CD: Ry Cooder - The Prodigal Son

★★★★★ CD: RY COODER - THE PRODIGAL SON A stunning blast of gospel and politics

Stunning blast of stirring gospel and politics

Ry Cooder is not only one of the greatest American guitarists of his time, a virtuoso who uses his technical mastery to make music with extraordinary soul, but he also has his heart firmly in the right place.

CD: Van Morrison and Joey DeFrancesco - You're Driving Me Crazy

★★★ CD: VAN MORRISON AND JOEY DEFRANCESCO - YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY Soul-jazz

The Irish soulman sings jazz

Van Morrison has always been drawn as much to jazz as anything else. There is a natural swing to his voice, and his phrasing, melisma and familiar vocal mannerisms have always suited the medium well, from early excursions on Astral Weeks, through the jazzy feel of "Moondance" and his most recent albums.

Arena: Bob Dylan - Trouble No More, BBC Four review - up close and personal with Gospel Bob

★★★★ ARENA: BOB DYLAN - TROUBLE NO MORE, BBC FOUR You gotta have faith: powerful music, with sermons interleaved

You gotta have faith: powerful music, with sermons interleaved

Dylan’s Gospel years inspired and rankled in unequal measure – with the critical brickbats and audience boos often drowning out the strength and beauty of the impassioned musical ministries delivered by Dylan between 1979 and 1981, gathering around him his five-strong chorus of gospel singers, and a crack band that included Little Feet guitarist Fred Tackett, bassist Tim Drummond, Muscle Shoals keyboardist Spoon

CD: Mavis Staples - If All I Was Was Black

At 78, the queen of R&B marches on

The queen of R&B is no stranger to struggle – the Staples Singers, led by Pops, played a key role in the 1960s civil rights movement, emerging from the gospel circuit as so many great black singers did. Mavis’ first paid gig was with her family in in 1948.

The Best Albums of 2017

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2017 We're more than halfway through the year. What are the best new releases so far?

theartsdesk's music critics pick their favourites of the year

Disc of the Day reviews new albums, week in, week out, all year. Below are the albums to which our writers awarded five stars. Click on any one of them to find out why.

SIMPLY THE BEST: THEARTSDESK'S FIVE-STAR REVIEWS OF 2017

Alan Broadbent: Developing Story ★★★★★  The pianist's orchestral magnum opus is packed with extraordinary things

Reissue CDs Weekly: PP Arnold

REISSUE CDS WEEKLY: PP ARNOLD A first-time outing for Bee Gees and Eric Clapton-assisted recordings by the soul-gospel powerhouse

A first-time outing for Bee Gees and Eric Clapton-assisted recordings by the soul-gospel powerhouse

Anyone who finds Eric Clapton and The Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb stepping up to offer their services as their producer is obviously special. It’s a view reinforced by knowing Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Small Faces were already their champions. Only one person fits this unique bill.

CD: Imelda May - Life. Love. Flesh. Blood

 

A rich mix, synthesising Imelda May's multifarious influences

As Imelda May releases her fifth CD, it can’t but help that Bob Dylan has come out as a fan – it was, she wrote, "like being kissed by Apollo himself". No doubt his buddy T Bone Burnett passed him a copy of the album, for he produced it in Los Angeles, where it was recorded over seven days, with guest appearances from guitarist Jeff Beck and pianist and band leader Jools Holland, on whose TV shows May has guested several times.

CD: Brian Eno - Reflection

Slow-motion cascades of morphing tone

Eno pioneered ambient music way back in the 1970s, in collaborations with Robert Fripp, Jon Hassell, Harold Budd, and on his own label. His new album continues this adventure in search of stillness, at a time when we are more than ever shaped by muddled layers of high-speed narratives, fuelled by instant communication and hell-bent on denying the presence of the here and now.

Lizz Wright, Cadogan Hall

LIZZ WRIGHT, LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL One of the most moving concerts of the year

A standing ovation concludes one of the most moving concerts of the year

There are singers who can dazzle with their technical mastery, those who welcome you into their musical world through a special communicative gift, and those who can traverse genres with absolutely no artifice. Rarest of all are those singers who combine all of the above with a timbral quality that can touch your very soul. Lizz Wright is one such singer.