Paul Henderson

If you didn't know that Electric was completed in 2000, you could easily assume that it was recorded back in the 1970s. That's because this solo offering isn't much different from the recordings that Paul Rodgers made with Bad Company and Free during his youth. Instead of trying to be relevant to the alternative rock scene of 2000 like some veteran rockers have done, Rodgers excels by sticking with what he does best: 1970s-type arena rock that is slick and bluesy at the same time. "Freedom," "Deep Blue," "Jasmine Flower," and other selections don't break any new ground for the British singer (who wrote and produced all of the material himself), and Electric will hardly be considered cutting-edge by 2000 standards.

When Wayne Henderson left the Crusaders in 1975, he moved on to a successful solo recording career, and became an in-demand producer as well. In the 1990s, he snagged the "Jazz Crusaders" name (the Crusaders' original moniker) for a reunion project with drummer Stix Hooper and saxophonist Wilton Felder. Since that time, Henderson's been out there on tour, under the Jazz Crusaders moniker, with whatever band he happens to have under his control at the time. To make matters worse, the Crusaders name has been resurrected a couple of times by Joe Sample with Felder and Hooper.

Taken from the same live session that resulted in Verve's Four, this set (which was released for the first time in 1996) matches the great tenor Joe Henderson with the former Miles Davis rhythm section of pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Although Henderson had not played with the other musicians before, they blend together quite well and obviously inspired each other. In addition to a variety of standards, the quartet also performs a couple of then-recent songs ("Days of Wine and Roses" and "On a Clear Day [You Can See Forever]"), the ancient "Limehouse Blues," and Miles Davis' "Pfrancing."

Sir James Paul McCartney, CH, MBE (born 18 June 1942), is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He gained worldwide fame as the bass guitarist and singer for the rock band the Beatles, widely considered the most popular and influential group in the history of pop music. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon was the most successful of the post-war era…

Way back in 1963, Paul McCartney sang "A Taste of Honey" on the Beatles' debut album, and "Til There Was You" on their second LP, establishing that his tastes ran far beyond the world of rock & roll and R&B. Over the years, he touched upon pre-rock & roll pop – writing pastiches like "Honey Pie" with the Beatles and, crucially, snatching up the publishing rights to many of these tunes, thereby building his MPL empire – but he never devoted a full record to the style until 2012's Kisses on the Bottom, a cheekily titled (pun not only intentional but solicited) collection of songs you know by heart…