Gregory isaacs

D avid Bowie’s first album of the 1980s was a milestone record for many reasons. It was his last to be co-produced with collaborator Tony Visconti for more than 20 years, his swansong for RCA and for

The grand parade of lifeless packaging? Far from it, as this much-delayed blockbuster reissue of one of prog’s most fascinating and frustrating albums finally proves.

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue: Roy Harper . Since the mid-60s, the progressive folk singer-songwriter has enjoyed a successful solo career that’s also found him collaborating with everyone from Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel to Kate Bush and Ian Anderson. But he’s never quite reached the commercial heights of his peers. As his Final Tour: Part Two fast approaches, he looks back over highlights from his career so far and teases a brand-new album.

IF PARADISE LOST guitarist Gregor Mackintosh gets his wish, music fans might be adding the gloom-driven sounds of his band’s Ascension LP to their Christmas playlists this year, perhaps alongside Yule

Zaytoun Songs by JS Bach, Monteverdi, Purcell and Sayed Darwish et al Haitham Haidar (tenor), Sylvain Bergeron (archlute), Abdul-Wahab Kayyali (oud) et al Athene ATH 23027 51:44 mins In medieval Spain

An album-by-album guide to George Harrison ’s greatest songs, solos, milestones and innovations away from The Beatles.