Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

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...