Chase

This double-CD set is not only the best of Bill Chase's output but – comprising all three of their albums – virtually their complete finished studio work, before the plane crash that killed Chase and much of the group. The mastering on this Wounded Bird reissue is excellent, with a full solid bass sound topped by soaring highs on the brass and no compression to speak of. It's not as though this catalog has been overused, in terms of its master tape library – apart from the hit "Get It On" – but it's still good to know that the stuff has been well handled in terms of being digitalized.

Chase Rice’s sixth studio album is not so much a reinvention as it is a reveal, as the Asheville-born singer-songwriter serves up 13 tracks that offer a deeper glimpse into his life and artistry than on any previous release. That newfound vulnerability is hard-earned for Rice, who confronted some personal demons during the pandemic. Accordingly, he tells Apple Music, he believes I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go to Hell</i> to be his best work yet. “I would put my stuff up against anybody now,” he says. “And if it’s not as good as theirs, then at least I know it was the best that I could do.”