Released as a glass-raising toast to the longstanding loyalty of his Irish fan base (whose thirst for fresh David Gray material is truly quenchless), Lost Songs assembles material written during a label-hopping lapse either side of the Sell Sell Sell album and which was belatedly committed to tape in October of 1999. Far from being a tatty what-I-did-in-my-spare-time scrapbook of discards and B-side quality cast-offs, Lost Songs offers conclusive proof that even David Gray's folk-pop wastepaper basket is lined with silver. Effortlessly maintaining Gray's brand-image as a troubadour-with-a-troubled-outlook, via a homogeneous selection of achy and predominantly acoustic heart-on-sleeve urban spirituals, many of Lost Songs' choicest moments ("Flame Turns Blue", "As I'm Leaving", "Falling Down the Mountainside") could all be Dylanesque rungs from White Ladder. The only question remaining now is how much higher can he climb? -Kevin Maidment.

Having spent the majority of his first two albums bitterly attacking his boy band years, it seems Robbie Williams has finally got Take That out of his system. Which means that for most of Sing When You're Winning, he is either ecstatically happy, in cheeky party mood-as with disco single "Rock DJ"-or reminding all just what a huge star he is, as with the self-appreciating/depreciating mock arrogance of his Kylie duet "Kids": he raps with a nod and a wink "I'm an honourary Sean Connery/single handedly raising the economy/ain't no chance of the record company dropping me". He's right of course, but his joy is only surface deep. With his Take That hate gone, his mocking humour has nothing to focus on-nothing except his own failings: lack of love and real self-belief. And so it is that Robbie indulges in a string of ill-advised, down-mouthed acoustic plodders, "Better Man" ("Angels" Mark II-but not quite), "If It's Hurting You", "Love Calling Earth" and "Road To Mandalay", where he shows just how frighteningly sincere he can be. Touching as they are, it's when the snarling attitude and big anthems like "Let Love Be Your Energy", "Supreme", "Knutsford City Limits" and "Forever Texas" are in full flow that the star shines and Singing When You're Winning sounds like the best thing he's done. -Dan Gennoe.

The appearance of "Rocket Man"-era cohorts Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone as backing vocalists touches Songs From the West Coast with one of the trademark sounds of Elton John's 1969-75 albums. His admiration of Ryan Adams and Rufus Wainwright (a guest here) inspires him to recall the often stripped down, lyric-driven sensibility of his early days. The tone of the words, which long-term collaborator Bernie Taupin feeds John, is rooted in a wearier version of the romanticism that fuelled oldies as diverse as "Your Song", "Love Lies Bleeding" and "Burn Down the Mission". Songs From the West Coast sidesteps bombast with only a few exceptions-"The Wasteland", with its invocation of Robert Johnson, just doesn't suit. The standout track is "I Want Love", a Lennon-esque rumination that's their most impressive writing, separately or together, in more than a decade. -Rickey Wright.

Whether he's collaborating with longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin or other songwriters (such as his Lion King partner, Tim Rice) Elton John has written and performed some of the most cherished love songs in the pop-music canon. This career-spanning retrospective spotlights that particular aspect of his artistry, focusing on classics such as "Your Song", "Believe", "The One", "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word", and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". The album takes a rather expansive view of the concept-there are also tracks here such as "Daniel", which is less a love song than a tribute to a wounded war veteran, and a live take of "Candle in the Wind", which, kiddies, was once a song about Marilyn Monroe, not Princess Diana. John's Lion King triumphs-"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and "Circle of Life"-are included, as are a pair of new tracks, "You Can Make History (Young Again)" and "No Valentines". The album may stray from the topic a bit, but there's little doubt that these songs are among his most essential. -Daniel Durchholz.

If you're looking for that perfect slow hand CD to carry around in the car, Time Pieces is the disc for you. Featuring 11 of Clapton's most radio-friendly hits ("I Shot the Sheriff", "After Midnight", and "Layla", of course), this CD also offers up some of Clapton's most romantic moments in "Wonderful Tonight" and his most cynical in "Promises". Though there's nothing here that you don't have on another couple of discs, Time Pieces is a convenient package of great hits that make you want to roll down the windows, crank up the stereo, and roll. -L A Smith.

The Pet Shop Boys' first album reveals a grittier, hungrier sound than most of their subsequent work. There's an urgent kind of narrative running through Please, from the escapist theme of the opening "Two Divided By Zero" through the seedy "West End Girls" to the tender "Tonight Is Forever" and the cautionary "Violence"; later on, "I Want A Lover" and "Later Tonight" get down and dirty before "Why Don't We Live Together" brings things, pleading, to a close. There's an appealingly edgy neediness to most of the tracks, verging at times on desperation, which is gradually whittled down through second and third albums Actually and Introspective and is largely missing from later albums. Its four singles-seminal geek-rap "West End Girls", the you-can't-escape-lurve "Love Comes Quickly" and anti-Thatcherite anthems "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)" and "Suburbia"-still sound pretty fresh today. The album's other six and a bit tracks, while clearly of their time, still sound good 15 years on. Add to all this an 11-track bonus disc of B-sides and remixes and this reissue is an essential purchase for anyone wanting to expand their PSB collection, or to hear, fascinated, just how far the band's sound has evolved over the years. -Rikki Price.

As promised, this long-awaited full-length collaboration bears the hallmarks of Bacharach's classic 1960s work with the likes of Dionne Warwick-full-force melodies, traditional pop instrumentation, clever and occasionally pained lyrics. Painted from Memory finds Costello and Bacharach revelling in their gifts on a dozen tracks that range from concise under-three-minute gems ("I Still Have That Other Girl", which sounds like the great lost Chuck Jackson single) to sprawling art songs ("Toledo", the pair's Grace of My Heart contribution "God Give Me Strength"). On the latter Costello meets his match in a co-writer who knows when to let the excesses flow and when to stem the tide; his occasionally straining vocals only add to the album's heightened effect. The result is some instant classics that stand head and shoulders above much of Costello's 1990s work. -Rickey Wright.

Robbie Williams is the only ex- Take That-er to have achieved both major sales and widespread credibility, but his second album I've Been Expecting You is a mixed bag. With the singles "Millennium", "Strong", and "No Regrets", the album is unashamedly Life Thru A Lens Part Two. Full of self-parody ("My breath smells of a thousand fags/and when I'm drunk I dance like me dad"), the cheeky chappie's personality shines through on every track. His voice has improved no end since, and the album includes his finest moment to date: "No Regrets", which features backing vocals by the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon and Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant, and is not alone in playing on that James Bond-alike thing. In fairness it has to be said that there are some duff tracks ("Jesus in a Camper Van"), but these are easily outweighed by the likes of loud and noisy "Karma Killer", with full orchestral arrangement. In a typically audacious manner, "You Win Some You Lose Some" opens with the voice of ex-girlfriend Nicole Appleton of All Saints. The nation as a whole seems to be in love with Robbie, and it is this fascination, this desire for him to be good, which makes his music work as well as it does. -Ronita Dutta Robbie Williams is the only ex-Take That-er to have achieved both major sales and widespread credibility, but his second album I've Been Expecting You is a mixed bag. With the singles "Millennium", "Strong" and "No Regrets", the album is unashamedly Life Thru a Lens Part Two. Full of self-parody ("My breath smells of a thousand fags/and when I'm drunk I dance like me dad"), the cheeky chappie's personality shines through on every track. [+]

Orange of skin and furry of chest, Tom Jones has been wowing the crowds since he first walked away from the green, green grass of his Welsh home and into the hearts of housewives the world over. Jones rode the 1990s kitsch revival and, with the release of 1999's Reload, proved himself one of the music industry's most powerful and entertaining survivors. A collection of duets and collaborations with various contemporary stars of pop, rock and indie music (the Stereophonics, the Cardigans, Cerys from Catatonia and Robbie Williams, to name a few), Reload put Tom Jones back on the musical map for a whole new generation of music fans. Highlights here include his cover of Portishead's "All Mine" with the Divine Comedy, his exuberant take on "Mama Told Me Not To Come" with the Stereophonics and the playful "Are You Gonna Go My Way" with Robbie Williams. -Ted Kord.

Nothing he has released since has matched the sales heights of Bridge Over Troubled Water, but the quality of Paul Simon's solo work is undeniable-indeed it could be argued that the songwriter's work post-Simon & Garfunkel has been even more rewarding aesthetically. Shining Like A National Guitar-the fourth compilation to be drawn from Simon's eight solo albums-offers another welcome opportunity to appreciate this extraordinary career arc: tracing Simon's fascinating musical odyssey from Jamaica's "Mother & Child Reunion" and South Africa's "Boy In The Bubble", to Latin America's "The Obvious Child". Along the way, marvel at the articulate precision of Simon's music-"Graceland", "Hearts & Bones", "Still Crazy After All These Years", right up to the recent undervalued album of Capeman. He may not have been particularly prolific, but it's possible to be dazzled afresh by the sheer brilliance of Paul Simon's music. -Patrick Humphries.