Despite several rough patches at the end of the 1970s, Linda Lewis rebounded with glorious aplomb on her September 1983 album, A Tear and a Smile. More than any of its predecessors, this album finds the singer in complete control of both her songwriting and her remarkable, dynamic vocal range – at the same time continuing down the path she forged during the previous decade. From start to finish, the songs are filled to bursting with soft ballads and wildly far-reaching grooves, helped along by Bert de Coteaux's immaculate production. But, as good as "I Am What I Am" and the haunting "Sweet Heartache" are, where she gathers her force and puts all her strengths together is on the absolutely stunning title track. Self-penned, "A Tear and a Smile" finds Lewis running without any flaws at all. That just leaves room (and barely!) for "Why Can't I Be the Other Woman," a duet between Lewis and Luther Vandross.

Is Duke Robillard a blues, jazz, swing, or rock musician? That's a question that has plagued many a record store clerk trying to slot the guitarist into a bin that fans might logically gravitate to. But, since Robillard has released albums in all of those genres, he clearly needs multiple locations for his albums, and this one needs to go in all of them. An outlet for his different vintage guitars (some shown on the cover) as well as styles he works in, Guitar Groove-A- Rama is a one-stop album for the Duke Robillard fan who isn't sure which category of music he wants to hear. Kicking off with some dusky Southern swamp rock in "Do the Memphis Grind," the album twists, turns, and wiggles through deep blues, loungey jazz, instrumental surf and pop, a Bob Dylan cover, a tango, and a 16-minute history of blues guitar legends who have inspired Robillard. If it sounds like a lot to bite off, and it is, but due to savvy sequencing and the artist's incredible talents, the project never seems scattershot or eclectic simply for the sake of being so.

Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to announce the signing of Sabu to the label and the subsequent release of a new album, "Banshee". Sabu is the namesake of singer/guitarist/producer Paul Sabu, whose outstanding contributions to the genre over the past three decades have made him a legendary figure in the world of AOR. This will be the first Sabu album since 1998's "Between The Light" and the sixth Sabu album overall. "Banshee" was created in collaboration with Barry Sparks (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Schenker Group, UFO, Dokken, and Ted Nugent), who, along with Paul, provides all the instrumentation on the album, as well as background vocals. Fans who are familiar with Sabu's work will find that the sound and vibe of "Banshee" is in line with Paul's classic releases under the band moniker Only Child, so, needless to say, something for AOR aficionados to truly look forward to.

Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to present the sophomore album, "Elevate" from Brazilian melodic rockers Landfall. Hailing from Curitiba, Brazil, Landfall features singer Gui Oliver (ex-Auras), guitarist Marcelo Gelbcke, bassist Thiago Forbeci, and drummer Felipe Souzza. The band’s delightful Melodic Rock/AOR sound can best be described as falling somewhere between classic melodic rock, a là Journey, and slightly heavier influences, such as classic era Dokken, White Lion, and Extreme. With phenomenal musical and songwriting abilities and the golden voice of Oliver, Landfall is truly a welcome addition to the melodic rock genre.

Van Morrison never stopped recording during the 1990s, but for a little while it seemed as if he was disconnected from his muse. It wasn't so much his series of jazz cover albums – he'd return to this vein often in subsequent decades – but his songwriting that showed signs bitterness, particularly on 1995's Days Like This, where he seemed dismissive of the very notion of being a songwriter. In that light, it's hard not to see 1997's The Healing Game as a rejuvenation. Indeed, the album's very title suggests that Morrison is in the process of mending fences and reconnecting with a sense of joy, a process that began during his deep dive into Mose Allison and other bluesy jazz artists in the mid-'90s. Morrison retains that sense of swing on The Healing Game – he also retains keyboardist Georgie Fame, who would become a fixture on Morrison's albums over the next two decades – and it invigorates a set of songs that aren't necessarily all that different from what he's been writing as of late; he's still specializing in ballads, blues, and folk-rock colored by R&B.

Since the early '90s Belfast guitar whiz Gary Moore has returned again and again to the blues, leaving his metal phase far behind. Old New Ballads Blues is exactly what the title says it is, a mix of old blues (covers of songs by Elmore James, Willie Dixon, and Otis Rush), new blues (five Moore originals), ballads (half the album) and, well, blues (by one definition or another, everything here passes for blues). The real surprise is that the strongest songs are the original Moore-penned ballads, as Moore gives powerful and atmospheric performances (both vocally and as a guitarist) on "Gonna Rain Today," "No Reason to Cry," and a solid horn-augmented remake of one of his best songs, "Midnight Blues," from what is easily his best album, 1990s million-selling Still Got the Blues.

Candy Dulfer is a Dutch smooth jazz, funk alto saxophonist and occasional singer who began playing at the age of six. She founded her band, Funky Stuff, when she was fourteen years old. Her debut album Saxuality (1990) received a Grammy nomination. Dulfer has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, and one compilation album. She has performed and recorded songs with musicians including her father Hans Dulfer, Prince, Dave Stewart, Van Morrison, and Maceo Parker, and has performed live with Alan Parsons (1995), Pink Floyd (1990), and Tower of Power (2014). She hosted the Dutch television series Candy meets… (2007), in which she interviews fellow musicians. In 2013 she became a judge in the fifth season of the Dutch version of X Factor.

The shear breadth and diversity of artists gathered for this benefit project, Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams, is a tribute to the affection Victoria Williams' peers had for her. It conveniently also makes for heady listening for any fan of contemporary music. The hard, brittle edges of Soul Asylum ("Summer of Drugs") and Buffalo Tom ("Merry Go Round") stand shoulder to shoulder with the country-folk of Lucinda Williams ("Main Road") and Maria McKee (an inspired and riveting "Opelousas (Sweet Relief)"). Sweet Relief offers a unique opportunity to introduce yourself to an enduring songwriter while savoring some of the day's most intriguing musicians. How sweet it is!

Before you do anything else with Flash, drop the needle on the last half of “Ambitious,” the album’s chug-a-funk leadoff track. Just as singer Jimmy Hall steps back from the song’s skeletal tune and jackhammer rhythm with a Tarzanlike “yeah!” Jeff Beck’s guitar suddenly shoots up into the mix like a runaway jet, cutting a reckless path through Nile Rodgers’ spit ‘n’ polish production with sawtooth distortion and heat-ray feedback. Then, in a daredevil display of rock-guitar heroics that recalls Jimi Hendrix on Electric Ladyland in his full pyrotechnic glory, Beck yanks his guitar up and down flights of freakish harmonic steps, executes breathtaking suicide dives with his vibrato bar, and claws away at the song’s core riff with angry trills and harsh, scraping leads.