Originally issued in 1990 under the name This Christmas, this album finds one of soul's most fiery and recognizable voices delivering a 12-song session filled with contemporary and original Christmas compositions. It's safe and delightful background music for the holiday season, and her sultry vocals make the otherwise two-dimensional backing music seem rich and full. For the most part the collection is easygoing and pleasant, with the highlight being her beautiful interpretation of "O Holy Night" and the lowlight most definitely being an acrobatic and vocally dramatic "Angel Man" as the album's closer. It's a very nice record on the whole, but likely of enjoyment only to LaBelle's die-hard fans. Most casual listeners would find this CD to be nothing more than a passing holiday fancy. ~ Rob Theakston

A more than adequate introduction to the world of Frank Zappa's instrumental music. A great deal of attention was focused on Zappa's often infantile lyrics, sometimes to the extent that the quality of Zappa's music was ignored. From a performance standpoint, the music was often a challenge (becoming almost impossible once Zappa was composing for the Synclavier); from a compositional standpoint, Zappa's instrumental music shows its 20th-century influences in no uncertain terms.

Chick Corea and John McLaughlin share one of the great pedigrees in the music of the 20th century: they were both key sidemen on Miles Davis' seminal albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. They have played together since those heady days, as a duo or as sit-in guests. Five Peace Band was Corea's idea of putting together a dream band to play all kinds of jazz, and he approached McLaughlin. Corea chose the other members in saxophonist Kenny Garrett, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and bassist Christian McBride.

A superb vocalist even at the age of 13, Helen Humes rarely left that peak of performance, appearing in front of some of the most swinging jump tunes as well as the most affecting jazz ballads during her long career. Like Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, Humes was an early resonator with the blues, which allowed her the intensity of feeling to carry across any type of material with conviction and passion. Jazz Factory, the superb Spanish reissue label, obliged fans of Humes and vocal music alike with a three-disc collection of recordings from the first quarter-century of her career. While still a teenager, she sounded very mature (artistically and otherwise) for a series of ten 1927 risque blues titles like "If Papa Has Outside Lovin'" and "Do What You Did Last Night." Off record for ten years but apparently still growing as a singer, Humes reappeared in 1937 on two Harry James sessions with a sublime gloss on up-tempo swinging blues reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald. She recorded three dozen excellent sides during the mid-'40s in front of bands led by Bill Doggett and Buck Clayton, and recorded the hit "Be-Baba-Leba" (which came from her own pen) with Doggett in 1945. Another title from the same year, "Voo-It," illustrates that Humes was an excellent scatter and also one of those musician vocalists who loved nothing more than hearing a great solo from one of her sidemen -- in this case, it's the crying trumpet of Snooky Young. She revisited the double entendre several times during 1947, and foreshadowed the direction of her '50s recordings with solid torch songs like "Time Out for Tears" and "Sad Feeling." An authoritative collection of Humes' early recordings, Complete 1927-1950 Recordings includes a wealth of enjoyable sides, though less-invested listeners will find much of what they want courtesy of the Best of Jazz compilation Her Best Recordings: 1927-1947 or Classics volumes like 1927-1945 and 1945-1947.

Our Story chronicles the legendary Golden Gate Quartet's entire career from 1937-1989. While there's no argument that the earlier material represents the pinnacle of the early-20th century gospel vocal group scene (as well as a gold mine for DJs and electronic knob-twiddlers world-round), many of the newer recordings, though much safer and a little more generic than their predecessors, are quite good, resulting in a worthwhile and truly complete look at this peerless and mercurial spiritual collective.

The 20th Century Masters Millenium Collection offers up a nice helping of Rob Zombie's biggest tunes from both his solo efforts and his work in White Zombie in "The Best of Rob Zombie." For hardcore fans of Zombie, this is obviously not a necessary album. However, for people who only want a small collection of Zombie's radio hits (and a few from his films) for a discounted price, this disc fits the bill.

A 14th century Crusader returns to a homeland devastated by the Black Plague. A beleaguered church, deeming sorcery the culprit of the plague, commands the two knights to transport an accused witch to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual in hopes of ending the pestilence. A priest, a grieving knight, a disgraced itinerant and a headstrong youth who can only dream of becoming a knight join a mission troubled by mythically hostile wilderness and fierce contention over the fate of the girl. When the embattled party arrives at the abbey, a horrific discovery jeopardises the knights pledge to ensure the girl fair treatment, and pits them against an inexplicably powerful and destructive force.