IT is fair to say that Sade Amu - better known to me, you and a few million others as simply Sade - does not exactly like to rush herself when it comes to matters of her career.

Since the singer released her first album way back in 1984, it has taken her until now to reach album number six and, ‘Soldier Of Love’(Sony) is her first new record in a decade since 2000’s ‘Lovers Rock’ which sold in excess of four million copies in America alone.

Despite her long hiatus, the market and demand for Sade’s music is still very much alive, especially ‘across the pond’, where she is currently holding off the opposition atop the Billboard album chart.

Many an artist in the past who has returned to the music scene after a lengthy absence has found that at least a proportion of their previous fanbase have ‘moved on’, having grown tired of the long wait but that is clearly not so with respect to Sade, who seems to have managed to retain all of her loyal following throughout the period she has been away.

And those fans who have already purchased ‘Soldier Of Love’ are no doubt delighted to have found that Sade’s musical style has changed very little over the years. The Sade ‘brand’, and it is very much a music brand, such is its consistent nature, is all about ultra slick and sophisticated, understated soul, defined by Sade’s rich, languid and sensuous vocals.

The Sade sound is still a perfect backdrop to any dinner party and hotel lobby environment and, to her detractors and yes, despite her huge following there are still plenty of them, Sade’s music remains the very essence of ersatz, contrived soul, devoid of the real feeling and passion they believe is a pre-requisite for the genre.

In their eyes it is nothing more than muzak, which is a ‘dagger through the heart’ kind of insult. Sade’s soul is certainly a million miles away from the type served up in the past by the acknowledged ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin and the likes of Etta James and Gladys Knight but that does not render Sade’s variety bad or imitation soul, hers is simply a more modern, lush, jazzy, silky and laid back, construct of the original but there is no denying its soulfulness, it’s just that this is what is perhaps best termed, ‘quiet-storm’ soul.

On ‘Soldier Of Love’, Sade is reunited with the same trio of musicians she has always worked with, Stuart Mattewman(guitar/saxophone), Paul Denman(bass) and Andrew Hale(keyboards), as well as teaming up again with her long-time producer Mike Pela and the result is a collection of songs that sounds both classic Sade and at times, very current.

The nod to the present comes in the form of some electronic beats, particularly on the title track, elsewhere there is a reggae tinge to the gorgeous ‘Babyfather’, a starkness to the ballad ‘Long Hard Road’, a country lilt on ‘Be That Easy’ and all the familiar Sade vocal poise and sophistication on ‘In Another Time’.

‘Soldier Of Love’ is an album that has been crafted and chiselled to perfection and listening to it, like all previous Sade records, is the aural equivalent of soaking in a hot bath. A smooth operator Sade most definitely remains.

It has always been something of a mystery that Tom Petty’s massive popularity in his American homeland has never been replicated on these shores. He has a loyal following over here for sure but his status is nothing like the same as that of his compatriot, Mr Bruce Springsteen.

Stateside, for the past thirty odd years, Petty has been solid gold rock royalty and a hugely bankable star, especially on the concert circuit where he sells out vast stadiums with easy.

And such is his reputation amongst his fellow musicians that no less a figure than Bob Dylan asked Petty if he and his band (the Heartbreakers) would take on the role of being his backing musicians on a world tour in the late 80’s.

Also, Petty was one quarter of The Travelling Wilburys, undoubtedly the finest supergroup that was ever assembled, along with Messrs Roy Orbison, George Harrison and of course, Dylan himself.

With his signature Byrds influenced chiming guitars and strong melodies, Petty has made consistently fine albums and penned many a song that would be regarded as a rock classic.

He’s all-American but no more so than Springsteen and his songwriting is certainly of a less jingoistic nature than The Boss’s compositions which again makes his relative failing in the UK by comparison perhaps even more difficult to fathom.

However good Tom Petty is on record, he’s better again by half on stage, where he and his trusty Heartbreakers regularly deliver near three hour shows night after night of the tightest, hook-laden, rousing rock and if there is an artist or band that works harder for their audience than Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers then please tell.

Somewhat surprisingly then for a band for whom getting out there and performing on-stage is so much a part of what they are all about, there has been, to date, a distinct shortage of ‘live’ concert recordings available in their catalogue.

Thankfully though, that situation has just been rectified in most splendid fashion in the form of a new box set entitled, ‘Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – The Live Anthology which has gathered together, across 4CDs, forty-eight stunning concert performances spanning Petty’s entire career, perfectly showcasing his magnificent stagecraft.

There’s also a ‘bells and whistles’ deluxe edition of the box set available that provides an additional fourteen cuts on a 5th CD along with DVD extras that include a previously unreleased 1978 New Year’s Eve gig and a documentary, ‘400 Days’ focusing on the recording and tour of the Wildflowers album. And if that wasn’t enough for your money, you further get the remastered 1976 vinyl ‘Official Live Leg’ bootleg and a Blu-ray disc featuring all 62 tracks.

If you’ve chosen not to embrace CDs and you are a vinyl junkie, still preferring the ‘warm’ sound of that format, then you’ll no doubt prefer to buy ‘The Live Anthology’ as a 51 track, 7LP edition.

Whichever version you choose to purchase though, you’ll get to hear great renditions of Petty classics and crowd favourites such as ‘American Girl’, ‘Refugee’, ‘Even The Losers’, ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’, ‘Learning To Fly’, ‘Here Comes My Girl’, ‘Jammin Me’, ‘The Waiting’, ‘Running Down a Dream’, ‘I Won’t Back Down’ and ‘Free Falling’.

‘The Live Anthology’ is an absolute ‘must have’ item for all Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers diehards and it’s a set that will also add value to any self-respecting record collection.