Several momentous music careers were blooming in New York's Greenwich Village in 1962.  A young Minnesotan on the folk circuit changed his surname to Dylan and signed on Albert Grossman to manage him. In a tiny W. 8th Street basement speakeasy called the Bon Soir, a new singer of showtunes and standards was generating an equally impressive buzz moving critic Dorothy Kilgallen to burble, "She's never had a singing lesson in her life, doesn't know how to walk, dress or take a bow, but she projects well enough to close her act with a straight rendition of 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf' and bring down the house …" Barbra Streisand had recently signed to Columbia Records (which also had Bob Dylan on its roster), and returned to the club for three nights of recording in November, 1962, to capture what was to be her debut album. Shelved for unknown reasons, its 24 tracks, captured in very respectable sound given the state of live recording at that time, have now been issued with new mixes supervised by Streisand and Grammy Award-winning engineer Jochem van der Saag. Accompanied only by a small band led by British pianist Peter Daniels, this is a Streisand few have seen or can remember. What's most forgotten today is how adept a performer she could be in such an intimate environment: cracking jokes, acting the coquette, even letting out rapid fire giggles in "Value." She's audibly nervous yet also clearly at home as the tough Brooklyn girl with the soft center who could raise the roof if she so chose. The singing, some of which was part of the career-spanning 1991 collection Just For The Record, is a rare delicacy. Stripped of the studio gloss that would mark most of her career after these sessions, Streisand never recorded anything this real again. In a startlingly raw version of Leonard Bernstein's children's song, "I Hate Music," she practically shrieks out the title, getting a few laughs in the process. But she follows that burst of immaturity with a gentle, utterly masterful version of Harold Arlen's "Right As The Rain" and a gutsy, breathless, showstopping version of "Cry Me A River" that hint at the career to come. Forget the gauzy outfits, the lacquered nails, those grand modulations, and perfect enunciation, this is a very young Streisand unchained. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

Black metal with the happiest keyboards the genre has ever seen, yet still uncompromisingly brutal. "Children of Decadence" could be Emerson, Lake & Palmer, for the love of Beelzebub; such is the level of complexity and prominence of synthesizers. The frightening Finnish fivesome does a nice job of mixing up tempos on this, the band's third studio disc, and manages to keep up the intensity in spite of (or maybe because of) the aural auditory mood swings. You won't even recognize the bonus track cover "Hellion," and it doesn't even matter.© Brian O'Neill /TiVo