Xcel

Bruce Springsteen once said he intended to make an album with words like Bob Dylan that sounded like Phil Spector where he sang like Roy Orbison, a nifty summary of many, but not all, of his artistic ambitions and a key to his appeal. Unlike any other singer/songwriters saddled with the appellation of "the new Dylan" in the early '70s, Springsteen never hid how he was raised on '60s AM radio.

When Bruce calls an audible to open a show with "I'm A Rocker," it portends a very special evening. St. Paul 11/12/12 is a welcome representative of the final US leg on the Wrecking Ball tour which saw it return to arenas. Beyond the auspicious starter, the first-rate St. Paul set features rare performances of "Night," "Loose Ends," "Something In The Night," "Stolen Car" and "The E Street Shuffle." Also, with the show falling on the night of the Veterans Day holiday, Springsteen debuts a full-band arrangement of "Devils & Dust," which serves as a stately showcase for the expanded 2012-13 E Street Band line-up.

When Bruce calls an audible to open a show with “I’m A Rocker,” it portends a very special evening. St. Paul 11/12/12 is a welcome representative of the final US leg on the Wrecking Ball tour which saw it return to arenas.

Melodica is the debut EP from Sacramento friends Timothy Parker and Xavier Mosley, who are better known under their monikers Gift Of Gab an Chief Xcel respectively and together, they are Blackalicious. This was released on their own Solesides label, a collective which also features DJ Shadow, Lateef and Lyrics Born. Solesides would later change their name to Quannum Projects, or simply Quannum. Melodica was released on vinyl in 1993 before they released it on compact disc a year later.

A2G is the 1999 EP by Sacramento hip-hop duo Blackalicious, their first new music in six years. The EP is known for the hit songs "A To G" and "Deception" but "Alphabet Aerobics (The Cut Chemist 2 1/2 Minute Workout)" has taken a life of its own as it has been used in a television commercial and was rapped by actor Daniel Radcliffe on a late night talk show. This was released by Quannum Projects through 3-2-1 Records.

Looking back on Fatboy Slim's discography, Palookaville is up against some stiff competition, which makes it the low point only because it isn't another beginning-to-end stunner. The Fatboy himself – Norman Cook – had given plenty of hints in the press before the album's release that this was going to be different. He went through marriage problems and declared a renewed interest in hip-hop over dance music, dance being a genre he sees as going through another dry period. Still, this isn't a "forget everything you know about…" album since the jittery "Slash Dot Dash" and "Jin Go Lo Ba" sound like old outtakes. They're the lesser tracks on an album that could have been tighter had Cook not played it safe by including them.

Nia is the 2002 debut album from Sacramento hip-hop dio Blackalicious. This was released by Quannum Projects, their collective which also features DJ Shadow, Lateef The Truth Speaker, and Lyrics Born.

Impulsive!: Revolutionary Jazz Reworked consists of songs from the Impulse Records' library, taken from the multitracks to remix, sometimes radically. Prefuse 73, Kid Koala, Mark De Clive Low, and RZA are just some of the people twisting these songs, some complimentary, some freakishly but always observantly