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After the amazing masterpieces of Revolver and Sergeant Pepper's, The Beatles dove back into the art of pure writing, bringing about a certain level of sobriety and leaving aside their recent psychadelic delusions, awesome as they were. Released in November 1968, this double White Album is a return to more refined pop and rock; the essence of their art. The title of the disc, The Beatles, does not manage to hide the growing dissension between the four musicians at the time, and their diverging personalities saw this album herald the beginning of the end for the Fab Four, and the budding of their future solo careers... Despite all of this, The Beatles managed to release a new and totally unique album here, which can be enjoyed step by step as a true emotional rollercoaster: The fantasy of Dear Prudence, the dark madness of Revolution 9, the legendary guitar solo in While My Guitar Gently Weeps, the labyrinth of Happiness Is A Warm Gun and Sexy Sadie, the emotion of Julia (which Lennon dedicated to his mother, who died when he was 17), the purity of Blackbird and the ultra-violent tsunami that is Helter Skelter… the White Album is a brilliant production, a new masterpiece from a group growing apart ... For its 50-year anniversary, this legendary double album makes a return in Deluxe Edition form, a well-deserved title. As well as the stereo remixed version by legendary producer George Martin's son, the original mono version (praised by purists for this format) and the famous Esher Demos there are 27 demo tracks of some famous hits recorded in Harrison’s home and three studio-session CDs. It’s a marvellous collection (107 tracks in total!) which let’s us further explore this glorious piece of work that still fascinates us 50 years after its creation… © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

When he’s not working on a film score or paying a musical visit to one of his numerous friends, Mark Knopfler focuses on producing high quality solo albums. Down The Road Wherever is no exception, it’s arguably up there with Golden Heart and Get Lucky at the top of the heap. For this ninth album, available in different editions (something which has become a habit for him), he demonstrates more than ever the sheer scope of styles he can play with outstanding subtlety and elegance. He’s like a magician refusing to show off with shiny new tricks, but rather favouring his older acts with a few delicate updates, of which he seems to have many up his sleeve! More relaxed and confident than ever, particularly in his perfect guitar performances, Knopfler is second to none when it comes to harmoniously juxtaposing jazzy (When You Leave, Every Heart In The Room), bluesy (Just A Boy Away From Home), funky (Back On The Dance Floor, Nobody Does That), folk (Nobody's Child, Matchstick Man) and trad (Drover's Road, One Song At A Time) atmospheres, at times incorporating inspired Latin touches – samba, bossa nova, or cha cha chá − (Floating Away, Slow Learner, Heavy Up, Rear View Mirror) or electro layers (Good On You Son)… Even though the album starts off like Dire Straits’ Love Over Gold with the perky Trapper Man, and then My Bacon Roll which would fit right into Brothers In Arms, he has obviously come a long way, setting himself apart from a band whose memory is slowly fading. © Jean-Pierre Sabouret/Qobuz

She loves Madeleine Peyroux and Melody Gardot and she doesn't care who knows it. But Hailey Tuck does have a little something of her own up her sleeve. It's a personal touch that makes this young Texan, who has made landfall in Paris, an attractive voice in its own right, and not a pale imitation of anyone else. Larry Klein, who produced her two idols, even agreed to put together the first album of this starlet who shares a hairdresser with Louise Brooks, and a wardrobe with Josephine Baker. Klein even put together a perfect and never over-produced backdrop, with the help of some five-star studio musicians like drummer Jay Bellerose (Elton John, Robert Plant) and guitarist Dean Parks (Joe Cocker, Steely Dan)… In terms of their repertoire, the eclecticism and quality of these covers also displays thoroughgoing good taste. And the fact that she revisits That Don't Make It Junk by Leonard Cohen, Cry To Me, made famous Solomon Burke, Cactus Tree by Joni Mitchell, Some Other Time by Leonard Bernstein, Underwear by Pulp, Alcohol by the Kinks, Junk by Paul McCartney, I Don’t Care Much from the soundtrack to Cabaret and indeed the wonderful Say You Don’t Mind by Colin Blunstone, Hailey Tuck deploys her voice intelligently and with a dash of retro in every word and every phrase. Let this beautiful and timeless Qobuzissime carry you away... © Max Dembo/Qobuz

In four albums, Worrisome Heart (2008), My One And Only Thrill (2009), The Absence (2012) and Currency Of Man (2015), Melody Gardot has managed to sneak in between Diana Krall and Norah Jones to also find her place in the selective club of the female singers that are “a bit jazzy but not too much”, this oneiric cast that was so popular during the 50s, and in which she soon made the singularity of her very sensual voice resonate. A voice that she ceaselessly took touring to locations all over the world, and multiple times over at that. And so, there are enough recordings in the cellar to release a live album. However, live discs are rarely a must. There is often something missing, this small impalpable thing, that only those present that night will have kept inside of them… This Live In Europe from Melody Gardot is lucky to have kept, precisely, this “small thing”… The American has probably meticulously built it (apparently, she has listened to more than 300 recordings before making her decision!) by avoiding the true-false best of. “Someday, someone told me, ‘never look back, because there’s no way you’re going back’, she says. It’s nicely said, but if you don’t look back sometimes, it’s hard to see that time is on the verge of catching up to you. We all need to quickly look back into the rear-view mirror from time to time in order to adjust our trajectory. This disc is precisely that, the rear-view mirror of a 1963 Corvette, a postcard of our touring all over Europe. We spent most of our time on the road these last few years, and we’ve taken advantage of this trip to not only get around and get some fresh air but also to try, as much as possible, to get rid of the rules and create something exciting. I’ve been dreaming for years of releasing a live album like this one.” This desire can be felt in every moment of this disc comprised of titles recorded in Paris, Vienna, Bergen, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Lisbon, Zurich and London. Whether she performs her hits Baby I'm A Fool and My One And Only Thrill or covers the classic Over The Rainbow, Melody Gardot offers up a different point of view, but it’s always an open performance. To help her in her introspective trip that is constantly shifting, she is surrounded by her impeccable musicians, discreet but decisive. Drummer Charles Staab, saxophonist Irwin Hall and bass player Sami Minaie are completely in tune with her singing, like some kind of thin hand that you take and only let go of after the last note. Finally, there is this album cover which will lead to extensive press coverage… or not. © MD/Qobuz

For a brief span of time, embattled Florida singer/rapper XXXTentacion was at the top of his game, riding a wave of success following the release of his sophomore effort, ?, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 and was certified gold. Three months after the arrival of ?, he was shot and killed outside a motorcycle dealership on June 18, 2018. For the tenure of his short career, controversy and division became synonymous with the troubled rapper, amplifying his reputation and notoriety among fans and detractors alike. On ?, his combination of cloud-rap introspection ("SAD!"), grunge-indebted yearning ("NUMB"), and metal-influenced rage ("Floor 555" and "schizophrenia") hits the proper emotional nerves, producing a visceral and often overwhelming experience. Guests include Joey Bada$$ on the classic hip-hop "infinity (888)," drummer Travis Barker on the emocore "Pain = BESTFRIEND," and PnB Rock on the trappy "SMASH!," which channels Post Malone and Migos in equal parts. Through the genre-blurring storm of emotions, XXX surprises with the vulnerable piano ballad "changes" and a tribute to the Parkland school shooting victims/survivors on "Hope." The tragically prescient "before I close my eyes" closes the album with XXX hoping "it's not too late for me." Like other artists who died before fully delivering on their potential, clues about cries for help or warning signs are often appropriate, especially when considering lifestyle choices and tangles with the law. Ultimately, it's just speculation for fans to keep the memory alive. Taken as is, ? is a fascinating and thoroughly engaging listen, swirling with passionate emotions that hint at the chance of something greater. As the de facto closer to the divisive rapper's catalog, it's also an appropriate and prophetic reflection of a life that simply caught up with him too quickly. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

It wouldn't be right to reduce Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad simply to an heir of Jeff Buckley with hints of Radiohead from their earlier years. The Belgian songwriter, only 21 years old, offers much more than that on his first album, even if Colin Greenwood, the bassist from Radiohead, does feature on the album... Tamino, an Antwerp-native and John Lennon-admirer, has always kept his Egyptian origins preserved in a corner of his head, under his jet-black mane. The Arabic music that his mother played at home must have been all the more influential when it was the work of Muharram Fouad, his singer-actor grandfather, a star in Cairo in the sixties... This eclecticism is at the heart of Tamino's music, which owes as much to Buckley folk music as it does to Beatles pop and even to the nonchalant melancholy of Leonard Cohen, another one of his idols. To fuse these disparate influences, the mysterious young man possesses a deadly weapon: his voice. It’s an equally versatile organ, capable of stretching slowly and transforming itself into a stunning falsetto, an impressive technique that he never abuses. It is this voice that transforms Amir into a long and poignant novel. A coming-of-age story that alternates between the dreamer (the pure folk on Verses) and the lyrical poet as on So It Goes, Each Time and Intervals, conceived around a section of Arabic strings. A Qobuzissime album that’s oozing with original and touching poetry. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Souldier is the second LP from French pop singer/songwriter Jain. Composed of bright, jolly acoustic guitar, resonant keys, and positive lyrics, the effort features the title track single. The album was released by RCA Records. ~ Rob Wacey

Norah Jones' debut on Blue Note is a mellow, acoustic pop affair with soul and country overtones, immaculately produced by the great Arif Mardin. (It's pretty much an open secret that the 22-year-old vocalist and pianist is the daughter of Ravi Shankar.) Jones is not quite a jazz singer, but she is joined by some highly regarded jazz talent: guitarists Adam Levy, Adam Rogers, Tony Scherr, Bill Frisell, and Kevin Breit; drummers Brian Blade, Dan Rieser, and Kenny Wollesen; organist Sam Yahel; accordionist Rob Burger; and violinist Jenny Scheinman. Her regular guitarist and bassist, Jesse Harris and Lee Alexander, respectively, play on every track and also serve as the chief songwriters. Both have a gift for melody, simple yet elegant progressions, and evocative lyrics. (Harris made an intriguing guest appearance on Seamus Blake's Stranger Things Have Happened.) Jones, for her part, wrote the title track and the pretty but slightly restless "Nightingale." She also includes convincing readings of Hank Williams' "Cold Cold Heart," J.D. Loudermilk's "Turn Me On," and Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You." There's a touch of Rickie Lee Jones in Jones' voice, a touch of Bonnie Raitt in the arrangements; her youth and her piano skills could lead one to call her an Alicia Keys for grown-ups. While the mood of this record stagnates after a few songs, it does give a strong indication of Jones' alluring talents. ~ David R. Adler

Damon is never far away. In 2017 while on tour with the Gorillaz, his imagination was already conceiving The Now Now on GarageBand software under the rooftops of American hotels. The result? Eleven fine-tuned tracks with Jamie Hewlett and his team. Here, Blur’s leader avoids surrounding himself too much. The record Humanz, released a year earlier, was flooded with a good fifteen featuring artists including Pusha T, Benjamine Clemantine and Peven Everett. The Now Now does the opposite. Where Humanz is hip-hop, collective and extroverted, The Now Now is pop, intimate and melancholic (see Fire Flies). This sixth opus has the amplitude of an outdoor, off-screen, out-of-studio design, all the while maintaining a good dose of self-reflection. He now surrounds himself with the crème de la crème (well-beaten but far from being out of date): George Benson (on guitar on Humility), Snoop Dogg and Jamie Principle (in Hollywood). He’s halved the number of his tracks and moved away from crossover genres (funk-dub-reggae-dance) towards a retro-futuristic groove. Albarn confirms, as if that’s even necessary, that he still has a lot to say. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

While Glenn Gould's 1955 debut recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations has attained legendary status, there are many devoted fans who rank the 1981 recording just as highly, even though it offers a dramatically different interpretation. This album was made shortly before the pianist's premature death at age 50, so it is significant for being his last recording; indeed, the opening measures of the Aria are carved on Gould's headstone, in final recognition of the work's importance to him, so these two recordings may be regarded as bookends to the pianist's extraordinary career. Gould's tempos are slower and more measured in the 1981 performance, and the observance of some repeats here also differs from the earlier version. On the whole, the 1981 performance is reflective and carefully considered, in contrast with the technical brilliance and impulsive energy of the first. Gould's background humming is common to both Goldbergs, and even though the technology existed at the time of this recording to remove it, Gould kept it in, for fear of losing the piano's full sound. This eccentricity may be off-putting to some listeners, but there are so many fine points in Gould's playing that it must be overlooked to appreciate the true value of his playing and his understanding of Bach, which is original by any standard. Columbia's reproduction is crisp and clear, in keeping with Gould's wishes.

A 31 year-old Canadian, Jean-Michel Blais is no stranger to the neoclassical stage. After a first album bearing the sober title "II", on Caroline Distribution, this offering consists of a new collection of tracks, (most of which have already been released separately over recent weeks) which are possessed of an irrepressible lyricism. On board his piano, which he has transformed into a magical music box, he travels with the winds, following the currents of his own insatiable creativity. In the middle, Blind, perhaps the most seductive track of these forty-five minutes (alongside sourdine…), immerses us in an ideal vision of a music which mixes acoustics and machines into a soothing and velvety whole. god(s) takes us somewhere else, to church perhaps: but the return of synths shows that Jean-Michel Blais might perhaps have different gods in mind. igloo could have been a spiritual, even pantheist, track, but Blais, who isn't above a little caustic wit, is quite urban about it: the "igloo" in question is a reference to contemporary cities, full of "caverns", where everything is stacked over everything else. Henceforth, Blais's name will be synonymous with unique sonic flavours. But there is something here of that bitter, fraternal, soft and sensual melancholy that runs through much of North American music, and which permeates the sonic spaces of a Copland (Quiet City) or a Bernard Herrmann (Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro) and the obstinate figures of a Steve Reich (The Four Sections) or the curling wisps of one of the most imaginative representatives of Canadian pop, like Patrick Watson ― think of the latter's Lighthouse where we find that same vision of the instrument, as if stripped of its hammers. Jean-Michel Blais takes his time, discreetly. Under his elegant veneer, he knows how to be tenacious: his quotations (from the entrancingly slow movement of Rachmaninov's Second Concerto, for example, on roses) make for salutary and soothing escapes. Blais is holding out his hand to you. It would be rude to turn him down. © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Qobuz

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Concertos for viola d'amore represent a fairly atypical part of Vivaldi's work, and he was probably the first composer to write pieces for this work in the solo concerto format. The viola d'amore was certainly well-liked for its soft, suggestive sound, which evoked the moods and climes of the orient thanks, in particular to its sympathetic strings which vibrate with those strings the player bows. But it was little-used because of its complex tuning and objective difficulties involved in playing it. In fact, the instrument would be tuned in different ways to fit the tonality of the piece being played – the famous scordatura, so finicky for the musicians – and it is believed that Vivaldi wrote these specifically for one of the musicians at Venice's Pietá: the famous Anna-Maria. Another characteristic of these concertos for viola d'amore, the rapid movements are also much longer and fuller than in most of Vivaldi's writing, for example in the seven string concertos which figure at the start of the album, or in the miniatures which were intended as showcases for the talent of the greatest possible number of soloists in the public concerts at the Pietá. A little curiosity is offered up here in the shape of the original concerto La Conca RV163, whose themes mimic the sound of the "conca", a kind of large marine conch used as an instrument since prehistoric times. The recording includes a conch being sounded at the start of the first movement by way of explanation. © SM/Qobuz

Not easy to be Paul McCartney in 2018… Anyone who listens to Egypt Station knows that at 76, the former Beatle has very little chance to deliver an album, or even just a handful of songs, that can match his masterpieces of the previous century. Sir Paul must be aware of that as well… And yet, this album hits the nail right on the head. And while his voice understandably has lost some of its haughtiness compared to his golden years, Macca is still a master at writing finely refined pop songs. After writing hundreds of them, he has no lesson to receive from anyone, but listening to Hand In Hand, Do It Now, Dominoes or Confidante, the imprints of his very singular craftsmanship shine through. And in terms of production, the Wings’ former front man was smart enough not to fall into the trap of trying to sound younger than he is. It’s indeed classicism that prevails throughout this Egypt Station, which will surely delight his die-hard fans! © Clotilde Maréchal/Qobuz