As these songs by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and others show: Sometimes, having special guests provides just enough competition to make the main act work a little harder.

Groove Legacy are new torchbearers who have the wherewithal to resurrect the glorious past of 70s funk-jazz with all the intuition and understanding of those who were there.

Taking its title from the name of the street the Verve Pipe’s Donny Brown grew up on, ‘Hess Street EP’ was a striking debut recording.

“I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” reveals the Beatles’ country and rockabilly roots, even as it foreshadows – like much of ‘Beatles for Sale’ – the musical changes to come.

Xander the Peace Pirates’ “Soul Sailing” combines the powerfully soulful vocals with expressive and road weary yet expressive slide guitar playing.

The spiritually soothing music of Sameer Gupta and Ross Hammond’s “Upward” is a simple pleasure in any culture.

‘Soul Tree’ is that kind of fundamentally solid, guitar/organ/drums record that you’d expect from a seasoned guitarist like Ed Cherry. You won’t go wrong here.

Show me someone who says jazz is no fun to listen to and I’ll show them Matt Parker.

The main draw of Avishai Cohen’s artistry throughout his varied output is his restlessness. The inward-looking and reflective ‘Into The Silence’ contrasts with earlier work but is exactly right for the moment.

This won’t compete with those classic late-1970s and early-1980s records, but it does seem that Hank Williams Jr. has found his way again. It’s about time.