Computeractive From 26 October 2016

In 1972, Lou Reed was a minor cult hero to a handful of rock critics and left-of-center music fans who championed his former band, the Velvet Underground, but he was unknown to the mainstream music audience. By 1986, Reed was a rock & roll icon, widely hailed as a master songwriter and one of the founding fathers of punk, glam, noise rock, and any number of other vital rock subgenres; he even scored a few hits along the way. If you want to know what happened during those 14 years to make such a difference, the answer can be found in The RCA & Arista Album Collection, a 17-disc box set that brings together nearly all of Reed's recorded work from this period…

James Arthur is the 2012 X factor winner, with his debut single ‘Impossible’ becoming the biggest X factor winner’s song of all time. The single kept the #1 chart spot for 3 weeks, won platinum in the UK and was nominated for a Brit Award. His self-titled first album, featuring the No.2 single “You’re Nobody Until Somebody Loves You” and collaborations with Naughty Boy and Emeli Sande, was certified Gold in the UK after worldwide sales of over 400,000. However, months after his debut single and album was finally usurped from the top spot, the struggles of the limelight became too much for the singer and in his own words, he “cracked”. Fast forward 2 years, James is a very different animal in 2016 and managed to process his experiences on his new album BACK FROM THE EDGE, which will be released 28th October. BACK FROM THE EDGE’s first single SAY YOU WON’T LET GO, released September 9, is the sound board for what has been a turbulent career, still very much in its infancy. Apart from the deeply emotional ballad, the album presents many songs with a personal experience.

James Arthur is the 2012 X factor winner, with his debut single ‘Impossible’ becoming the biggest X factor winner’s song of all time. The single kept the #1 chart spot for 3 weeks, won platinum in the UK and was nominated for a Brit Award. His self-titled first album, featuring the No.2 single “You’re Nobody Until Somebody Loves You” and collaborations with Naughty Boy and Emeli Sande, was certified Gold in the UK after worldwide sales of over 400,000. However, months after his debut single and album was finally usurped from the top spot, the struggles of the limelight became too much for the singer and in his own words, he “cracked”. Fast forward 2 years, James is a very different animal in 2016 and managed to process his experiences on his new album BACK FROM THE EDGE, which will be released 28th October. BACK FROM THE EDGE’s first single SAY YOU WON’T LET GO, released September 9, is the sound board for what has been a turbulent career, still very much in its infancy. Apart from the deeply emotional ballad, the album presents many songs with a personal experience.

This month’s free CD, The Goldrush, includes tracks from Bat For Lashes, Thee Oh Sees, Lou Rhodes, The Julie Ruin, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood and DM Stith.

After eight years in New York and numerous travels around the world, her music degree in the pocket, the Californian singer Shola Adisa-Farrar anchored to Paris to give birth to this album: his personal exploration of jazz. At his side, the Parisian pianist Florian Pellissier, knewn for its authenticity and so personal way to live the legacy hard bop. Their collaboration began in the summer of 2013. "Florian's experience and vision typically French jazz coupled with my curiosity for jazz and many forms of music that inspired me the soul, reggae and African rhythms helped create an album at the crossroads of our two worlds, says Shola Adisa-Farrar.

Joe Lovano is part of a select group of established musicians who have been around for so long, achieved so much, and have such an instantly recognizable sound, that a new release is more or less guaranteed to be good. And so it is with Classic! Live at Newport – everybody knows what to expect but that doesn't in any way diminish the enjoyment of listening to it.