LEGENDS OF THE FALL
It’s an autumn bonanza with Prince, Cher and Macca leading the way
PAUL McCARTNEY: EGYPT STATION
SIR PAUl has been hinting at an old- school approach on his first album in five years. egypt Station finds him hooking up with producer Greg kurstin, who has worked with Adele, and Michael Jackson’s musical director Greg Phillinganes.
The early signs are promising: recent single I Don’t know gently picks up pace; another taster track, the raucous Come On To Me, features Abbey Road’s famous Mrs Mills piano. Out September 7 on Capitol.
PAUL SIMON: IN THE BLUE LIGHT
Fresh from last month’s emotional Uk farewell in hyde Park, Simon revisits some of the less- celebrated gems from his back catalogue here.
Working with chamber sextet yMusic, who played with him in london, and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Simon has rewritten arrangements, harmonies and even lyrics to ten personal favourites, bringing a jazzy hue to 1973’s One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor and four songs from 2000’s you’re The One. Out September 7 on Sony.
TONY BENNETT & DIANA KRALL: LOVE IS HERE TO STAY
Bennett’S last duets album, Cheek To Cheek, saw an improbable (but surprisingly successful) pairing with lady Gaga. This forthcoming album takes a more obvious path in partnering the last of the great crooners with sultry Canadian diva Diana krall.
The record, made with jazz pianist Bill Charlap’s formidable trio, pays tribute to the Gershwin brothers. Out September 14 on Verve.
NILE RODGERS & CHIC: IT’S ABOUT TIME
Untouchable in the Seventies, Chic have enjoyed a renaissance since Nile Rodgers teamed up with Daft Punk on Get lucky. Now, after a summer on the festival circuit, they are releasing their first album for 25 years.
Recent single Till The World Falls added a modern, digital gloss, but guitarist Rodgers’s riffs rekindled the funky spirit, though mercifully not the decadence, of the band’s Studio 54 heyday. Out September 14 on Virgin EMI.
PAUL WELLER: TRUE MEANINGS
The former punk firebrand turned 60 this year and next month’s True Meanings, his 14th solo album, looks like being mellow and introspective. Weller’s respect for Brit-rock tradition is reflected in appearances by folk legend Martin Carthy and Rod Argent of the Zombies.
Despite the more predictable presence of his buddy Noel Gallagher, it looks like being a Weller record like no other, with delicate orchestrations and some lyrics penned by outsiders. Out September 14 on Parlophone.
JESS GLYNNE: ALWAYS IN BETWEEN
Glynne became the first British female to chalk up seven solo No. 1s when her single I’ll Be There topped the charts in June.
The former london hairdresser will be aiming to scale similar heights when her second album arrives three years after her first.
Despite being a break-up record, that debut was littered with breezy dance tunes. Current hit All I Am suggests the new album, with ed Sheeran among her co-writers, will follow suit. Out September 21 on Atlantic.
PRINCE: PIANO & A MICROPHONE 1983
Like Springsteen’s Nebraska, Prince’s Piano & A Microphone 1983 was made on a cassette recorder in a home studio. Rescued from the Paisley Park vaults, it’s an intimate, improvised reminder of his genius.
With a raw version of Purple Rain and an early take on his cover of Joni Mitchell’s A Case Of you, its nine tracks offer a taste of Prince’s creative process.
he shows the full scope of his vocal trickery on the bluesy spiritual Mary Don’t you Weep. Out September 21 on Warner Music.
SUEDE: THE BLUE HOUR
The former dandies of Britpop haven’t lacked ambition since their reunion back in 2010.
This forthcoming CD is the final part of a trilogy that started with Bloodsports in 2013 and it looks set to be their most progressive release yet.
The City Of Prague Philharmonic, fresh from revamping the hits of Billy Fury, provide orchestration, while singer Brett Anderson is joined by actors, a choir and five-year-old son lucian on a record sequenced as a continuous piece of music. Out September 21 on Warner Music.
ARETHA FRANKLIN: ATLANTIC SINGLES COLLECTION (1967-1970)
Planned as a sequel to last year’s symphonic A Brand New Me, Aretha’s 34-song Atlantic Singles Collection was on the release schedule long before her death last week, and is a timely reminder of her vast talent. Aretha signed to Atlantic in 1967, and the singles she made in the three years that followed, including Respect and I Say A little Prayer, went a long way towards consolidating her Queen Of Soul status. Out September 28 on Rhino.
ROD STEWART: BLOOD RED ROSES
ROD rediscovered his storytelling muse on 2013’s Time, but he lapsed into sentimentality on 2015’s Another Country. This, his 30th solo album, is shaping up as a return to form.
New single Didn’t I finds the father of eight singing about the devastating impact of drugs from a parent’s perspective. ‘I make albums for a few friends, and this one has that intimacy,’ he says. Out September 28 on Decca.
CHER: DANCING QUEEN
The season’s hammiest effort should be Cher’s tribute to Abba. The Goddess Of Pop, who stars in Mamma Mia! here We Go Again, says her interest in the Swedish super troupers was rekindled after she saw the original Mamma Mia! three times on Broadway.
Dancing Queen, her first album in five years, reunites her with long- term collaborator Mark Taylor, producer of 1998’s Believe. ‘The songs were harder to sing than I imagined, but I’m happy with how they came out,’ she says. Out September 28 on Warner Music.
ELVIS COSTELLO: LOOK NOW
Having worked with hip-hop act The Roots on his previous outing, Costello returns to old friends.
With two members of the Attractions on board, and three songs co- written with Burt Bacharach, look Now promises to mix the lush melodies of 1982’s Imperial Bedroom with the emotional range of a previous Bacharach collaboration, Painted From Memory. Recent single Under lime is a vivid sketch of a tryst between a fading country star and a younger woman. Out October 12 on Concord.
DAVID BOWIE: LOVING THE ALIEN (1983-1988)
The career-spanning run of Bowie box sets has now reached the eighties. A decade that began brightly with let’s Dance and Modern love saw the singer gradually lose momentum.
This lavishly packaged set reflects an uneven era. Amid lengthy live excerpts, interest will centre on a new version of 1987’s Never let Me Down.
Bowie was unhappy with the original album and sanctioned a re-recording with less synthetic instrumentation before his death. Out October 12 on Parlophone.
ANDREA BOCELLI: Sì
The Italian singer geared up for his first album of new songs in 14 years by bringing operatic gravitas to Perfect when he sang with ed Sheeran at Wembley back in June.
In another surprising move, his new record, Sì, was produced by Bob ezrin, best known for his work on Alice Cooper’s classic early rock albums. ‘I wanted to go back to my memories of being a young man playing in a piano bar,’ says Bocelli. Out October 26 on Decca.
THE music industry is gearing up for a busy autumn. Daily Mail music critic ADRIAN THRILLS picks the big releases that are already available to pre-order.