Weird, playful, unclassifiable, sexy, brilliantly addictive.

Is this an evolution from Lemonade? Not quite. But with Renaissance, Beyoncé is more relatable than ever, giving listeners all the anthems and sultry slow burners we love and have come to expect from her, proving that inclusivity is the new black.

There are bum notes (musicians were high, burnt or both) and bumpy mixes (recording conditions were just shy of wartime). But the result, combined with the full-length performances in the Woodstock Experience packages, is the most comprehensive and satisfying account so far of the main reason why Yasgur's acres became an instant city of freaks, including me: the music.

It's built for fanatics, yet the goods could make a fanatic out of anyone.

For casual listeners, the inclusion of already-released material and repeated songs may feel bloated and unnecessary. But hardcore fans have craved this for years, and they’ll be more than happy to indulge in any and all versions of these tracks (ahem, “The Losing End” at the Roxy!). ... Some of the unreleased tracks are unfathomably great.

It’s the sound of a freewheeling star at the top of her game, reimagining rock history in her own platinum image.

More Blood, More Tracks does not contradict the choices Dylan made on the way to Blood on the Tracks. It fills in his road to wisdom.

The way the screams and music dance across these 17 songs--recorded during three nights in 1964 and 1965 and spliced into a seamless rush of manic love--is what makes Live at the Hollywood Bowl such a thrill.

In somebody else's defiance of death, we in the audience get an intense affirmation of life, not to mention some of the best jokes in rock & roll history.

The music is full of teenage dreams crashing up against reality, dusting themselves off and trying to figure out the next move. If we're lucky, it's a story that never stops.

Like the other two [albums], it's speaker-blowingly brilliant. [11 Aug 2005, p.70]

Made on impulse, as a much-needed break during other studio work, Blue and Lonesome is a monument to muscle memory. Solos are brief and tight, evoking the honed-punch effect of the original recordings.

Might be the most oddly beautiful, psychedelic and ambitious [album] of the year. [21 Sep 2006, p.84]

Ram sounds ahead of its time.

The richest overview yet of maybe the most visionary funk operation in pop history.

But the real surprise is the music itself — the most head-spinning, heart-breaking, emotionally ambitious songs of her life.

The music on this album is the most unabashedly joyous, sonically diverse, and emotionally profound album put out by a major label since Beyonce’s Lemonade.

Chronological evenhandedness short-shrifts their vaunted 1980s but shows that their confused past 15 years did produce some Georgia peaches.

Turn Blue is a genuine turning point--into a decisively original rock, with a deeper shade of blues.

From the very first moment they started playing, this was a band that was eons ahead of its time. Pylon Box is exactly the deep dive their incredible legacy deserves.

The lyrics on Old Ideas reach for the stark power of prayers, hymns and religious riddles.

Across the whole album, Ware’s voice fills each moment with incredibly lustful longing. It feels timeless more in its emotionality and drama than even in the sound itself, which stays firmly strapped to a bygone era. Her nostalgia feels like a proper tribute, mostly because it digs so deep to the core.

Strange’s undeniable talent and versatility have resulted in one of 2022’s most audacious albums, one that whirls through ideas while exploding preconceptions.

Ghosteen is a masterpiece of melancholy. You mourn right along with him and hope he finds solace.

Fetch the Bolt Cutters will not disappoint. Released with little warning nearly a decade after 2012’s The Idler Wheel…, the album sees the now-42-year-old songwriter proving that she’s still more than capable of telling off partners, detractors, and others who have done her wrong, all while picking apart the inner workings of her frantic mind. But what sets Bolt Cutters apart from its predecessors is that, for the first time, the scales tip more toward resilience than agony.

An awe-inspiring greatest hits set.

This reissue bonanza shows the Nineties' premier indie band turning reflective and joyfully screwing around at the same time.

Zeppelin, ultimately, were their own universe, and this is the sound of them willing into it glory, bit by bit.