DUA LIPA
Live From The Royal Albert Hall (Warner)
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Accompanied by an orchestra, band, backing singers and a burgundy-suited Elton John -- who arrived for an encore of Cold Heart (Pnau Remix) -- Dua dazzled as she headlined the Royal Albert Hall for the first time in October. The show has since yielded an ITV special (still available on ITVX) and now a live album, out on double vinyl (£40), CD (£12) and digitally.
A number of glaring omissions meant the show fell short of a career-spanning spectacular. The concert focused on this year's Radical Optimism LP. Greeted with a lukewarm response on its release in May, its dance bangers took on fresh life in a symphonic setting. End Of An Era, co-written with Tame Impala's Kevin Parker, assumed the mantle of a 1970s-style Philadelphia soul anthem. Piano ballad Anything For Love was sung with drama and poise.
A number of glaring omissions, including the singles Physical, Break My Heart and New Rules, meant that the show fell short of being a career-spanning spectacular. But pop's most glamorous It Girl, despite shying away from soul-baring revelations onstage, is an unstoppable force. You wonder what she'll do next. A Bond theme, perhaps?
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
Symphony Of Lungs (UMC)
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The grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall was also the perfect setting for Florence Welch to reinvent her gothic debut album, Lungs, as a symphonic suite. Backed by Jules Buckley's orchestra, the theatrical diva was in her element at her BBC Prom. Available to watch on iPlayer, it's also out as a digital album, with a CD (£14) and double vinyl LP (£40) coming in March.
The excellent acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall can amplify any vocal flaws, but Welch rose to the occasion. Playing the album in full, she added four B-Side tracks to make this a substantial, as well as stylish, show.
DEF LEPPARD
One Night Only: Live At The Leadmill (Mercury Studios)
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Ahead of a tour that saw them visit Wembley Stadium and Bramall Lane -- home of frontman Joe Elliott's beloved Sheffield United -- guitar giants Def Leppard played a benefit concert in Sheffield's Leadmill nightclub, one of many UK grassroots music venues currently facing an uncertain future.
The gig in front of just 850 fans has now been immortalised on a live album available on CD (£13), double vinyl (£36), DVD/CD (£20) and Blu-ray/CD (£22).
Leppard are heavy metal heroes, but there's a pop edge to their sound, too. They once played a show in Nashville with Taylor Swift, and highlights of this hour-long album include the pop-metal crossover hit Pour Some Sugar On Me and a version of glam rock band Sweet's 1975 single Action.
TEARS FOR FEARS
Songs For A Nervous Planet (Concord)
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Live albums are getting more innovative. This one is a hybrid, combining a Tears For Fears gig from Tennessee with four new songs recorded in the studio. It's out as a double CD (£15), double LP (£32) and digitally.
Bath duo Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were portrayed as a po-faced synth-pop band when they emerged in the 1980s with singles like Mad World and Pale Shelter (both included here), but they've matured into an accomplished live act: their slick wall of sound blends electronics with traditional rock guitars and keyboards.
There are songs here from 2022's The Tipping Point, plus older singalongs including Everybody Wants To Rule The World and Shout. Woman In Chains, from 1989's Seeds Of Love, is a slow-burning centrepiece. Of the new tracks, Astronaut is a stunning ballad, and The Girl That I Call Home a love song dedicated to Roland's wife Emily.
WHITNEY HOUSTON
The Concert For A New South Africa (Legacy)
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Remastered to mark the 30th anniversary of Houston's 1994 tour of South Africa -- the first visit by a major Western star in the post-apartheid era -- this album captures Whitney in her prime. A film of the gig, from Durban, was shown in UK cinemas in October, and an edited version is now out on CD (£14) and double vinyl (£36).
Highlights abound, with Whitney’s sky-scraping voice hitting the high notes on Saving All My Love For You, before a finale featuring tracks from her 1992 soundtrack to The Bodyguard: a funky cover of Chaka Khan’s I’m Every Woman and a ten-minute take on I Will Always Love You.
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