Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

The world’s top female jazz artist, Krall has achieved many milestones, from winning five Grammy Awards to producing the great Barbra Streisand. After recording 11 studio albums, the last of which, Glad Rag Doll , explored vaudeville tunes from the 1920s and ’30s, the Canadian-born star now turns her attention to her favorite pop songs from the ’60s to the present. Produced by David Foster, the album showcases the pianist’s voice, amid both spare and lush arrangements, in all of its beautiful, ragged glory. She duets with Michael Bublé on Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally)” and Ryan Adams on Randy Newman’s “Feels Like Home.” But Krall is at her best on her own, singing stark rendi...

The indie folk-rockers came to prominence when their last album, The King is Dead , topped the Billboard charts. Known for literate, historically based songs, the band comes by its bookishness honestly: frontman Colin Meloy is the author of young fantasy novels, all illustrated by his wife, Carson Ellis. Now on tour with a stop in Toronto Mar. 30, the Decemberists keep up their storytelling ways on their seventh album. Along with the hit “Make You Better,” it features the horn-fueled “Calvary Captain” and the string-laden “Philomena.” The album takes its title from the stark “12-17-12,” a response to the Newtown school shootings. “I was hit by a sense of helplessness,” explains Colin, “but a...

Last year, Trainor topped the charts with her body-positive smash “All About That Bass,” a reference to her derriere. “Yeah, it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size 2,” she half-raps on the doo-wop inspired, Grammy-nominated hit, “ I’m bringing booty back.” When asked if she was afraid of being a one-hit wonder, the 21-year-old Nantucket, Mass. native answered confidently, “No—I’m a songwriter. That’s not even my best one.” True enough, she scored again with her followup single “Lips Are Movin.’” Now Trainor has an album’s worth of sassy, self-empowerment songs, from “Dear Future Husband” and “Mr. Almost” to “No Good for You.” There’s plenty of ukulele, handclaps, finger-snaps, retro harmonies an...

The Grammy-winning Queen of Hip-Hop Soul ventures to England for inspired collaborations with Britain’s rising young hitmakers. The transatlantic project pays big dividends, especially on “Therapy” featuring the gospel-blues vocals of Sam Smith, “Whole Damn Year” with pop songstress Emeli Sandé and “Right Now” with dance duo Disclosure. Highly therapeutic.

It doesn’t get much better than hearing Sam Smith’s falsetto on Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know”—unless it’s Kylie Minogue’s cooing through Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes.” From Ed Sheeran covering Bruce Springsteen and Kaiser Chiefs tackling the Clash to Dido doing Bronski Beat, everyone puts fresh spins on ’80s classics.

A contemporary of Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot, David emerged in the ’70s as one of Canada’s finest singer-songwriters, covered by stars like Anne Murray and Harry Belafonte. This collection of previously unreleased songs, featuring such standouts as “Rocking Chair World” and “Ballad of Jacob Marlowe,” reasserts the depth of his talent.

Henderson hails from the tiny English village of Tetney, “a place where you had to use your imagination to have fun.” That imagination shines through on the 19-year-old’s debut album, which features the hit single “Ghost, co-written with Adele songwriter Ryan Tedder. “ I keep going to the river to pray, ’cause I need something that can wash all the pain,” she sings on the gospel-tinged track, conjuring up images of the Deep South. On the slow-burning “Glow,” Henderson draws pictures of golden sea treasures and shooting flames to express an undying love. But she also gets deeply personal on the touching ballad “Yours” and the r&b-inspired “Mirror Man,” dishing on a self-absorbed lover. Wi...