Paul C. Light

Like Stanley Road before it, Heavy Soul is more about vibe than songs. There are a few sharply written tracks here and there, but what's important is the rootsy, stripped-down atmosphere. Paul Weller's soul and R&B influences reign supreme on Heavy Soul, yet they are filtered through late-'60s psychedelia, blues-rock and prog folk, as he takes songs into extended instrumental jams. The band sounds tight, but Weller has suffered a bit of a songwriting slump, which is evidenced by the handful of keepers that form the core of the album. "Up in Suze's Room" is a hazy, folky gem, the soulful apology "I Should Have Been There to Inspire You" is affecting, and "Peacock Suit" is a fine "Changing Man" rewrite, but too much of Heavy Soul is concerned with texture instead of content. That doesn't make it a difficult listen – in fact, it's quite entertaining while it's playing – but there isn't much to explore on repeated plays.

Cancoes, vilancicos e motetes portugueses, séculos XVI-XVII, performed by the Huelgas Ensemble under Paul van Nevel, is one of the recordings issued to mark Lisbon's status as European Cultural Capital in 1994. It concentrates on more varied aspects of Portuguese music than does the Ars Nova recording; first, the majority of the works included, whether sacred or secular, have vernacular texts (Spanish and Portuguese); second, the composers mostly represent the diaspora of Portuguese musicians within Spain, other parts of Europe, and the New World.

The award-winning Academy for Old Music Berlin celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2022 with "Paul Wranitzky: Symphonies". The Süddeutsche Zeitung praises it as "one of the very great ensembles of its kind". Since its founding in 1982, the ensemble has been one of the world's leading chamber orchestras for historical music and proves its versatility again and again with exciting concert projects and musical exploration.