All are already available on one of the many existing Hendrix live discs although as usual, the performances are substantially different since Hendrix seldom played anything the same way twice. ... One of the last recordings with the original threesome. Despite reported tensions within the group, they tear it up.

Every Feeling On a Loop finds Johnson offering up a series of confessional songs, all enhanced with the tones, textures and sumptuous arrangements that had been a touchstone of The Head and the Heart’s articulate tableau since the very beginning.

Cray has been criticized--rightfully at times--for repeating his distinctive if somewhat staid style for many of his almost 20 studio albums. But this one pushes outside those boundaries. It plays to Cray’s established vocal and guitar strengths while injecting just enough grit and grease to spur him to new heights.

By adding little touches like a gospel call and response ("Bones") and a haunting, echoing choir ("Always Waiting"), the listening becomes a more rewarding experience.

Early James is a young artist infused with the ghosts of another time. His shape-shifting music is impossible to pigeonhole but after spending 35 minutes with it, you’ll understand that Auerbach has once again found a new, distinctive, impressively mature and strikingly focused talent with a bright future.

While it may be a while until the current pandemic eases its grip on hard touring musicians like the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, there’s nothing stopping you from pushing play on the exhilarating I Told You So and diving into the surging soulful sounds of one of most talented, driving and funkiest acts around.

It’s a set of songs somehow manages to come across as both subtle and assertive in equal measure. That’s not an easy task of course, but it’s a credit to the band’s particular prowess that they not only tow that tricky divide, but do it so efficiently.

Together, they make gorgeously sensual music, with essential contributions from Calexico trumpeter Jacob Valenzuela, pedal steel player Paul Niehaus, keyboardist Rob Burger and bassist Sebastian Steinberg.

Yeah, it's the new OCMS album and, not surprisingly, it's simple and great (and simply great).

With For Free, David Crosby soars on his own satisfaction.

The Low Anthem are desperately trying to say something, even if that message is not always crystal clear.

Middle Brother is a prediction of great things to come. It's a promise that a new generation of songwriters is rising up to carry and brilliantly build on the tradition.

Despite, or maybe because of, the disparate approaches, the consistently entrancing Eternally Even is a stimulating and often spellbinding listening.

Magical, mystifying and flush with finesse, it’s easily Jurado’s most enticing effort yet.

Krall never seems out of place even as she takes chances in a space that could have left her sounding overwhelmed.

This is another in a seemingly endless streak of quality albums from Richard Thompson, a journeyman artist in the homestretch of his long career, whose best years never seem to be behind him.

Sonically, these remasters are full of life and a youthful, vibrant crispness that make you wonder why it took 50 years for the bulk of them to make an appearance.

The National prove with I Am Easy To Find that they don’t need the old bang and clatter to achieve their signature melancholic glory.

Kudos to Cameron for shoring up his strength and providing us with such a bold venture.

It’s a perfect juxtaposition of earthy lyrics and frank storytelling with honest, unaffected roots music organically adding an exclamation point.

While previous efforts seemed a bit unfocused and disseminated, Blown Away is more thematic and unified, resulting in Underwood's strongest effort to date, which easily leaves her previous releases twisting in the wind.

Like John Henry, Strange Negotiations is workman-like. It's a grind from start to finish, but an enjoyable one at that.

Even without his electric axe (and accompanying pedal board and crater of Marshall stacks) Mascis is still a virtuso.

The singer’s grainy, everyman voice works beautifully with this often sorrowful material, making it believable and potent.

His unique pop prosody and production skills, more sophisticated than ever in Pony, foretell that his sound will continue progressing to new creative heights, with the heft of catchy pop music and the inventiveness of its growing indie subgenre.

These songs evoke images and conjure emotions that are as descriptive and riveting as any printed word.