Alex Williams

With steel guitar by country-rock vet Dan Dugmore, harp by Willie Nelson main man Mickey Raphael, muscular rock guitars and a handsome bourbon baritone, Indiana longhair Alex Williams casts himself squarely in the outlaw mode Chris Stapleton has rebooted with his debut LP. The 25-year-old rides hard for stoners: "More Than Survival" finds him justifying his Wednesday night buzz; "Little Too Stoned" declares solidarity with "a fucked up generation/Like our nation's never known" while Dugmore's steel blows smoke rings. But "Old Tattoo" is the standout, dialing back the bad ol' boy postures to address a dead grandfather, a deep meditation that shows a real storyteller getting his legs.

More diverse than Vanessa Williams' two previous albums, Sweetest Days finds the singer exploring jazz-influenced songs without giving up the type of boring, radio-minded fluff that had enabled her to sell millions of albums. The CD's standout track is "Ellamental," an irresistible R&B/jazz/hip-hop tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. (Much to her credit, Williams was insightful enough to praise the jazz legend while she was still alive instead of waiting until after her death.) She's almost as appealing on "Sister Moon" (a torchy Sting gem) and the Babyface contributions "You Can't Run" (which has a Sade-ish quality) and the haunting "Betcha Never."

Following their hugely successful cycle of Vaughan Williams’ nine symphonies, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is led by Andrew Manze in this album of the composer’s most popular shorter orchestral works. This disc features Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Fantasia on Greensleeves, The Lark Ascending and The Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus, as well as the rarely performed orchestral version of The Serenade to Music.