In 1976, the revolutionary singer-songwriter LAURA NYRO returned from self-imposed exile. But her comeback confounded expectations, shifting away from the impassioned intimacies of her early albums to embrace more radical perspectives. Fifty years on, Nyro’s collaborators revisit her striking second act. “She was a hip American from the Bronx,” one friend and producer tells Rob Hughes. “But her soul was old.”

Fondly remembered this month...

From the bayou to Woodstock and back – the easygoing adventures of Bobby Charles. By John Mulvey.

From The Bottom Of An Old Grandfather Clock (reissue, 2004) DEAD OCEANS

Mike Patton and the Avett Brothers join forces to create a work of immense beauty.

Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist and positive force Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield left us on November 20.