Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Mika’s 2007 debut, Life in Cartoon Motion, showed flashes of pop brilliance, with a debt to Freddie Mercury and Elton John. But his followup albums were disappointingly inconsistent. His fourth disc is the first to fully realize the depth of his gift for expansive melodies, glorious hooks and complex lyrics. It’s also the first to show his knack for catchy French songs like “Boum Boum Boum,” already a chart-topper in France. No Place in Heaven is bursting with the kind of infectious, whipsmart songs Mika showed he was capable of with his smash hit “Grace Kelly.” The new album features too many highlights to mention, but standouts include the barnstorming “Talk About You,” the giddy, handclap...

It’s not just the agrochemical multinational corporation that Young targets on his new protest album, but big-box chains like Wal-Mart and Starbucks that are “too big to fail, too rich for jail.” Working with Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micah, the raging rock legend tackles topics from worker exploitation to genetically modified foods.

Kevin Parker, frontman for the Western Australian psych-rockers, has eclectic tastes, from Led Zeppelin to Britney Spears. His band’s third album has plenty of diversity, featuring the disco funk of “Less I Know the Better” and the slow and hypnotically moody “Cause I’m a Man,” which amounts to wildly trippy lounge music.

Joss Stone is best known for her 2004 debut The Soul Sessions, which paired her smoky vocals with a classic r&b sound. But the singer from Devon, England has been feeling the island vibe ever since meeting Bob Marley’s son Damien in SuperHeavy, the short-lived supergroup with Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart and A.R. Rahman. For her seventh album, Stone embraces a more global sound, dabbling South Asian percussion on “Stuck on You” and Spanish guitar on “Let Me Breathe.” There are still hints of her trademark soul on songs like “This Ain’t Love.” But she and Marley cook up mostly sunny reggae on the album’s 14 tracks. Their “Wake Up” duet is a dancehall-flavored warning about the power of subli...

He’s well known to fans of the U.S. indie pop band fun., which won Grammys for Best New Artist and Song of the Year for “We Are Young,” the group’s soaring hit with Janelle Monáe. As its energetic frontman, Nate Ruess was credited with giving fun. its swagger and gleefulness—even in the face of downbeat subjects. On his solo debut, the 33-year-old mixes dark tracks with infectious songs that have all the optimism of “We Are Young.” “AhHa” is a little of both, shifting from a bombastic opening into a moving account of struggling with depression and getting saved by music. The title track is a sweeping confessional with operatic overtones. But the album’s best song is “Nothing Without Love,” i...

Her path to becoming a pop icon seems unbreakable as well. With a voice capable of hitting any note, tone or melodic run with apparent ease and songs that ring instantly true, Tori Kelly has emerged as the “Artist to Watch.” “I’ve never reacted physically to a singer like that before in my life—her vocal ability is unbelievable,” gushed British pop star Sam Smith, with whom she’s toured. Now the 22-year-old California native, who once auditioned for American Idol and became a YouTube cover sensation, is the big buzz. Managed by Scooter Braun (Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande) and produced by Max Martin (Katy Perry, Taylor Swift), Kelly shows off her gifts on her thrilling debut, a 14-track showc...

Few artists blend old and new-world influences better than the former leader of famed British folk-rockers Fairport Convention. His latest, produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, is a gem, full of mystical Renaissance sounds on songs like “Pony in the Saddle” and robust rock stylings, especially on “Guitar Heroes,” which pays brilliant homage to his mentors.

The country upstart’s refreshing candor has already won her a Grammy. Musgraves doesn’t sugar-coat the songs on her delightfully frisky second studio, singing about the value of minding your own business on the playful “Biscuits” and accepting kinfolk who “might smoke like chimneys, but give you their kidneys” on the charming “Family is Family.”

The heart of the Canadian songwriting legend, who gave us classics like “Four Strong Winds” and “Navajo Rug,” lies in the West and its big-sky vistas. Here, he sings of cowboys (“Will James”), ranching (“Colorado Horses”) and tragic romance with his new rendition of the touching “Darcy Farrow,” originally recorded in his Ian & Sylvia days. 

The 17th album from Sweet Baby James—and his first collection of new songs in 13 years—is a beauty, full of charming love songs (“You and I Again”), an ode to Toronto (“Snowtime”) and his obsession with baseball’s Boston Red Sox (“Angels of Fenway”) and a gorgeous version of the folk classic “Wild Mountain Thyme.”