Michael McDonald - Motown (Motown) Michael McDonald does have one of the finest white soul voices in the world. With the Doobie...

Olivia Newton-John- 2 (Festival/Mushroom) Lately in Europe, there have been several slightly-past-their-prime artists who have done...

Elton John - Greatest Hits 1970-2002 (Mercury) From 1970 to 1977 Elton John had an almost unprecedented run of musical brilliance,...

Vanessa Paradis – Au Zenith Vanessa Paradis – Au Zenith (Barclay/Universal-France) In the United States, Vanessa Paradis is probably best known as Johnny Depp's live-in girlfriend. Other people may know her as the Chanel model or an actress. But in her native France, she is an institution. Paradis first made waves when she was only 14, with her 1987 international hit single "Joe Le Taxi." That single was a huge hit in just about every country but the U.S., and the song an

Axelle Red – Alive Axelle Red – Alive (Virgin-France) I might have never heard of Axelle Red if I weren't channel surfing one August night last year in the Sofitel Méditerranée in Cannes. With my admittedly rudimentary skills in the French language, I was looking for something, frankly, which I could understand. That's when I stumbled upon an hour-long interview special with popular Belgian singer Axelle Red, which was peppered liberally with clips from her music videos and

Shania Twain - Up! (Mercury) Never in my life have I seen so many exclamation points as there are in the song listing for Shania...

Rod Stewart – It Had To Be You: The Great American Songbook Rod Stewart – It Had To Be You: The Great American Songbook (J Records) With...

Bet Williams – Live at the Point Bet Williams – Live at the Point (Epiphany) It's always strange to hear a recording of a concert when you had been in the audience. I have been lucky enough to experience several shows that have been changed into live albums or videos, and they are almost always a bit of a let-down, not capturing the magic of the moment. Bet Williams' Live at the Point is the exception to that rule. Now it's only ethical for me to acknowledge right o

Chicago – The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning (Rhino) Very few bands have had two completely separate stylistic periods. The late 60s-early 70s incarnation of Chicago was a pioneering force that wed rock and roll with jazz horns and improvisational playing in a way that was totally unique. By the time the late 70s came along, with the death of singer Terry Kath and the rise of singer Peter Cetera, the band may have become less adventurous... a middle-of-the-road hit

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang - A Wonderful World Tony Bennett & k.d. lang - A Wonderful World (RPM/Columbia) Last year's dual tour...

Jennifer Love Hewitt – BareNaked Jennifer Love Hewitt – BareNaked (Jive) There is a stigma out there when actors release albums that...

Raphael Saadiq – Instant Vintage Raphael Saadiq – Instant Vintage (Universal) Raphael Saadiq has logged well over a decade in the music...

Norah Jones - Come Away With Me Norah Jones – Come Away With Me (Blue Note) This is just about the best debut album I've heard in...

Kylie Minogue - Fever Kylie Minogue - Fever (Capitol) Kylie Minogue is a goddess in Europe and her native Australia, rating on the same...

Robbie Williams - Swing When Your Winning (Chrysalis UK) It should be no total surprise that British pop phenomenon Robbie Williams...

Chicago At Carnegie Hall-Volume I, II, III & IV (Columbia C4X 30865) ©1971 Description: Chicago had only been recording for two years and three albums before they released this four-record (remember records?) concert set. Entirely overblown and slightly pretentious, an artistic and popular failure at the time, this still can claim to being the first rock and roll box set. What's Good About It? This was from the band's glory days (before they became an adult contemporary jugg

Don’t Look Back DON’T LOOK BACK (1967) Featuring Bob Dylan, Albert Grossman, Bob Neuwirth, Joan Baez, Alan Price, Tito Burns, Donovan,...

Though it was not planned this way, this box-set seems to be a map of the diminishing returns that have been Rod Stewart's career. Much of the latter stuff is perfectly fine but formulaic music, but the grit and passion of the early stuff pretty much blow it out of the water.

Devo- Pioneers Who Got Scalped - The Anthology (Rhino) Now, many years on, Devo is somewhat thought of as a novelty act. But in 1978,...

Peabo Bryson - Unconditional Love Peabo Bryson - Unconditional Love (Private Music) On the first new disk in five years by the soul...