Ian Knight

Though early comparisons were made to Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega's true antecedents were Janis Ian and Leonard Cohen. Like Ian, she sings with a precise, frequently half-spoken phrasing that gives her lyrics an intensity that seems to suggest an unsteady control consciously held over emotional chaos. Like Cohen, Vega observes the world in poetic metaphor, her cold urban landscapes reflecting a troubled sense of love and loss.

While the last decades of the twentieth century saw a revival of the genre, the twenty-first century has brought not only continued relevance, but a new appreciation for English folk music. An ever-growing audience embraces the brilliant, fresh crop of musicians, who enrich the tradition with novel takes on old songs and new tunes. This album features the super talented singer-songwriter Eliza Carthy, who duets with her mom, the legendary Norma Waterson, both Mercury Award nominees. Multi-instrumentalist Pete Coe has been one of the most consistently excellent traditional musicians and songwriters to remain inspired since the 1970s. Ian King came from outside the folk scene with radical reworkings of traditional English songs made with the help of reggae producer Adrian Sherwood and Little Axe guitarist Skip McDonald. Glastonbury-born Emily Portman quickly distinguished herself in the trio Devil’s Interval before flattening everybody with her extraordinary songs dealing with the weird and dark side of folklore.

This two-fer from hard rock legends Deep Purple features a pair of late-period offerings. 1992's generally well-received studio album The Battle Rages On… relied on the talents of the most popular iteration of the band (Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover, and Ian Paice), while 1994's more divisive Come Hell or High Water offered up a less than enthusiastic live set that consisted mainly of tired readings of DP classics like "Highway Star" and "Smoke on the Water."