Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

The seven-time Grammy winner has done his best to deny that he’s still fixated on Katy Perry. “I wouldn’t say it started as a breakup record,” says Mayer, whose relationship with Perry ended in 2015. Yet most of the songs on this 12-cut compilation, which includes two four-track EPs released earlier this year plus four unreleased tracks, are full of longing. Asked point blank if one new number, the shimmering “Still Feel Like Your Man” was about Perry, Mayer answered “who else would I be thinking about?” The songs, mostly rock and blues ballads with a solitary country track, “Roll It on Home,” range from lovelorn (“You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me”) to heartbroken (“Never on the Day You Leave...

He’s one of music’s most unlikely stars. An unassuming redhead from tiny Hebden Bridge in northern England, Ed Sheeran has a knack for crafting infectious pop songs in a variety of styles. The 26-year-old’s ambitious third album follows the mathematical titles of his previous bestselling releases, Plus and Multiply, but outdoes them both with better songs and more diverse sounds. Along with the chart-topping singles “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill,” the album has catchy ballads like “Perfect” and feelgood anthems of hope including “What Do I Know.” Strong rhythms drive sunny songs such as the Latin-tinged “Barcelona” and the West African-flavored “Bibia Be Ye Ye.” And Sheeran’s affini...

Her parents are scientists and at one time Charlotte planned to become a doctor. There were other influences. Growing up in Montreal, she took singing lessons. With her striking looks, Charlotte also fell into modeling and signed with Elite Model Management in Paris. But it was her second place showing on Quebec TV’s popular La Voix (a French version of The Voice) that sealed Charlotte’s future in music. She began performing in intimate clubs and recorded Big Boy, a six-song EP that showcased her seductive voice and minimalist, jazz-tinged style. Language is no barrier. “I write a lot more in English, even though French is my first language,” she says. Now touring widely and finishing up her...