Bill+withers

Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums celebrates the timeless artistry of an American master. The set includes the nine albums that Bill released between 1971 through 1985…

Peter Gabriel, Chris Martin, Youssou N'Dour, Cat Stevens, Paul Shaffer, Linda Rondstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Glenn Frey, Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen, E Street Band, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Courtney Love, Wendy O'Connor, Joan Jett…

Jagger doesn't show any signs of wear on his third – and by far best – solo album. If anything, his voice seems to have developed a deeper bottom end without sacrificing any of the highs. This is not always an advantage – the forced falsetto and rhythmic pulse of "Sweet Thing" causes a nightmarish flashback to the Stones' disco flirtations in the mid-'70s…

Although the pop music of the 1970s is often unfairly maligned, this four-disc set shows that the decade brought, if nothing else, tremendous variety to the pop charts. Highlights, although every track was a hit, include the O'Jays' "Love Train," Bill Withers' "Lean on Me," Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones," and Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," among many others.

Three-quarters of Sade's back-up band make their album debut under the moniker Sweetback (as in Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, Melvin Van Peebles' 1971 trend-setting film). But whereas the svelte chanteuse makes music that suggests upper-crust, non-smoking jazz clubs, Sweetback's music is more "underground" in tone…