Summertime, and the living is easy. Here’s a pick of eight new albums for this holiday season, from the infectious pop of Ariana Grande to the thoughtful blues of Eric Clapton.While Grande, 22, is obviously in sunny mood, Clapton, 71, is still capable of raising a smile. His latest comes as other veterans also return, such as Tom Petty and Bob Dylan (not forgetting Paul Simon, already reviewed).Various artists, “NOW That’s What I Call Summer Hits,” Now Records. (Out July 1).There are plenty of summer hits on this anthology, both of singles already in the charts and likely contenders over the next few months.The “Now!” series of compilation albums has different numbers and track listings on each side of the Atlantic. This is a UK release, and nearly perfect for warmer months, with music by the man who is this year’s king of sunny hits, Calvin Harris. His “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Summer” are featured, though not his song with Rihanna, “This Is What You Came For.” While “Pop Style” by Drake is also conspicuous by its absence, Mike Posner’s chart-topping “(I Took a Pill) In Ibiza” is the sun-kissed leadoff.Ariana Grande, “Dangerous Woman,” Republic Records/ Universal.Grande’s image and music appeal to 38 million Twitter followers for starters. Her song “Into You” is one of the standouts of the pop summer. “Moonlight,” which at one stage was going to be the album’s title track, is right on the money too. Grande purrs: “He’s giving me Elvis, with some James Dean in his eyes.”The style swings between Phil Spector-style orchestration, R&B and 198os house music. Grande tries everything to see what works for her vocal gymnastics. When it does click, as on the disco “Greedy” and girl power anthem “Dangerous Woman,” it is nicely summery too.Mudcrutch, “Mudcrutch 2,” Reprise.Some good no-nonsense rock to blast out from the convertible on the way to the beach.For decades, the band Mudcrutch was destined to be a curious footnote in rock history from 1970. The group was known for its somewhat off-putting name written up in reference books, for its accomplished country rock and for being the short-lived act that introduced Tom Petty to the world.There Mudcrutch might have stayed, except Petty didn’t forget his former bandmates. He chose some to support him in the Heartbreakers. Mudcrutch came back together to record a debut album in 2008 and that now it has a sequel. If not the most exciting of Petty side-projects, the records have a consistent theme of memories, chances missed and long roads travelled. Don’t expect anything revolutionary, though the longer tracks such as “Hungry No More” will satisfy any Heartbreakers fan.Eric Clapton, “I Still Do,” Surfdog Records.We may be thankful Clapton, now 71, is still working after his heavy hints about an end to touring and possibly recording. The last few albums have the comfortable, laid-back feel of “Old Sock” in 2013 – bluesy standards, a few originals, and impeccable guitar playing. The cover versions this time include further tributes to Clapton’s friend J.J. Cale on “Can’t Let You Do It” and “Somebody’s Knockin’.” Production is by Glyn Jones, who has worked with Clapton before, most notably the 1977 LP “Slowhand.” The cover is by Sir Peter Blake who previously illustrated “24 Nights.”A few years ago, Clapton shared a stage with Jeff Beck. The other star jumped around and reeled off endlessly flashy solos. Clapton sat quietly, and effortlessly outclassed him without trying. It is good to see him on form; now we wait to hear what emerges with recent sessions with the Rolling Stones.In the meantime, you can chill with a mojito on the summer porch, put this on low and imagine Eric is sitting next to you in the rocking chair, strumming and humming away.Bob Dylan, “Fallen Angels,” Columbia.Dylan’s recent releases have been a patchy mix. He has put out stellar material in the archival “Bootleg Series” such as last year’s “The Cutting Edge. Then there was the impressive “Tempest” with new material. Finally, he had questionable outings such as “Christmas In the Heart.” Last year, when he did a collection of Sinatra covers, “Shadows in the Night,” many thought this yet another sidestep. Dylan is known for his songwriting and few people would suggest he has the pipes to compare with Ol’ Blue Eyes himself. Imagine the surprise, then, with this album, which actually returns to Sinatra with perky numbers such as “Young at Heart” and “It Had to Be You.” They are summery, at least in the way the Christmas album was Christmassy.Anyone who really follows Dylan knows that he can sing better than the proverbial cow with its leg stick in a fence, as he was once described. “Blind Willie McTell” years ago shows that – and actually so do a few of the songs here, which are sensitively arranged in a way that recalls “The Great American Songbook” by Rod Stewart (who also covered “It Had To Be You”) or Johnny Cash’s “American” series produced by Rick Rubin.Richard Ashcroft, “These People,” Cooking Vinyl Records.The leader of the defunct rock act Verve has had a spotty record as a solo artist, with some powerful songs and others that didn’t leap out of the speakers enough to ensure commercial success outside his native Britain. Ashcroft is at his best, as here, when he mixes clever hooks with his trenchant opinions. Whether you agree with his apparent assessment that all politicians are liars, all journalists are cheats and most ordinary people are going to get teargassed in riots (he has a gasmask at the ready on the cover)… at least he has got something to say. If it is just a little irritating, well, there are also stately rock love songs to enjoy such as “This How it Feels,” with strings and echoes of the Verve. Ashcroft tells us: “She went down straight through my veins/ Now I’m back home again/ I've been waiting for/ the sun to come again.”Not as great as “Bittersweet Symphony”, “The Drugs Don’t Work” or “Love Is Noise” but not much is…Judith Owen, “Somebody’s Child,” Twanky Records.This album deserves to be filed under “author should be much better known.” Or even better, this record deserves to be bought and played, and played again.Owen is a singer-songwriter who ranges from gentle rock to catchy pop. Her subject matter is very 2016 in “Send Me a Line,” where she amusingly worries about our addiction to technology and social media. The title track is a more serious reflection: every person, from the homeless to addicts and criminals, is still “Somebody’s Child.”There are names to be dropped here. Owen, from Wales and married to actor Harry Shearer (the voice of many Simpsons characters) is backed by bassist Leland Sklar, who has worked with just about everyone from James Taylor to Dolly Parton. Owen herself has supported Richard Thompson, Bryan Ferry and more, putting a revelatory cover of the latter’s “More Than This” on this lovely album.ABC, “Lexicon of Love 2,” Virgin EMI.The original “Lexicon of Love” in 1982 was a clever rehash of Spector and Motown sounds by ABC from Sheffield, north England. The result was critically and commercially successful. Martin Fry’s lyrics were a flash celebration of clichés, such as the exchange “I thought you loved me, but it seems you don't care” followed by “I care enough to know I can never love you.”That debut album was followed by the flawed, guitar-heavy “Beauty Stab” and ABC lost its way over later releases.While there would be some interest in its first album eight years, it is a stroke of marketing genius to make a follow-up with similar “Lexicon” title and cover – heck, a sequel worked a commercial treat for Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” and Meatloaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” among others.The tracks are all new, yet sound similar to their counterparts all those years ago: like worthy outtakes. “Viva Love” even echoes the “Poison Arrow” video, with Fry looking through opera glasses. Over the perky strings, metaphors are again recklessly mixed: “When lightning strikes you don’t look for shelter/ You’re floating free, gravity defied/ It’s hell for leather on a helter skelter.” It’s back to the 1980s this summer.Click on the slideshow to see more
↧