The sounds of New Orleans have always been in Maria Muldaur's blood and catalog. Dr. John appeared on her first solo album back in 1974 and she arguably hit a career high point on her first full-fledged love letter to the city, 1992's Louisiana Love Call. She returns to the Crescent City for this 2011 release, employing veteran New Orleans keyboardist Dave Torkanowsky as musical director and "facilitator" and returning to the swampy "Bluesiana music" sound that includes heavy doses of gospel and blues along with touches of jazz, soul, and funk. This is a major shift from her past two acoustic jug band releases and plays to her sultry strengths as a vocalist who can convincingly sing any style of music she feels passionate about. Muldaur revisits a few tracks she has previously recorded (an earlier version of "As an Eagle Stirreth in Her Nest" was included on 1976's Sweet Harmony) but with a band that features guitarist Shane Theriot and Subdudes bassist Johnny Allen, they and the rest of the handpicked material boil with fresh enthusiasm.

Soul singer Barbara Massey and jazz guitarist Ernie Calabria paired up for this rare 1971 album. With Calabria having worked with Nina Simone and Harry Belafonte, among others, and Massey having sung backup for artists including Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, and Herbie Hancock, the pairing was an inspired one and resulted in this superb soul-jazz outing. Massey has a dry yet passionate and evocative vocal quality that often brings to mind Grace Slick. Fittingly, the duo takes on Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love," turning the Summer of Love anthem into a steamy and hypnotic soul-funk jam. Elsewhere, the duo touches upon such varying styles as folk, Latin, and psychedelic rock with cuts like "For You" and "Do You Know?," bringing to mind such similarly inclined acts as the Free Design and Bill Withers. Anyone who has even a passing interest in this kind of '70s cross-genre aesthetic will certainly want to seek out Prelude To…

Like her first two efforts for Rounder, True Believer is a stellar collection of contemporary soul performed in the classic '50s New Orleans tradition. The difference is in conception. True Believer focuses on heartbreak songs, and there is genuine anguish in Irma Thomas' voice, making new songs by the likes of Dan Penn, Dr. John, Tony Joe White, Allen Toussaint, and Doc Pomus sound like instant classics. Another excellent effort from a woman who has plenty to her credit.

Ruth Copeland's second Invictus recording retains the services of Funkadelic vets Eddie Hazel, Bernie Worrell, Tiki Fulwood, and Ron Bykowski, but like the preceding Self-Portrait, I Am What I Am simply fails to jell. Without the leadership and focus of George Clinton, the music zigs and zags in too many opposing directions. Credit Copeland for ambition – the opening antiwar epic "The Medal" recalls the politicized psychedelic soul of Norman Whitfield-era Temptations classics like "Cloud Nine" and "Ball of Confusion," while "Crying Has Made Me Stronger" shifts gears completely to embrace gospel – but her reach consistently exceeds her grasp. When I Am What I Am does come together, it's impressively heady stuff. Particularly noteworthy is the deep-fried funk outing "Suburban Family Lament," which showcases Hazel's scorching guitar as well as Fulwood's much-sampled and monstrous introductory drum break.

Gabriela Anders got her big break singing a duet with soft jazz giant Michael Franks, and like that new age patriarch, Anders wraps laid-back vocals around even more tranquil rhythms. It's all very calming and proficient and breezy. Wanting, her debut album, mixes bits of her Argentine heritage with late-'70s California jazz, so Brazilian music coasts along with soft and hazy saxophone fills and tapping percussion leads. It all can be very pretty, as the opening "Fire of Love" represents Anders at her most relaxed and relaxing.

All the Best is a greatest hits album by Tina Turner, released in November 2004. The track list concentrates on Turner's solo hits, but also features a few highlights from her partnership with Ike Turner. It also contains three new recordings ("Open Arms", "Complicated Disaster" and "Something Special") and some rarer tracks including duets and her song from the Brother Bear soundtrack, "Great Spirits". The album peaked at #6 in the UK Albums Chart, and at #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, making All the Best Tina Turner's highest debut in the United States. The album went platinum in the U.S. 3 months after its release. In March 2007, the album re-entered the UK Charts and peaked at #18. It has since been certified platinum in various countries.

Greatest Hits is a fine ten-track overview of the funk keyboardist's late-'70s/early-'80s recordings, containing all three of his Top Ten R&B hits ("Reach for It," "Dukey Stick," "Sweet Baby") plus a good selection of minor hits and album tracks.

The Collected Recordings – Sixties to Nineties is a digitally remastered three disc compilation album by Tina Turner. The 48 track compilation was released in the United States on 15 November 1994 by Capitol Records. The set collects recordings from Turner's - at the time - thirty year long career, starting with her 1960 debut single with Ike & Tina Turner, "A Fool In Love", and concluding with 1993's "I Don't Wanna Fight" from the soundtrack to the biographical movie What's Love Got to Do with It. Box includes 80 pages booklet.

As the main songwriter for Chicago's Chess label, bassist/singer Willie Dixon was one of the most influential and prolific figures in blues. Although he often served as a session player for other well-known musicians, his soulful presence was always felt, as revealed on this excellent 18-track collection which features Dixon performing with Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, and other blues luminaries.