In the fall of 1983, a struggling singer from Ozone Park, Queens with audacious vintage style and a riot of candy-colored hair was about to go supernova in the new MTV-dominated music scene: Cyndi Lauper. She's So Unusual was just released and it blazed with a vivid kaleidoscope of styles including new wave, pop, post-punk, girl-group Motown and reggae. It was a perfect complement to Lauper's astonishingly supple voice and the irresistible vibrancy of the songs immediately endeared them to audiences all over the world.

For folk singer Willi Carlisle, singing is healing. And by singing together, he believes we can begin to reckon with the inevitability of human suffering and grow in love. On his latest album, Critterland, Carlisle invites audiences to join him: “If we allow ourselves to sing together, there's a release of sadness, maybe even a communal one. And so for me personally, singing, like the literal act of thinking through suffering, is really freeing,” he says.

Nowhere is the beat of a drum more symbolic of a culture than in Africa, where it’s forever been the heartbeat of daily life. From the trance percussion of South Sudan to the gnawagroove of Morocco, this is an exploration into a continent’s rhythmic life source.

Night is Alive proudly presents “This Christmas,” an extraordinary album that brings together the unparalleled talents of Teddy Horangic and Frank Lacy on vocals, accompanied by an exceptional lineup of musicians. Featuring the mesmerizing melodies of Xavier Davis on piano, the soulful saxophone tunes by Wayne Escoffery, the soaring trumpet sounds of Jeremy Pelt, the rich trombone tones of James Burton III, the groovy bass lines of Richie Goods, and the rhythmic beats of Quincy Davis on drums, this album is a masterpiece of musical collaboration and holiday cheer.

The group's follow-up to their comeback album is a major step forward, with more mature songs, more improvisation than the group had featured in their work since the early '70s, and more confidence than they'd shown since Brothers and Sisters. It's all here, from acoustic bottleneck playing ("Come on in My Kitchen") to jazz improvisation ("Kind of Bird"), with the most reflective songwriting ("Nobody Knows") in their history.

Capturing a homecoming gig for the conquering hero, Live at Grossman's 1994 finds blues-rocker Jeff Healey returning to a favorite club. Looking back, it’s easy to see that Healey was between stages: his most popular albums were just behind him and the years of him carving out a niche as a working bluesman who dabbled in jazz were ahead of him. Here, he was performing with the velocity and volume of a blues-rocker at his peak, invigorated by an intimate setting where he could just play, not worrying about throwing in “Angel Eyes” or “I Think I Love You Too Much.” The result is a set where he salutes his idols – Clapton, Elmore James, Albert King, Howlin’ Wolf, Hendrix, even the Beatles via an excellent “Yer Blues” – and it’s one of his purest and best records as a straight-ahead blues-rocker.

The exclusive tribute album A Farewell To Sepultura features iconic and rare cover versions of Sepultura songs by bands such as Napalm Death, Children Of Bodom, Suicide Silence and Krisiun as well as two bonus tracks by Sepultura themselves! This very special Sepultura CD is only available with Metal Hammer 11/2024.

This recording has a huge advantage over most of its rivals for the attention of Tallis listeners: the wonderful acoustics of Winchester Cathedral. In this magnificent space, the soaring lines and resplendent harmonies of Tallis's greatest masterpieces find sympathetic resonance, resulting in a heightened dramatic presence that takes the music beyond earthly confines. Of course, beyond the exceptional quality of the writing, credit must go to the phenomenal men and boys of Winchester Cathedral Choir. Where, even in England, does one find trebles who sing with more assuredness, musicality, and beauty of tone? With a repertoire including "In ieiunio et fletu," "Salvator mundi," "In manus tuas," "The Lamentations of Jeremiah," "O nata lux," and the unbelievable 40-part motet "Spem in alium," this is the Tallis disc to own if you're buying only one.

Boy Meets Girl's George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam wrote Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)," so they understand how important a foundation is to adult contemporary pop – without something to pull the listener along, the songs become just flash and keyboard flutter, platitudes about love and loss. And while Reel Life suffers a little bit from the over-synthesized instrumentation of its era, Boy Meets Girl more often than not pushed the right melodic buttons on this, their biggest album. "Bring Down the Moon" and "Stay Forever" are particularly strong, while the hit single, "Waiting for a Star to Fall," is just a classic.