This week our playlist includes music by Cliff Richard, Thelonius Monk, Matthew Sweet, John Lennon, Zoot Sims, Mahalia Jackson and more.

Multi-Platinum selling Grammy Award winners, Boyz II Men, are bringing R&B back with their with their new double album, Twenty, which debuted in -- of course -- the Top 20 on the Billboard Top 200.

"I think the culture today is very, very different from what it was in the '60s, and I feel lucky that I grew up at a time when I had these very strong female role models. They were strong women, but their power was very much connected to their creativity and their voice."

Recently, Less Than Jake remastered and reissued their classic albums Losing Streak and Hello Rockview with updated packaging plus a second bonus disc. Listen to it here.

For her new album, Blessed, Lucinda Williams brought in Don Was on production.

The Thorns absolutely has been my radar since it was first issued. Now, he's been the songwriter's songwriter for a long time: care to go into some of the Shawn Mullins story?

Flipping through Long May You Run: The Illustrated History -- a picture perfect documentation of Neil Young's musical story and beyond -- is the equivalent of listening to his music in an altered state.

So this is what Pearl Jam would sound like after hanging with George Thorogood. It's great to hear the guys trying on old school rock 'n' roll and putting their moniker on it.

R.E.M. will be releasing Live At The Olympia, a 39-song, two CD set containing "working rehearsals" from 2007. I was lent a track that captures the band's energy and insightful views.

Is there something in the air? Not since the Sixties has there been such an explosion of duet albums (at least in rock and roll).

Richard Carpenter: "So many people have said to us, 'We can understand every word to your songs,' which, with all the pop and rock records at the time, was difficult to do."

Ever since Cat Stevens embraced Islam, the West has been clueless when it comes to accepting the former superstar. His latest release, Roadsinger, is a good start in rebuilding that emotional bridge to Stevens.

Many will appreciate Fork In The Road's altruism, and it would be refreshing if Neil Young disciples dedicated whole projects like this to the causes of their hearts.

If you were expecting another All That You Can't Leave Behind or How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Part II, forget it. U2 is back to experimenting.