Baby Humming Urban Stereo

To get an idea of exactly how many Ronnie Milsap collections are on the market, just turn to the back page of the booklet for RCA/Legacy's 2006 double-disc set The Essential Ronnie Milsap, where it lists other Ronnie albums you might also enjoy. There are ten listed, all but one of them a compilation (that would be his very, very good 2006 comeback, My Life). Which begs the natural question, is The Essential Ronnie Milsap needed? Especially since there is already another compilation called The Essential Ronnie Milsap (dating from 1995), and there already was an excellent double-disc set called 40 #1 Hits released six years earlier? The answer is, yes it is, particularly since 40 #1 Hits has fallen out of print. Of course, it also helps that Essential is an expertly chosen and sequenced collection of Milsap's best work, from 1973's "(All Together Now) Let's Fall Apart" and running all the way to 1989's "A Woman in Love."

Jay Z - Picasso Baby (2013)
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Premiered by HBO just moments ago, Jay Z is linking arts and rap for his performance video “Picasso Baby.” Jay teamed up with director Mark Romanek (“99 Problems”) in order to turn 30 hours of footage into a 10-minute piece, called "Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film." The video was shot at New York City’s Pace Gallery last month, and finds Mr. Carter inviting spectators and viewers for an intimate experience as he interacts with fans, fellow artists and art enthusiasts as with the Timbaland-crafted instrumental playing in the background. Cameo appearances come courtesy of the likes of Marina Abramovic, Wale, Judd Apatow, George Condo, Rosie Perez, Taraji P. Henson and more.

Unconditionally Guaranteed, the universally derided album from Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band is commonly regarded as the nadir of the Captain’s career, the pariah among the pearls. From the cover depicting a weasel-eyed Beefheart clutching fistfuls of money to the lightweight and accessible tunes centring on themes of love, sex and happiness, people claim to hate this album with a burning passion. Even Beefheart wrote it off, insisting that buyers should take it back to the shop and get their money back, taking advantage of the guarantee…

Recorded live on May 21, 1994 at the Breminale Blues Nights festival in Bremen, Germany, a treasure of an album from a man who spent over half a century in an urban hipster’s world of jump and jive. Floyd passed away in 1995 at the age of 80, but fortunately we have this live date to celebrate his long life in music. For Floyd that journey included playing the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, pop success in the 1940s and ’50s with the Four Blazes, an extended run with the Ink Spots in the ’90s, and a blossoming solo career that includes his first album as a leader, Let Your Hair Down. His whiskey-smooth vocals and Charlie Christian/T-Bone Walker-influenced guitar work are in fine form here. This was Floyd’s last recording, but through it his music goes on.