This is a big step forward for Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips. Their first album, which was a phenomenal success, was shiny and happy and upbeat for the most part; this follow-up is murkier, with denser arrangements and hooks that aren't quite as obvious on first listen. This works both for and against the group. With their soaring harmonies, they bring a joyful brassiness to the hopeful "It's Only Life," which is this album's "Hold On" – though it is far from being a blueprint. The affirmation of love on track nine, "All the Way From New York," juxtaposed with track ten, the sexy rocker "Fueled for Houston," works, and it is the brightest spot on the album.

The Deep Purple spin-off project Paice Ashton Lord were formed by ex-Deep Purplers Ian Paice (drums) and Jon Lord (organ) with Tony Ashton, who had been in the Remo Four during the British Invasion era and then in Ashton, Gardner & Dyke (famous for "Resurrection Shuffle"). When they got together in mid-1976, Deep Purple had just broken up; for the sole Paice Ashton Lord album, the sound was filled out by guitarist Bernie Marsden and bassist Paul Martinez. That LP, Malice in Wonderland, was not nearly as heavy as Deep Purple had been, though it still owed much to mainstream British hard rock. However, there was a fair amount of jazz influence in the arrangements (which sometimes included brass) and some soul ingredients to the songwriting.

Anyone who thinks of Humble Pie solely in terms of their latter-day boogie rock will be greatly surprised with this, the band's second release, for it is almost entirely acoustic. There is a gently rocking cover of Buddy Holly's "Heartbeat," and a couple of electrified Steve Marriott numbers, but the overall feel is definitely more of the country than the town or city. "The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake" is a typical Marriott country ditty, similar to those he would include almost as a token on each of the subsequent studio albums, and "Every Mother's Son" is structured as a folk tale. On "The Light of Love," Marriott even plays sitar. Peter Frampton's contributions here foreshadow the acoustic-based music he would make as a solo artist a few years later. As a whole, this is a crisp, cleanly recorded, attractive-sounding album, totally atypical of the Humble Pie catalog, but well worth a listen.

With their recording of Dmitri Shostakovich’s complete string quartets, the Quatuor Danel has crafted an impressive opus that delves into the composer’s life with deep musical understanding and establishes unparalleled standards in interpreting his chamber music. These new live recordings, stemming from their 2022 residency at the Mendelssohn Hall of the Gewandhaus Leipzig, capture the full spectrum of emotions embedded in Shostakovich’s quartet cycle, from the ethereal to the profound, from the whimsical to the contemplative.

Founded by Anje Duhalde and Mixel Ducau in 1973, Errobi was one of the several bands from the Basque region of Spain that mix folk with prog. To their blend of symphonic rock and jazz, popular at the time, they added a nationalistic touch and the language of the proletariat. Though there are no keyboards, the sound is very full and layered, the long title track and "Andere" especially display the striking group synergy well. Having disbanded in 1979 they reformed for a short period in 1985.

Though Opeth have officially signed with Roadrunner, this double-live disc was released by former label Peaceville. This is welcome, because the band's first live offering, the DVD-only Lamentations: Live at Shepherd's Bush, was not able to focus on the first four recordings due to contractual problems. Apparently, this is worked out here, because all of the band's recordings are represented. That said, The Roundhouse Tapes, recorded at Camden Roundhouse, London, U.K., on November 9, 2006, is a double-disc set that captures this mighty band at their very best. The tour that Opeth undertook in support of Ghost Reveries was 18 months long; it began in June of 2005, and ended December 2006. They played 210 shows during that time. Given that this gig was near the end of the tour, it showcases the band at the zenith of their live powers…

Ubiquity (1971). Roy Ayers' leap to the Polydor label inaugurates his music's evolution away from the more traditional jazz of his earlier Atlantic LPs toward the infectious, funk-inspired fusion that still divides critics and fans even decades after the fact. Although Ubiquity maintains one foot in Ayers' hard bop origins, the record favors soulful grooves and sun-kissed textures that flirt openly and unapologetically with commercial tastes. Several cuts feature the male/female vocals that would become a hallmark of subsequent Ubiquity efforts, while mid-tempo instrumentals like "Pretty Brown Skin" and "The Painted Desert" feature evocatively cinematic arrangements and intriguing solos that unfurl like psychedelic freak flags…