Jbt Tahitian Blue

Blue Öyster Cult marks time with a second live album on which they turn out good, if redundant, concert versions of recent favorites like "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Godzilla" and add to their repertoire of live covers such oldies as the MC5's "Kick out the Jams" and the Animals' "We Gotta Get out of This Place." A perfectly acceptable, completely unnecessary souvenir record from a hard-touring band of the '70s. (It should perhaps be noted that the mid- to late '70s was a period when more live albums than usual were being released, especially in the wake of Peter Frampton's massively successful 1976 album Frampton Comes Alive!.)

To complete their reissue programme The Blue Nile again worked alongside long term producer/engineer partner Calum Malcolm. This 2CD deluxe set, features all nine tracks remastered plus a bonus disc featuring four previously unreleased songs plus two extended remixes - over 32 minutes of new music!

A New York-based ensemble led by keyboardist Phil Clendennin, Tarika Blue released two recordings in the late '70s that blended silky jazz fusion sensibilities and the mellow soul sound of the day that's now considered old-school. Vocalist Erykah Badu rekindled interest in the group by using, without permission, its laid-back tune 'Dreamflower' as the background for her platinum hit, 'Didn't Cha Know,' which went on to be nominated for R&B song of the year in 2001.

Working with producer Tommy Sims – the man who produced Eric Clapton's hit "Change the World" – evidently inspired Michael McDonald, since Blue Obsession is his best record in nearly ten years. Stylistically, it's similar to every record he's made since going solo in the early '80s – namely, it's a combination of adult contemporary ballads and lightly grooving, adult contemporary pop-soul – but the difference is that the quality of the material is uniformly strong. In addition to two covers ("Ain't That Peculiar," "Down By the River"), there's a selection of new songs largely co-written by McDonald and Sims. While there are no crossover pop hits on the level of "I Keep Forgettin'" or "Sweet Freedom," it's a strong collection of songs with only a few slow moments. It's a record that shows McDonald maturing quite gracefully.

London-based Jazztronica duo Blue Lab Beats make their full-length Blue Note Records debut with Motherland Journey, an album years in the making that is a celebration of pushing boundaries, taking risks, and overcoming adversity. Following their appearance on 2020’s acclaimed Blue Note Re:imagined project, and their 2021 EP We Will Rise, the new album is a star-studded affair featuring the duo—producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr DM—joined by collaborators including Ghetto Boy, Kiefer, Kofi Stone, Tiana Major9, KillBeatz, Teni Tinks, Poppy Daniels, Emmavie, Jackson Mathod, Kaidi Akinnibi, Ego Ella May, Pip Millett, Dylan Jones, and Jerome Thomas.