The Doobie Brothers had two distinct phases during their 1970s peak, evolving from boogie rockers with a penchant for mellow good vibes into a smooth blue-eyed soul outfit. Subsequent reunions and decades as a successful live attraction blurred the divide between the rambling "Black Water" and funky "What a Fool Believes," the band's two number one hits on Billboard.

Specializing in raunchy, sleazy boogie and melodramatic ballads, Aerosmith were one of the biggest hard rock bands to emerge in the 1970s, shaping the sound and style of hard rock and metal in the decades to come.

As a songwriter and performer, Willie Nelson has played a vital role in post-rock & roll country music. Although he didn't become a star until the mid-'70s, he spent the 1960s writing songs that became hits for stars like Ray Price ("Night Life"), Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), Faron Young ("Hello Walls"), and Billy Walker ("Funny How Time Slips Away"), as well as releasing a series of records on Liberty and RCA that earned him a small but devoted cult following. During the early '70s, Nelson abandoned Nashville for his native Texas, setting up shop with the redneck hippies in Austin and taking control of his music on the landmark Shotgun Willie (1973) and Phases & Stages (1974). He found a kindred spirit in Waylon Jennings and, together, they spearheaded the outlaw country movement that finally made him a star by 1975.

Legendary Milanese combo Calibro 35 continue their journey into the world of cinematic jazz-funk with their new album "Exploration." Set for worldwide release on June 6, "Exploration" marks their return to independent label Record Kicks after their last studio album "Nouvelle Aventures" released on Universal Music in 2023. The band picks up from their latest EP, "Jazzploitation," released on Record Kicks last October.

With a limitless supply of dirty riffs, snarling vocals, and timelessly catchy, anthemic choruses, AC/DC is one of the most important and most lasting forces in hard rock. Founded in the early '70s by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, the Aussie band exploded onto the international stage in 1979 with the release of their multi-platinum-selling sixth album, Highway to Hell. The death of charismatic frontman Bon Scott in 1980 threatened to derail the group, but AC/DC powered through. They recruited Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson and unleashed their most successful effort to date, Back in Black, which has become the second best-selling album in history. The band continued to help define the sound of hard rock and metal throughout the '80s, '90s, and beyond, spawning countless imitators and enjoying steady, consistent commercial success. They also became one of the best examples of arena rock, playing to enormous crowds as the years went on, and rocking as hard as ever on studio albums like 1990's pop-glinted The Razor's Edge and 2020's Power Up, both of which reached the upper tiers of multiple charts.

Amnesiac is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in June 2001 by Parlophone. Recorded during the same sessions as Radiohead's previous album Kid A (2000) with producer Nigel Godrich, the album incorporates similar influences of electronic music, 20th-century classical music, jazz and krautrock. Its lyrics and artwork explore themes influenced by memory and reincarnation, with influences from ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology. Singer Thom Yorke described it as "another take on Kid A, a form of explanation." Though many critics considered it inferior to Kid A, Amnesiac received positive reviews and in 2012 Rolling Stone ranked it number 320 in their updated version of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2009, Pitchfork ranked Amnesiac the 34th best album of the 2000s. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

This is a delightful, inventive, witty, charming, enchanting, inspiring disc. In the Verbruggen disc, only four of the six sonatas appear together, plus one other trio sonata (BWV 1031). Perhaps Ms. Verbruggen thought that BWV 526 and 528 did not translate well to the recorder. In any event, the recorder and the harpsichord are outstanding here, as is the recording quality. Highest recommendation.

In many facets, Big Brother and the Holding Company's Cheap Thrills is the quintessential album to spring from the outcome of the Summer of Love. Best known as Janis Joplin's major-label debut, the 1968 set arrived when the countercultural movement was in full swing and before co-optation, drugs, and violence signaled the fall of the era. Ranked #338 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it puts a female singer in the prominent position traditionally given to a male and showcases a band pouring a potent cocktail of fiery psychedelic, blues, and folk sounds that informed the unfettered creativity of the San Francisco scene. Produced by John Simon, Cheap Thrills also features one of the most iconic and elaborate album covers in history.

I started writing the songs on this album as the pandemic began winding down; the titular song “What Did You Miss” pointed the way forward, with its final verse: “I’ve been writing it down/song by song/as a personal history” when imagining this collection of songs as memoir, and how the wisdom that comes with growing older becomes a north star, whether one is celebrating life’s joys or navigating life’s inevitable losses. From the first verse of “Paint + Turpentine” about sitting in the dark of the Birchmere Music Hall watching Guy Clark teach a master class in songwriting and story telling, to coming to terms with how later life turned out in “Girl and Her Dog”, to inventorying what matters in “The Saving Things” to discovering the wisdom in words and phrases that we usually roll our eyes towards in “Say It Anyway”, it is my hope that these songs allow the listener to come away not only with a musical sketch of my life from young adulthood on, but also an affirming reflection of their own life as well.

Italian pop singer Umberto Tozzi began singing at a very young age, joining a band called Off Sound in 1968 and later teaming up with Adriano Pappalardo. "Un Corpo un 'Anima" became his first hit in 1974, and he recorded his debut album, Donna Amante Mia, in 1976. Ti Amo followed in 1977, and the successful Tu was released in 1978. Tozzi's breakthrough came a year later when he climbed the Italian and Latin American charts with "Gloria," a song covered by Laura Branigan on her 1982 self-titled debut record.

At the dawn of the 80s the sound of black popular music that these good folk were listening to was in the grip of change. For the most part bands with horn sections were scaling down and the 8-10 piece unit gave way to much smaller ensembles with a less orchestral sound, as saxophonists, trumpeters and trombonists who provided finely shaded harmonies and counter-melodies were being replaced by keyboard players. Indeed the rainbow of colours fashioned by an arsenal of synthesizers, from Prophets and Korgs to Rolands and Yamahas, brought preen and sheen to soul, which, with a lower tempo and heavy bouncing bass lines, was being referred to as boogie. Needless to say the new sub-genre caught on in the UK and became another form of vocabulary for audiences to embrace in the slipstream of the Brit-funk movement of the mid '70s, which was spearheaded by groups of mostly young Britons of West Indian heritage.

One of the most politically charged terms of the 20th century, the Iron Curtain was a metaphor for political and cultural division. In a post-war telegram Winston Churchill referred to the fault line that ran through Europe between East and West as "an Iron Curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind".In this two-part album, as far as jazz is concerned, we will showcase, describe and celebrate exactly what was ‘going on behind’. We see that music is the power supreme, with the ability to transcend all barriers, be they physical, political or metaphorical.

The breakout star from the burgeoning Romanian dance scene that has also spawned the likes of Alexandra Stan and Edward Maya, permanently scantily clad Inna has been pivotal in restoring some musical pride to a country whose only previous notable contribution to the pop landscape was the Cheeky Girls. Produced by regular cohorts Play & Win, her second album, I Am the Club Rocker, picks up where her debut, Hot, left off, with 13 sun-soaked Europop tracks that appear destined to blare out of various Club 18-30 hotspots until the inevitable 6-a.m. stagger back to the hotel.

‘PRINCESS OF POWER’ is the feverishly-anticipated sixth studio album from MARINA. Inspired by the superpower that is love, it marks the internationally acclaimed and award-winning artist’s first independent release. The album explores the concepts of power and leadership for a new generation. It’s a record that is built on the belief that love doesn’t make us weak, it’s something to be empower by and celebrated.

From a label with no shortage of first-rate jazz material come this very attractive vocal sampler. Staying true to the Compact Jazz ethos, Best of the Jazz Vocalists favors quality over hits and comes with a budget price tag. The majority of songs are from the label's prime '50s and '60s run, including a cloud-bound "Summertime" by Helen Merrill and one of the all-time great versions of "If You Could See Me Now," compliments of Billy Eckstine. Continuing with this balancing act between the sexes, the collection also includes fine work by Bill Henderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Abbey Lincoln, Jon Hendricks, Shirley Horn, and Anita O'Day; latter-day entries include Lincoln's "I've Got Thunder and It Rings" from her 1990 Verve debut and Horn's "I Got Lost in His Arms" from 1988's Close Enough for Love. Nicely wrapped up with Nina Simone's Afro-percussion clarion call "Come Ye," this Verve roundup works as the perfect primer for more adventurous trips through the label's fertile stores of essential jazz.