Originally advertised on television and then released to stores, Pure Moods could be subtitled "New Age's Greatest Hits." Certainly, it has everything that the mainstream pop audience could construe as new age - atmospheric synthesizers, chants and haunting sonic textures. More importantly, it has all of the songs, from Enigma ("Return to Innocence"), Deep Forest ("Sweet Lullaby") and Enya ("Orinoco Flow") to Angelo Badalamenti ("Theme from Twin Peaks"), Brian Eno ("Another Green World") and Mike Oldfield ("Pran's Escape / The Killing Fields"). In short, it's new age music for the pop music and it's hard to imagine that another compilation could cover the same ground quite as well.

Goodnight Vienna was very much a follow-up to Ringo, on which Ringo Starr called upon his bevy of musical buddies. Most prominent among them was John Lennon, who again wrote the leadoff track, "(It's All Da-Da-Down To) Goodnight Vienna," and played on three songs; also included are Elton John, who wrote and played on "Snookeroo," Dr. John, Billy Preston, Robbie Robertson, and Harry Nilsson. Richard Perry again produced, bringing his strong pop sensibility to the diverse material. The only real fall-off was in the songwriting; the album's Top Ten hits were "Only You," the old Platters song, and Hoyt Axton's novelty number "No No Song," which winked at intoxicants, but little else on the set stood out. Goodnight Vienna was another enjoyable Ringo record, but it lacked the star power and consistency of its predecessor. Still, compared to the rest of his '70s albums, it was a masterpiece.

A few years after the release of her fourth album with Verve, a gospel-themed set of reinterpretations titled Fellowship, Lizz Wright signed to the Concord label with an eye toward concentrating on original material. The vocalist made a connection with veteran multi-instrumentalist and producer Larry Klein and recorded Freedom & Surrender with a stable backing band that included drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, percussionist Pete Korpela, bassist Dan Lutz, guitarist Dean Parks, and keyboardists Pete Kuzma and Billy Childs. For most listeners, the change of label and mostly new set of supporting musicians will seem transparent. Like Wright's previous albums, Freedom & Surrender is graceful and exacting, yet those qualities come across in a fashion that does not seem deliberate – remarkable for material that draws from folk, blues, jazz, soul, and gospel and often fuses two or more of those genres. Longtime collaborator Toshi Reagon contributes only two songs, "Freedom" and "Surrender," but they neatly begin and end the album in spirited and assured form. David Batteau and Jesse Harris separately collaborated with Wright and sometimes Klein on the writing of seven selections.

Before '70s superstardom, even before Humble Pie, Peter Frampton got his first taste of celebrity as a singer and guitarist in the Herd, who chalked up several hits in Britain in 1967 and 1968. Frampton was only 17 when the single "From the Underworld" went into the British Top Ten in late 1967; "Paradise Lost" and "I Don't Want Our Loving to Die" were hits for the group in the first half of 1968. The Herd's brand of mod was extremely commercial and good-timey- and pop-oriented, a bit like a muted and mainstream Small Faces.

The set of 10 classic re-recordings of Rodgers hit classics from his repertoire with Free and Bad Company as well as solo tributes to Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix. The miracle is that these renditions are just as powerful as the originals, due in part to the stellar lineup of accompanying players: Jason Bonham on drums, Pino Palladino on bass and guitarists Reeves Gabrels, Jeff Beck, Andy Summers, Neal Schon, Adrian Vandenberg, Ian Hatton and Rodgers himself. Rodgers vocal ability just gets better as he ages and he proves just how good he is on this disc.

Walking the Blues is arguably the finest record Otis Spann ever cut, boasting 11 cuts of astounding blues piano. On several numbers, Spann is supported by guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood and their interaction is sympathetic, warm, and utterly inviting. Spann relies on originals here, from "Half Ain't Been Told" to "Walking the Blues," but he also throws in a few standards ("Goin' Down Slow," "My Home Is in the Delta") that help draw a fuller portrait of his musicianship. Most importantly, however, is the fact that Walking the Blues simply sounds great - it's some of the finest blues piano you'll ever hear.