Music

Schneider's Burden of Proof is frequently beautiful, often morose, downcast album. You get the sense that, when he sings about not connecting with someone he loves, he's also singing about not connecting with a bigger audience.

When record producer and songwriter George "Shadow" Morton died on Valentine's Day this year, he left behind a legacy as murky as his nickname, which he got from disappearing on long benders. A new compilation collects Morton's hits for The Shangri-Las, Iron Butterfly and Janis Ian.

Frequently on her new album Timekeeper, Schwartz sounds like a throwback to another era. Her singing sometimes possesses the spirit of a more lighthearted Laura Nyro, and she has a heathy fondness for The Beatles.

The pop star has a flair for the extravagant, to say the least, but his new album is stripped down. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the "Elton John excess," his fear of sex as a young man, and how Liberace's example encouraged John to make the piano a star instrument.

The singer's new album is a work of great, accomplished craft about the pointlessness of crafting anything you care about, because the world is just going to ruin it on you.

The jazz pianist's powerful 1976 album I Remember Bessie conveys a profound sense of loss.

A key to the ongoing allure of Dylan's music lies in its ability to stand apart from its time. A new collection of alternate takes and demos re-evaluates the critical flop that was 1970's Self Portrait.

Duke Ellington's piece for Queen Elizabeth II is included in a new collection of late-period suites.

In 1950, a red-haired Alabama boy who'd learned about radio and electronics in the U.S. Army opened a recording studio to document the blues and country music he loved. A new box set compiles the beginnings of Sam Philipps'

The long-running rock band's latest album is driven by themes of loss and grief, set against ferocious guitars and soaring vocals. Fresh Air critic Ken Tucker says the provocatively titled I Hate Music is full of typically superlative moments.

At 60, New York City composer John Zorn is wiser, sure, but no less prolific, thoughtful and antagonistic than before. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that, at his age, "there are no more doubts."

For more than 30 years, the jazz pianist hosted one of public radio's most beloved shows. She died of natural causes on Tuesday at the age of 95. McPartland spoke with Fresh Air's Terry Gross in 1987.

Listen and look past his roué image, and the chart-topper is revealed as an earnest nostalgist.

Evans can be a heavy hitter at the keyboard, but on his new album, he reins himself in a bit.

The English trio S.O.S. — saxophonists John Surman, Mike Osborne and Alan Skidmore — was formed in 1973, and made only one LP for the Ogun label a couple years later. They didn't last long, but they were the first of many horn choirs born in the '70s and '80s, mostly saxophone quartets.

Recently reissued Brahms and Mozart recordings by the Stuyvesant Quartet convey natural refinement, balance and a kind of inward grace. Fresh Air critic Lloyd Schwartz says they take their place among the most luminous chamber-music performances on record.

June can sing a duel with the Devil, even as her voice tells you she knows she's already triumphed.

Huey Meaux wound up in jail twice, but he sure had a knack for finding talent in unlikely places.

Country-music star Vince Gill and steel guitarist Paul Franklin have teamed up to record a new concept album called Bakersfield.