The Rolling Stones: Black and Blue, Super Deluxe Edition (Interscope/UMe, 4 CDs + 1 Blu-ray, 2 hours 58 min.). Nearly 50 years after its original release, The Rolling Stones are celebrating their at times divisive 1976 album “Black and Blue” with this box set. Originally released in April 1976, the album marked a new chapter for the band. Arguably the most technically precise release of the band at the time, its expansion into reggae, funk and soul was, at first, not uniformly celebrated. Also, the album sessions served as an audition testing ground to select who would replace departed guitarist Mick Taylor.

We all know that it was Ronnie Wood who won the job, but among those considered were Jeff Beck, Harvey Mandel and Wayne Perkins.

The set is available as a 5-vinyl box set or a 4-CD box set, with both editions including a Blu-ray disc, a 100-page hardback book and a replica tour poster. A limited edition 5-LP version onexclusive black-and-blue marbled vinyl also is available via select online retailers, alongside streamlined 2-disc and 1-disc formats on both vinyl and CD. Additionally, a limited edition 1LP zoetrope vinyl is being released.

“Black and Blue” (41:09) was the Stones’ 13th studio album, the first following the departure of guitarist Taylor. Ultimately, free from commitments to The Faces, it was Wood who joined singer Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Bill Wyman as a bona fide Rolling Stone. Wood appears on three of the album’s tracks.

The album includes the funky and disco-leaning “Hot Stuff,” the driving “Hand of Fate,” the poignant blues-tinged ballad and hit single “Fool to Cry” and thefan favorite “Memory Motel,” the longest track at 7:06 and featuring Jagger and Richards on co-lead vocals. There also is “Melody,” which highlights the organ and piano talents of Billy Preston, a heavy contributor to the whole album.

“Black and Blue” was the band’s second self-produced album, credited to The Glimmer Twins, a pseudonym used by Jagger and Richards for their roles as producers. On release, the album went to No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and stayed there for four consecutive weeks, gaining immediate platinum status. In the U.K., the album reached No. 2 in May 1976.

While all the album's songs, except "Cherry Oh Baby" written by Eric Donaldson, were officially credited to Jagger/Richards as authors, the credit for "Hey Negrita" specifies "Inspiration by Ron Wood" and "Melody" lists "Inspiration by Billy Preston." Later, Wyman released a version of "Melody" with his Rhythm Kings, crediting Preston as author. "Melody" is based on "Do You Love Me" by Preston and Bruce Fisher from Preston's 1973 album “Everybody Loves Some Kind of Music.”

The 8-track original album, on disc one, is a remix by Steven Wilson. It makes the ballads sparkle in new ways. There is more obvious pretty piano playing on “Fool to Cry” and Richards’ soulful “she’s got a mind of her own” bridge on “Memory Motel” sounds more pronounced.

“Hot Stuff” is one of the tracks with Preston on piano, while the second guitarist is Mandel. The track has a late talk vocal section. Both “Hand of Fate” and, later, “Crazy Mama” are more in the style that Stones fans were used to. Perkins plays electric guitar on “Hand of Fate,” while Wood’s electric guitar is heard on the dirty-rocking “Crazy Mama,” along with guitars by Richard and Jagger. Wood also plays on the reggae-influenced cover of “Cherry Oh Baby” and on “Hey Negrita,” which has Preston on organ and Ollie E. Brown on percussion.

The second CD features six outstanding unreleased tracks, including the Jagger/Richards composition “I Love Ladies,” plus a loose, high-energy take on Shirley & Company’s “Shame, Shame, Shame” and four instrumental jams from the 1975 sessions, featuring the guest guitarists. The first is a Chuck Berry style jam with Mandel on guitar. The excellent “Blues Jam” (9:22) features Beck, who switches from playing Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King and Richards style blues to moving his instrument’s volume knobs to resemble a crying cat. Robert A. Johnson trades licks with Beck and Richards on the “Rotterdam Jam” (5:36). Finally, the “Freeway Jam” (7:43) with Beck is heavier and has lots of keyboards.

It is the recordings from the band’s 1976 residency at London’s Earls Court (previous excerpts came out on “Love You Live”) that show why Wood was the perfect choice for the band. Not only was he English, but he weaves his parts perfectly with Richards. The 20 live tracks are on the third and fourth CDs. With help from Preston, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” sounds funkier than usual and “Get Off of My Cloud” has a honky-tonk vibe. Jagger also comes off particularly wild, changing lyrics to “It’s Only Rock and Roll,” “Brown Sugar” and “Street Fighting Man” into sentiments that match an abandoned ad campaign.

The concert opens with “Honky Tonk Woman. It includes a cover of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” an excellently sung “Fool to Cry,” “Star Star,” “You Gotta Move” and a typically lengthy “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” (7:53). After “Tumbling Dice,” Preston performs his “Nothing from Nothing” and “Outta-Space.” The show concludes with an 11-minute “Midnight Rambler” and favorites “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It),” “Brown Sugar,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Street Fighting Man” and “Sympathy for the Devil” (8:11).

The Blu-ray’s concert film -- not seen -- was shot in Paris at Abattoirs (recordings from which also are on “Love You Live”). Jagger reportedly throws water and confetti on everyone and swings from a rope over the audience, which was still a novel idea in 1976. I did see the Stones in Chicago with Wood in 1975. Grade: box set A

Wings: Wings Deluxe Edition (Capitol/UMe, 2 CDs or 3 LPs, 2 hours 22 min.). Following the breakup of The Beatles, Paul McCartney missed the camaraderie and the creative spark that came from being in a band. McCartney, in 1971, then formed the band Wings with his wife Linda McCartney and guitarist Denny Laine. Over a decade, the band released seven studio albums that blended musical experimentation with global success. Rather than rely on past glories, Wings forged its own identity, despite frequent lineup changes.

This new 32-song collection, personally overseen by Paul McCartney, the timeless international hits “Band on the Run, “Live and Let Die,” “Jet” and “Let 'Em In” -- songs that McCartney still plays in his live shows. The set is available in a variety of formats, including a 3-LP limited edition color vinyl collection, a 2-CD deluxe version and single CD and LP versions for newcomers. All physical formats come with a booklet that includes an introduction by McCartney. The deluxe editions include an expanded 32-page booklet, featuring photographs, artwork, paintings, trivia and band information. There also is a Blu-ray version, marking the first time Wings songs are available in Dolby Atmos on a physical format.

The artwork was overseen alongside McCartney by Aubrey “Po” Powell of Hipgnosis, the iconic design studio that worked with McCartney for all seven Wings albums, including “Band on the Run,” “Venus and Mars,” “Wings Over America” and “Wings Greatest.” The expanded booklet includes extensive album-by-album notes on the artwork written by Po, with additional material by Pete Paphides, and original artwork by Humphrey Ocean, who first worked on some of the artwork for “Wings at the Speed of Sound,” before being invited by the McCartneys on tour in 1976 as their artist in residence, rendering behind-the-scenes sketches of the band.

The band, which I saw once in Foxborough, Mass., became one of the biggest-selling acts of all time. With U.S. No. 1 singles in “My Love,” “Band on the Run,” “Listen to What the Man Said,” “Silly Love Songs” and “With a Little Luck” (found on all formats of this release) and more than 22 million albums sold around the world. “Mull of Kintyre,” with its bagpipes, became the first single in the U.K. to sell more than two million copies, overtaking The Beatles’ “She Loves You” to become the biggest-selling single of all time in the U.K.

Wings was a great rock band, and its music spanned pop, folk, soul, reggae and experimentation with songs like “C Moon,” “Goodnight Tonight,” “Arrow Through Me” and “Wild Life.” Both “Band on the Run” and “Live and Let Die” (written for the James Bond film) are highly cinematic. “Letting Go” has a good arrangement with horns and layered vocals. “Silly Love Songs” also uses horns in its good arrangement. A bouncy piano introduction highlights “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five,” which has synth touches and a fun Paul McCartney vocal, before turning dramatic at its end. Also fun is “Junior’s Farm.”

“Helen Wheels” is sparked by its guitar, while “Let ‘Em In” has a military beat and there is a gospel-like chorus on “Get on the Right Thing.” The folkish “Deliver Your Children” features a Spanish guitar, while the dramatic “Call Me Back Again” features a semi-scream vocal by Paul McCartney. Many of the songs start in one style, then switch to another, such as “Listen to What the Man Said,” which goes from pleasant to symphonic. “Let Me Roll It” brings back the guitar bursts of “Band on the Run” and “London Town” is a story song whose lyrics recall “Eleanor Rigby.” A lesser heard number is the rocker “Soily.”

The tracks have been remastered at different times – some in 2020, others in 2014, 2018 or 2020. Grade: collection A

Guns N’ Roses: Live Era ’87-’93 Limited Edition (Geffen/UMe, 4 LPs, 2 hours 23 min.). Thisvinyl set is a remastered version of the 1999 release, the first official live album from Guns N’ Roses. The music was recorded between 1987 and 1993, and it has been remastered from the original stereo analog master tapes. The set includes definitive, live renditions of classic Guns N’ Roses tracks, including “November Rain,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine, “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Don’t Cry” and “Paradise City.”

There are 23 tracks. The set is available in multiple configurations, including a premium 4-LP color vinyl version, a standard 4-LP 180-gram black vinyl and a digital remaster. The release, also available to stream and as digital downloads, is expanded with the 1999 vinyl and Japan bonus track “Coma.”

The 4-LP edition sports two gatefold jackets that come inside an embossed slipcase with foil details, and includes a poster. Each of the four LPs are pressed on unique color vinyl. The artwork for the set also has been revamped. The edition limited to 500 copies comes with four picture discs, housed in an embossed slipcase with foil details, an exclusive turntable mat and a poster.

Guns N’ Roses’ first full-length album, 1987’s “Appetite for Destruction,” is one of the most popular hard rock albums in history, having been on the Billboard Top 200 albums or Top Pop Catalog chart for a total of 746 weeks. It is certified 18 times platinum in the U.S. The album contains three Top 10 singles: the anthem “Welcome to the Jungle” (No. 7), the frenzied rocker “Paradise City” (No. 5) and their platinum “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (No. 1).

That album was followed by “G N’ R Lies” in 1988; “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II” both in 1991; and “The Spaghetti Incident” in 1993. “Use Your Illusion I” was Grammy nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance, as was their cover of Wings’ “Live and Let Die.” Both ‘Use Your Illusion I’ and ‘Use Your Illusion II’ have sold more than seven million copies to date. Grade: album A