With R 2017

Few artists have created a body of work as rich and varied as Prince. During the '80s, he emerged as one of the most singular talents of the rock & roll era, capable of seamlessly tying together pop, funk, folk, and rock. Not only did he release a series of groundbreaking albums; he toured frequently, produced albums, wrote songs for many other artists, and recorded hundreds of songs that still lie unreleased in his vaults. With each album he released, Prince showed remarkable stylistic growth and musical diversity, constantly experimenting with different sounds, textures, and genres. Occasionally, his music was inconsistent, in part because of his eclecticism, but his experiments frequently succeeded; no other contemporary artist blended so many diverse styles into a cohesive whole.

With H.E.R., the singer and multi-instrumentalist of the same name, who declines to show her face or confirm her identity, has reconfigured the whole of her output into one long-playing album: Vol. 1 and 2 are here, along with six previously unreleased tracks. H.E.R. is soulful and soul-baring R&B, with immaculate songwriting and soothing melodies. A delicate cover of Drake's "Jungle" wrings hope from defeat, but the lush arrangement of "Rather Be" reveals a penchant for the power ballad. Daniel Caesar has the album’s lone guest spot (“Best Part”), and, together with H.E.R., they deliver a duet in the image of Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo’s timeless “Nothing Even Matters.”

Despite the rather ominous-looking album cover featuring a placid girl dressed up in what can only be described as a jester’s outfit and full clown makeup, Matthew Sweet’s newest record, Tomorrow Forever, is upbeat and in no way menacing. The album, which will be entirely funded by Kickstarter, a method that is being used by other musicians like Amanda Palmer and De La Soul, is Sweet’s first release in seven years and is filled with power pop and catchy hooks.

(5CD) Five original albums spanning 1995-2004 packaged together for a great price; The Infamous (1995) Hell On Earth (1996) Murda Musik (1999) Infamy (2001) Amerikaz Nightmare (2004).

Marillion release a very special Live Version of their epic song "Living in F E A R" – a powerful Song about peace and Contemplation; a Song that takes a General look at the fear that seems to characterize the present time, and how it is dealt with. "Living in F E A R is actually a misleading title, because the Song is about to stop in fear of life," says singer Steve Hogarth.