Nearing her second decade in music, nine-time Grammy winner Norah Jones has released her first live album, “Til We Meet Again” (Blue Note), and her massive global appeal couldn’t be more evident. It’s also no surprise that Jones is 2020’s most live-streamed artist. Recorded in France, Brazil, Italy and Argentina from 2017-2019, “Til We Meet Again” is a delight, with Jones warm and breezy as she swoops and sways through tracks, including the opener, a jazz-colored cover of Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold, Heart” which originally appeared on her 2002 debut, “Come Away With Me.” Flanked by Pete Remm on organ, Christopher Thomas or Jesse Murphy on bass and Brian Blade on drums, Jones is also joined on some tracks by guitarist Jesse Harris, flutist Jorge Continentino and percussionist Marcelo Costa. Also drawn from her debut album are “Don’t Know Why” and “I’ve Got to See You Again.” The rounded setlist doesn’t settle too long on just one album, and this set includes five from her recent single series, “It Was You,” “Begin Again,” “Just a Little Bit,” “Falling” and “I’ll Be Gone.” Jones closes with a knockout solo take on Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun,” a tribute to the late Chris Cornell recorded at the Fox Theater in Detroit just days after his death following his performance at the same venue. The singer’s talent and versatility shines – this is a live album so worth the wait.

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Die hard rock fans have found a new savior by way of Greta Van Fleet, which features the talent (and the hair) of the brothers Kiszka – Josh, Jake and Sam, along with bandmate Danny Wagner. While they’re barely drinking age, the Grammy-winning quartet from Frankenmuth, Michigan have released their second album, “The Battle of Garden’s Gate,” (Lava/Republic Records), a technicolor-tinged opus that Sam Kiszka said that he hoped was “fit to be the score of a fantastic film.” He’s not that far off. “Battle” explores the boundaries of the group’s artistry and reflects on their meteoric rise from grimy rock clubs to headlining shows.

The first track, “Heat Above” opens with the shimmering swirl of a Hammond B3 organ, straight out of a southern gospel church. The band grooves ’70s style – you can practically smell the bong water. This time out, GVF aims for the cosmos, crafting ethereal soundscapes that weigh a ton. The record was produced at four Los Angeles-area studios, most notably Henson Recording Studios and the band’s work neighbors included Justin Beiber and Elon Musk, if you can believe that. There’s a bit of a Rush-like tint to the band’s sound, and sartorially, their fashion sense leans toward early Stones and Zeppelin. Naysayers have slammed the band as a knockoff, but their drive and licks say otherwise. The closing track, the epic “The Weight of Dreams,” unfolds into a transcendent, nine minute jam which proves fools otherwise. GVF is genuine rock and roll.

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Dreamy and explosive, the Armed’s “Ultrapop” (Sargent House), is a rapid barrage of noise, hardcore and pop. The Detroit band leans towards performance art, if such a thing were audible. The track “All Futures” has a distinct and distorted blip before transcending into a rather catchy headbanger. With a cacophony of feedback, blistering vocals and over-the-top percussion, “Ultrapop” plants its tongue firmly in cheek as the layers of noise, sometimes melodic, otherwise indecipherable, assault the sensibilities. This hardcore collective shoots for hyper-intensity, and with an army of contributors, it never ceases to offend. There are no sacred boundaries on “Ultrapop” – according to the band, the album is “an open rebellion against the culture of expectation in ‘heavy music.'” The opener throbs, the closer, a wrestling chokehold and in between, the Armed crams as much buzzing indie-sound as anyone should be subjected to. A four-four beat is simply out of the question. With all the hedonistic fuzz oozing off “Ultrapop,” you may want to sanitize your hands when the record is over.

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It’s tragic but predicable that when a star’s light is extinguished, you milk the catalogue. Tom Petty’s classic “Wildflowers” gets the treatment (again) with “Finding Wildflowers” (Petty Legacy Records), which was initially included as part of the “Super Deluxe Edition” of last fall’s “Wildflowers & All the Rest.” This mirror image of Tom Petty’s celebrated second solo album is arguably superior to the version originally released in 1994. Jangly and feel-good, the record features 16 tracks of alternate takes, extended arrangements and improvised renditions of fan favorites. Producer Rick Rubin and the entire band of Heartbreakers provide an embellishment that adores and adorns Petty’s original creativity and insight to “Wildflowers,” an effort that is immortal and evergreen. A version of “You Wreck Me” hustles with a piano-driven groove, aided by a pristine 12-string guitar. This is a folksier, more introspective set, and it glistens. “You Saw Me Coming” has a sense of romanticism while “Honey Bee” is as streamlined as it is sassy. Petty was blossoming as an artists and “Finding” is worth the listen.