U.K. journeyman Mark Knopfler returns after a six-year gap with 2024's One Deep River, his tenth solo record. Since retiring Dire Straits in the mid-'90s, his output as a singer/songwriter has remained remarkably consistent and uniquely his own. Within his refined roots rock mélange is a multitude of layers; bits of blues, country, and funky R&B rub elbows with Celtic, jazz, folk, and the brand of smooth guitar rock he pioneered with his former band. He is his own establishment, reliable, and at this point in his career, comfortable. Like its predecessor, 2018's Down the Road Wherever, One Deep River doesn't necessarily break new ground for Knopfler, but it does add a clutch of well-written, impeccably played songs to his canon. The breezy, shuffling "Ahead of the Game" is an instant classic with a memorable riff and lyrics describing a road band's itinerant lifestyle: "it was nothing but the hits in a room downtown, they're noisy as hell, but nice." These are the kind of smart slice-of-life lyrics Knopfler has built his career on and can still deliver with a craftsman's ease. He gets down and dirty on the rugged "Scavenger's Yard" and wrestles with past regrets on the gentle "Watch Me Go." There are charismatic story songs detailing robberies ("Tunnel 13") and dusty boomtowns ("Janine"), but Knopfler is often at his best when he allows himself to be sentimental. The river referred to in the album's title (and pictured on its cover) is the Tyne, the major artery of Newcastle in Northeast England where he grew up. One Deep River closes with its poignant title track, a paean to an enduring landmark he has no doubt crossed countless times in a life well spent as a traveling musician.© Timothy Monger /TiVo

The Complete Budokan 1978 captures some of Dylan's very first concert appearances in Japan and is an essential release for diehards, while an intriguing curio for the casual listener. Complete Budokan encompasses all of the material originally issued as a double LP in 1978, plus three dozen additional tracks. This lovingly remastered album, sourced from the original 24-channel multi-track analog tapes, sounds far crisper than the original release (especially the vocals). Released to coincide with the 45th anniversary of the original eight-show run at the infamous Budokan auditorium, we hear the entirety of two shows from February 28 and March 1, 1978. Bob Dylan is at a fascinating crossroads in his career here, and in fine voice. The album finds our hero in between the traveling circus that was the mid 1970s Rolling Thunder tour, and one year before his conversion to Christianity. Dylan shows us what a traditional American great he is, with a near-orchestral band and dramatically reworked takes on classic songs. Some of these arrangements are wonky, especially to modern ears. But they're always intriguingly put together, and intricately executed takes—the highlight being a knockdown, muscular "The Man in Me." It's clear from the start that this is not your grandpa's Dylan. Stirring leads on saxophone, mandolin, and fiddle deliver the vocal melodies to "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." "Shelter from the Storm" is given a halting, reggae-ish tempo, a positively E Street-worthy sax solo, and the delightful touches one would expect from the Dead. Other tunes stray closer to a Vegas revue. "I Threw It All Away" is transformed into a full-blown showtune, as the backing vocals take center stage. One wonders if a line of chorus dancers were onstage for this or the lilting, tango-esque take on "Love Minus Zero." There is occasional flute, notably on "Mr. Tambourine Man," which we weren't sure about at first, but by the third listen we were absolutely digging it, even as it takes the tune straight to Margaritaville. © Mike McGonigal/Qobuz

Complete recordings of great works such as Bach’s sonatas, his “Well-Tempered Clavier,” or Chopin’s “24 Preludes” occupy a unique place within the history of musical recording. It’s in their entirety that they are most unique and powerful, whereas in the purity of their repertoire, individual pieces are generally regarded as being largely heterogeneous. These timeless compositions transcend their authors and are given new life with each interpretation, and such is the case with Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.” Published in 1741, as the fourth and last part of his Clavier-Übung, the “Goldberg Variations” still remain, almost 300 years later, amongst the baroque master’s most important works, not only for the history of musical composition and recording in general (Glenn Gould, Trevor Pinnock, Rosalyn Tureck, and many others come to mind), but also for Víkingur Ólafsson in particular. “I’ve been dreaming of recording this work for 25 years,” says the Icelandic pianist, thus confirming that these studies are more a life’s work than a whim.Beginning with a melody that’s simple in appearance, the work is spread over a total of 30 variations, becoming a masterpiece of complexity. Determined, at surface level, by a rigid formal framework, the material itself nevertheless demands a “sort of interpretive improvisation”. Ólafsson recognises this paradox and makes it his own not by interpreting the different variations with technical precision and a strict loyalty to the metronome, but rather by following cyclical impulses and organic interpretation. At the same time, he evolves with the work and transcends it, whether in the creativity of the fugues or the complexity of the different canons, which influence one another, rely on one another, and, finally, like a parabola, return to the first melody and the beginning of all that had transpired previously -  like the ebb and flow of the Icelandic ocean, whose waves we know will always return to shore, but whose calm or strength we can never be sure of. © Lena Germann/Qobuz

Jonathan Demme's creative direction and this group's brilliance make for an unusual live performance event. Starting solo with David Byrne, each song brings another band member to the stage until the full band kicks in. With Bernie Worrell on keyboards and a strong hit-filled set from the Speaking in Tongues tour, this is definitely worth checking out.© Scott Bultman /TiVo

Denis Villeneuve and Hans Zimmer (Interstellar, Gladiator…) reunite for the second installment of Dune, the film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novels. In this sequel, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen to lead a revolt against those who destroyed his family. Haunted by dark premonitions, he finds himself confronted with a difficult choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe. Zimmer’s troubling score echoes these menacing intuitions, full of metallic textures that intertwine with the textures of the human voice, leading to sonorities that are both familiar and strange at once. We also hear the first film’s famous gimmick, the guttural voice of the Bene Gesserit, contributing to the project’s profoundly spiritual quality. Overall, the soundtrack to Dune: Part Two is more meditative than that of the first film, as is evidenced by the choice of the duduk, the Armenian woodwind instrument that most notably haunts the opening piece (“Beginnings Are Such Delicate Times”). Loyal to the great tradition of Hollywood film music, Hans Zimmer graces us with a love song that’s full of tenderness. Those who love the enchanting Zimmer of Terrence Malik’s The Thin Red Line will certainly appreciate this soundtrack to one of 2024’s most anticipated films. © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz

Over nine albums, The National have grown wilder in their experimentation. But the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Cincinnati band proves on First Two Pages of Frankenstein that almost no one else does Midwest desolation this well—still. It's there in the plaintive but sweetly hopeful piano line that carries "Once Upon a Poolside" and underscores Matt Berninger's troubled lines: "I can't keep talking/ I can't stop shaking/ I can't keep track of everything I'm taking." (Bonus points for bringing in fellow Midwestern native Sufjan Stevens for ethereal backing vocals.) There's a spareness, too, in the excellent "Eucalyptus," which poses questions about who walks away with what when a relationship ends: ceiling fans, rainbow eucalyptus, ornaments ..."What about the undeveloped cameras?/ Maybe we should bury those ... What about the Cowboy Junkies?/ What about the Afghan Whigs?" And yet the song takes on an early-U2 level of drama with a build of moody, striking guitar and tumbling drums. "Tropic Morning News," meanwhile, surprises in a different way: Starting with a perfectly chilled Joy Division beat, the guitars spring to life and the bridge takes off and up. This is the song that is said to have saved the record, after Berninger was in a dry spell. It was, he has said, "the first time it ever felt like maybe things really had come to an end" for the band. But, with his wife Carin Besser's help on the words, he pulled through—a feeling that seems to be reflected in the lyrics: "I was so distracted then/ I didn't have it straight in my head/ I didn't have my face on yet, or the role, or the feel/ Of where I was going with it all ... There's nothing stopping me now/ From saying all the painful parts out loud." Much has been made of the band's collaboration with Taylor Swift, "The Alcott,” and for good reason. As a producer, National guitarist and songwriter Aaron Dessner knows how to pull a genuine maturity out of Swift. Here she holds her own against Berninger's deep masculinity and the beating heart of percussion. Unlike with other guests on ... Frankenstein, this is a proper duet, and a pretty perfect addition to the Swift oeuvre, as she delivers lines like "Shred my evening gown/ Read my sentence out loud/ Because I brought this curse on our house." Phoebe Bridgers, meanwhile, shows up on "This Isn't Helping" and "Your Mind Is Not Your Friend," but her harmonies are more like a spoonful of sugar atop Berninger's roughness, rather than an equal match.The record ends with “Send for Me” and Berninger promising to answer any SOS: "If you're ever sitting at the airport/ And you don't want to leave ... If you're ever at a glass-top table, selling your ideas/ To swivel-chair underlings who just don't get it … Send for me/ Whenever, where ever/ Send for me/ I'll come and get ya." In other words: They’re not done yet. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

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Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, guitarist Bill Frisell, and drummer Herlin Riley keep things stripped to their essence on Owl Song. And like the title's avian creature, these topnotch musicians clearly have sensitive hearing. The result is attuned, attentively crafted music that wastes no notes as it conveys emotional heft.At times, Akinmusire's compositions have the directness of folk or pop shaped by refined improvisation. Akinmusire often sticks to simple lines and employs repetition to an unusual degree. Frisell wrings gorgeous tones from his instrument without the use of a lot of fancy effects. And Riley's excellent drumming could almost be described as modest. (He does, however, bust out on "Mr. Riley," an exciting duet with Akinmusire.) On "Owl Song 1," plaintive trumpet and guitar state the piece's extended melody over brushed snare and soft bass drum accents. The players' interaction is intimate, interconnected. Certain moments can catch the listener off guard: a tiny change in inflection or timbre can highlight an affecting shift. Frisell's cycling chord pattern and Riley's tambourine and hand drum are present throughout "Weighted Corners." Akinmusire intones lovely shapes, but more intriguingly, his performance is an example of his use of repetition. It's surprising to hear a trumpet repeat a figure again and again; it lends a pushing-the-envelope edge to the hushed setting.   "Henya," which has a psychedelic-like vibe, unfolds at an unrushed pace. Riley's free-time drumming, more active than elsewhere, shines. Clattering hits and effective cymbal splashes create a charged backdrop for long-held trumpet tones and searching guitar. During a key stretch late in the track, the chord progression comes to the fore, displaying the subtle emotional poignancy that marks this reflective album.  © Fred Cisterna/Qobuz

Encompassing heavy metal, folk, pure rock & roll, and blues, Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album is a monolithic record, defining not only Led Zeppelin but the sound and style of '70s hard rock. Expanding on the breakthroughs of III, Zeppelin fuse their majestic hard rock with a mystical, rural English folk that gives the record an epic scope. Even at its most basic -- the muscular, traditionalist "Rock and Roll" -- the album has a grand sense of drama, which is only deepened by Robert Plant's burgeoning obsession with mythology, religion, and the occult. Plant's mysticism comes to a head on the eerie folk ballad "The Battle of Evermore," a mandolin-driven song with haunting vocals from Sandy Denny, and on the epic "Stairway to Heaven." Of all of Zeppelin's songs, "Stairway to Heaven" is the most famous, and not unjustly. Building from a simple fingerpicked acoustic guitar to a storming torrent of guitar riffs and solos, it encapsulates the entire album in one song. Which, of course, isn't discounting the rest of the album. "Going to California" is the group's best folk song, and the rockers are endlessly inventive, whether it's the complex, multi-layered "Black Dog," the pounding hippie satire "Misty Mountain Hop," or the funky riffs of "Four Sticks." But the closer, "When the Levee Breaks," is the one song truly equal to "Stairway," helping give IV the feeling of an epic. An apocalyptic slice of urban blues, "When the Levee Breaks" is as forceful and frightening as Zeppelin ever got, and its seismic rhythms and layered dynamics illustrate why none of their imitators could ever equal them.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

A spellbinding fadeout for the band, climaxing with their legendary rooftop concert.© Bruce Eder /TiVo

Roger Waters has never really accepted the fact that Pink Floyd is able to exist without him, both on stage and on record—not that he’d ever admit that. Rick Wright’s death in 2008 seemed to quash any possibility of a reunion, and seeing David Gilmour continue to play Floyd songs must still bother him. After a couple of live tours, The Wall and Us + Them, the singer-bassist found himself stuck in the middle of a pandemic that was pushing everyone to record albums ‘at home’.Consequently, Waters got stuck into a long-distance collaboration with numerous musicians, re-recording Floyd tracks and rearranging them in his own way. His song selection isn’t inconsequential either; he draws from the albums he was heavily involved in writing, namely The Wall and The Final Cut (as well as a track from his solo discography, ‘The Bravery of Being Out of Range’): his way of reminding us who the boss was during his time in Pink Floyd and showing us that songs that are written well in the first place never get old.This is an exciting release, though it doesn’t overtly possess the magic of Waters’ days with Pink Floyd. Comfortably Numb 2022 is a particularly curious track, far more composed and less heroic than the original. It comes in at two minutes longer than the original, too; the numerous choruses at the end attempt to make the listener forget about Gilmour’s sublime guitar solo—a gamble that will inevitably split opinions amongst hardcore fans. This is more than just a new album. The Lockdown Sessions is more of a stylistic exercise that has kept the creator’s creative juices flowing ahead of his farewell tour, This Is Not a Drill. Every hero has the right to take it easy eventually. © Chief Brody/Qobuz

Writing the music for a film that takes place in ancient times or—as in the case with Dune—in a distant and fictional civilisation, is often an opportunity for a composer to ask the question: what would the music of their people sound like? Hans Zimmer (Interstellar, Gladiator...) thought that the human voice would be the common denominator of these far-flung peoples. This is why one of the musical hallmarks of Dune is a guttural vocal line that punctuates several scenes in the film (Gom Jabbar). In addition to its dramatic interest (it personifies the "Voice of Command"), it also contributes to the spiritual aspect that Zimmer wanted to give to Denis Villeneuve's images: "We agreed that the music would need to have a spirituality to it...a sanctified quality...that would elevate the soul and have the effect that only sacred music can", said the filmmaker. To refine this idea, the composer used two types of strings: oriental timbres and synthesizers. This combination is also an effective way of conveying the strangeness of this fascinating and dangerous desert. Finally, the music is an essential part of the immersive spectacle in this new adaptation of Frank Herbert's SF novel series. This is made possible by, among other things, Dolby Atmos technology, which gives the listener the feeling of being enveloped by the music. This allows for more depth and flexibility in placing the various instruments and voices in the sound-space. Once again, Zimmerian emotion is combined with an insatiable curiosity for technological advances. © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz

In the spring of 2022, the composer Hans Zimmer set off on a triumphant European tour, for which he wrote new arrangements of pieces from the most iconic films of his career. This double album opens with an extract from his most recent blockbuster, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (‘House Atreides’). A distinctly spiritual, guttural voice takes centre stage for this piece - one of the main gimmicks of the soundtrack as a whole. The first part of this double album proceeds with excerpts from other Hollywood highlights, including the impressive Wonder Woman Suite, where a powerful female chorus challenges clichés surrounding music in American action films. Long time fans will appreciate the extended suites from two Zimmer classics: Gladiator (featuring the voice of Lisa Gerrard) and Pirates of the Carribbean.The second disc features another of Zimmers triumphs, The Lion King, which won him an Oscar in 1994. The more minimalist (and somewhat liturgical) soundtrack to Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar has pride of place on this album, alongside his robust soundtracks for The Last Samurai and The Dark Knight. Zimmer’s sparkling reinvention of the famous James Bond theme is also worth a listen (’No Time To Die Suite’). Alongside his 20-piece band ‘The Disruptive Collective’, as well as the orchestra and choir of the Odessa Opera, the German-born composer is at the top of his game here, skillfully mixing classical arrangements, rock elements and synthesisers. © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz

Twenty years after Blues Deluxe, his first all-blues album, Joe Bonamassa delivers a sequel with 2023's Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2. He may follow the same blueprint -- it largely consists of covers, supplemented by two originals -- but the circumstances and collaborators have changed. Here, he foregoes using longtime producer Kevin Shirley to work with Josh Smith, a blues guitarist from Bonamassa's own generation who also contributes the album's closer "Is It Safe to Go Home." Smith helps give Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2 a loose, lived-in feeling that contrasts with the eager fire of the 2003 record. It's a change that suits Bonamassa well. Not pushing so hard with either his vocals or his guitar, Bonamassa instead settles into a muscular, horn-punctuated groove that rolls right through numbers by Bobby "Blue" Bland, Guitar Slim, Ronnie Earle & the Broadcasters, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, and Albert King. Bonamassa solos plenty but the song is placed at the forefront throughout Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2 -- it's closer to an old LP from the '60s than to the shredding blues-rockers who followed in the wake of Stevie Ray Vaughan, which is a roundabout way of saying that Bonamassa's blues seem to be deepening as he grows older, which is not a bad thing at all. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo