Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

The Chicago rock legends have released some inspired albums, from 1996’s classic Being There to 2004’s Grammy winning A Ghost is Born. Fueled by leader Jeff Tweedy’s fertile imagination, the group’s latest features the folky opening gem “Either Way,” the funky “Walken” and the Band-like “You Are My Face.” “Impossible Germany,” with its clever rejoinder “unlikely Japan,” is a clever observational road song, while the moving “Hate it Here” is Tweedy’s spirited tale of heartache and housework. May 15

Muldaur has made it her mission of late to celebrate the music created by classic blues women from the 1920s to the 1940s. Here, the onetime Kweskin Jugband member and “Midnight at the Oasis” singer turns Red Hot Mama tackles the work of Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter and others. Muldaur’s sensuous voice is perfectly suited to suggestive blues and jazz numbers like “Handy Man” and Bessie Smith’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Bonnie Raitt joins her for a sassy duet on Sippie Wallace’s “Separation Blues.” May 15

Wainwright has a fondness for ornate arrangements. But producing his fifth album in Berlin, where he took to wearing lederhosen and visiting old-world palaces, really brought out the baroque in him. Working with Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant, Wainwright brings a breathtaking grandeur to the lavish, symphonic opener “Do I Disappoint You” and a brassy, Gene Pitney-esque drama to the closing title track. But he also delivers some of his most tender songs ever, including the heartbreaking “Leaving for Paris.” May 15