The opening track from Steve Earle’s upcoming ‘Terraplane,’ a chugging Howlin’ Wolf-esque electric blues, works on two levels.

Randy Bachman catches a flinty blues-rock groove in the muscular trio style of the late 1960s. A guitar battle with Peter Frampton then ups the ante.

The brutally honest, toss-off attitude on ‘Milk and Honey’ was more in keeping with John Lennon’s solo career than the slick, celebrated ‘Double Fantasy.’

Chris Smither offers a stripped down, far more aggressive take on 1999’s “Drive You Home Again” for the ‘Signature Sounds 20th Anniversary Collection.’

It’s easy to think of “Black Sun” as Death Cab for Cutie’s layered farewell to Chris Walla. Instead, it feels more like a new beginning.

Otis Redding’s “Dock of the Bay,” released 47 years ago this month, was a labor of love for his friend and musical companion Steve Cropper.

Robert Earl Keen’s take on Bill Monroe’s “Footprintw in the Snow” is this the best kind of cover song — timeless but personal.

Despite leading his own groups for decades, Nils Lofgren still enjoys the challenge of collaborating with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Diana Krall is better than these arrangements, better than this album, better than she’s too-often presented — even though those records sell the most.

‘Freedom Highway Complete’ makes viscerally clear that the Staple Singers, though they’d moved far afield of gospel, could still rattle the back pews.