This is history in the making. Queen B surprised us with the release of a live album taken from her two dazzling concerts at Coachella in 2018, chronicled by a Netflix documentary. B performs a retrospective, revisiting 40 tracks from her 22-year career. There are no new songs here, but there is a studio cover with Tay Keith of Before I Let Go, the Frankie Beverly and Maze 1981 soul track. Other Destiny’s Child members Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland make bonus appearances on Lose My Breath, Say My Name and Soldier, husband Jay-Z on Déjà Vu, sister Solange on Get Me Bodied, and her daughter sings Afro-American anthem Sing and Lift Every Voice. This performance effectively explains why it was nicknamed ‘Beychella’, as this makes its mark on the festival’s history. And that was the goal, with 200 people on stage, colossal high-budget visual spectacle in this immense two-hour performance highlighting afro-feminist empowerment; Beyoncé has earnt her throne. “When I decided to do Coachella, instead of me pulling out my flower crown, it was more important that I brought our culture to Coachella.” To the sound of the second lines of a New Orleans brass band, a revamped drumline, Malcolm X on Don’t Hurt Yourself and amidst multiple references to African-American history, the queen of pop inhabiting the Queen Nefertiti reminds us of the importance of her discography in the 3rd millennium. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

ZZ Top's First Album may not be perfectly polished, but it does establish their sound, attitude, and quirks. Simply put, it's a dirty little blues-rock record, filled with fuzzy guitars, barrelhouse rhythms, dirty jokes, and Texan slang. They have a good, ballsy sound that hits at gut level, and if the record's not entirely satisfying, it's because they're still learning how to craft records -- which means that they're still learning pacing as much as they're learning how to assemble a set of indelible material. Too much of this record glides by on its sound, without offering any true substance, but the tracks that really work -- "(Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree," "Backdoor Love Affair," "Brown Sugar," and "Goin' Down to Mexico," among them -- show that from their very first record on, ZZ Top was that lil' ol' blues band from Texas.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

After three consecutive Top Five Pop albums in 1970 alone, it was somewhat of a no-brainer that Motown would want to include a holiday long-player to that list. The Jackson 5's Christmas Album (1970) combines classic favorites as well as a handful of compositions penned by the Corporation. This all-star team of Motown staffers and musicians boasted composer Bobby Taylor, Deke Richards (guitar), Freddie Perren (keyboard), Fonce Mizell (keyboards), and label co-founder Berry Gordy. As they had done for each of the Jackson 5's previous platters, they carefully crafted and significantly modernized familiar seasonal selections. Leading off the effort is an unusual (for a pop act, anyway) two-part interpretation of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," commencing with a fairly rote reading before kicking into high gear during a fittingly R&B-inspired coda. They follow with an undeniably soulful update of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and the fun and funky "Up on the Rooftop," which also adds instrumental elements of their hit "The Love You Save" with a few bars of "Here Comes Santa Claus" likewise worked into the mix. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is another standard that has been infused with a fresh spirit, once again yielding a well-chosen and adeptly executed revision. Although not as drastically overhauled, "Frosty the Snowman" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" are none the less thoroughly enjoyable. In terms of originals, the lovely "Give Love at Christmas" informed covers by fellow Motown staples the Temptations -- who used the tune as the title track for their 1980 Christmas entry -- Johnny Gill, and even a reggae version by the Tamlins. The Jacksons similarly shared the brisk and upbeat "Someday at Christmas" with the Temptations and Stevie Wonder, as well as Diana Ross, whose take is one of the highlights of her Very Special Season (1998) outing.© Lindsay Planer /TiVo

After three consecutive Top Five Pop albums in 1970 alone, it was somewhat of a no-brainer that Motown would want to include a holiday long-player to that list. The Jackson 5's Christmas Album (1970) combines classic favorites as well as a handful of compositions penned by the Corporation. This all-star team of Motown staffers and musicians boasted composer Bobby Taylor, Deke Richards (guitar), Freddie Perren (keyboard), Fonce Mizell (keyboards), and label co-founder Berry Gordy. As they had done for each of the Jackson 5's previous platters, they carefully crafted and significantly modernized familiar seasonal selections. Leading off the effort is an unusual (for a pop act, anyway) two-part interpretation of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," commencing with a fairly rote reading before kicking into high gear during a fittingly R&B-inspired coda. They follow with an undeniably soulful update of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and the fun and funky "Up on the Rooftop," which also adds instrumental elements of their hit "The Love You Save" with a few bars of "Here Comes Santa Claus" likewise worked into the mix. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is another standard that has been infused with a fresh spirit, once again yielding a well-chosen and adeptly executed revision. Although not as drastically overhauled, "Frosty the Snowman" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" are none the less thoroughly enjoyable. In terms of originals, the lovely "Give Love at Christmas" informed covers by fellow Motown staples the Temptations -- who used the tune as the title track for their 1980 Christmas entry -- Johnny Gill, and even a reggae version by the Tamlins. The Jacksons similarly shared the brisk and upbeat "Someday at Christmas" with the Temptations and Stevie Wonder, as well as Diana Ross, whose take is one of the highlights of her Very Special Season (1998) outing.© Lindsay Planer /TiVo

ZZ Top's First Album may not be perfectly polished, but it does establish their sound, attitude, and quirks. Simply put, it's a dirty little blues-rock record, filled with fuzzy guitars, barrelhouse rhythms, dirty jokes, and Texan slang. They have a good, ballsy sound that hits at gut level, and if the record's not entirely satisfying, it's because they're still learning how to craft records -- which means that they're still learning pacing as much as they're learning how to assemble a set of indelible material. Too much of this record glides by on its sound, without offering any true substance, but the tracks that really work -- "(Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree," "Backdoor Love Affair," "Brown Sugar," and "Goin' Down to Mexico," among them -- show that from their very first record on, ZZ Top was that lil' ol' blues band from Texas.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

In April 2018, Beyoncé headlined Coachella with an epic performance that would set a new bar for festival spectacle. Arriving a year after her originally scheduled headline slot -- delayed due to the birth of her twins -- the high-stakes show was a triumph. Immortalized alongside its counterpart concert film/documentary, Homecoming: The Live Album is a monument to black excellence and empowerment. As the first African-American woman to headline the festival, Beyoncé took the duty seriously, crafting a showcase of black culture, feminism, and history that acknowledged her place in the timeline while celebrating those who paved the way, from strong black women such as Nina Simone, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to Southern hip-hop inspirations like TRU, UGK, OutKast, and F.L.Y. Presented through an inspired collegiate HBCU lens, the performance later dubbed "Beychella" was less a concert and more a grand, multi-part revue. From a towering pyramid of bleachers, over 200 hand-selected performers of all shapes and sizes -- dancers, steppers, choir, orchestra, and a full marching band -- executed a precision-choreographed performance that pushed the limits of physicality and willpower. Together with this phalanx, Beyoncé barreled through a career-spanning set -- both as a solo artist and as part of Destiny's Child -- focusing on euphoric hype tracks that maintained the adrenaline rush for almost two hours. Digested as a cohesive career retrospective, Homecoming highlights Beyoncé's impressive vocal gymnastics and live stamina; at times, her voice soars like an angel and drops low in a guttural growl, sometimes switching from full-throated belting to gritty rapping, often within the same song. From hits ("Formation," "Drunk in Love," "Countdown") to deep cuts ("Freedom," "Bow Down," "I Been On"), every track is improved by the energy of the Bzzzz Drumline and string section, with the live foot stomps and handclaps of the dancing team whipping the ceremony into a celebratory frenzy. "Diva" gets cut with "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," while a rabid "Don't Hurt Yourself" swells with the familiar orchestral wave from "Kashmir." While J Balvin and Sean Paul are relegated to recorded backing vocals, husband Jay-Z pops in for "Deja Vu" and sister Solange joins Beyoncé for an endearing dance-off during "Get Me Bodied." Even firstborn Blue Ivy appears on almost-closer "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The most welcome guests, however, are Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Joining forces during a jaw-dropping stretch between "Run the World (Girls)" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," the reunited Destiny's Child whip through "Lose My Breath," "Say My Name," and "Soldier" without missing a beat, as if the year was still 2004. The audience reaction alone is a pure thrill. As far as concert albums go, Homecoming is a master class in technical prowess, crowd pleasing, and soulful substance. Channeling the spirit of African queen Nefertiti (whose image she adopted for this show), Beyoncé proved to be a ruler in her own right, lording over Coachella for two career-defining nights.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

Released in 2013 through Universal U.K., Classic Album Selection is a sharp, no-frills box set that contains the original U.K. versions of the Style Council's Introducing the Style Council (1983), Café Bleu (1984), Our Favourite Shop (1985), The Cost of Loving (1987), Confessions of a Pop Group (1988), and Modernism: A New Decade (recorded in 1989 but not released until 1998). The discs are packaged in simple LP replica sleeves that reproduce the original artwork. There are no bonus tracks -- no extra enticements. The box itself is compact but fairly sturdy. Casual fans can stick with either the brief 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Style Council or the relatively in-depth Gold.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

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