Ten years after

New volume of basement lo-fi by unreconstructed rocker in folk clothing

Since it's hard—and possibly verboten—to say a bad word about Tom Waits, unholy shaman of whacked-out Americana, I'll content myself with expressing a few mild reservations. From the startling departure of Swordfishtrombones—over 20 years old now—Tom's every subsequent move has been worth following with avid fascination. But with 2002's simultaneously released Alice and Blood Money, it seemed he was veering off into wilfully art-wank Hal Willner territory.

Royal Trux rise like a filthy phoenix

While There's Much wrong (the script, the acting, the smugness) with Channel 4's slick, rather silly series about transatlantic lovers who are struggling against the odds but, like, have shedloads of money, the soundtrack's wilfully hip. Granted it's put together by the kind of people who think Snow Patrol are cutting edge, but in liking what the music press has told them to like, they've packed an impressive stash of new-ish white boy music onto this.

First UK gig in over 20 years from the Felix and Oscar of dream-folk

Uncut recounted the tale of Fleetwood Mac's improbable reunion at length in May last year (Take 72). Now come two DVD releases commemorating the resumption of rock'n'roll's longest-running soap opera. Live In Boston is a straightforward concert film shot in September 2003 on their first tour in five years. The band clearly miss Christine McVie, the only member of the classic mid-'70s line-up not to participate, and on one level, they offer up stadium rock of the blandest kind.

Recorded last December at the end of the 2003 world tour, it's spooky watching Gary Brooker singing "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" so many years after it scored 1967's summer of love. Yet his voice hasn't altered one iota. A third of the 21 tracks come from their 2003 album, The Well's On Fire. But it's old favourites like "Homburg", "Shine On Brightly" and "A Salty Dog" that command all the attention.

It's an odd time to evaluate Paul Simon's solo career in light of his successful 2004 reunion tour with Art Garfunkel. But maybe all that boomer nostalgia needs a little levity, and the sweep of his solo work proves Simon has never dwelled on the past. The Studio Recordings 1972-2000 is that rare bird—an attempt to collect an artist's entire oeuvre.

Howe Gelb's peripatetic lifestyle captured on record

Songs of alienation and madness from reclusive Chicago genius