Billed as the legendary, now-octogenarian singer and songwriter’s 30th album, Inspirations of Life and Love proves to be a surprisingly melancholy Valentine’s Week release, if a quite moving one. It was recorded mostly at Paul Anka’s home studio in California, although he’s backed by a symphony orchestra that was recorded in Budapest. With 11 tracks in all, the album combines a little bit of everything as far as sourcing goes, with a mix of covers, re-recorded Anka hits from decades past, brand-new original songs, and in one case, a first-time Anka recording of a song he co-wrote with Michael Jackson for Jackson. That song, “Love Never Felt So Good,” appeared on the posthumous Jackson album Xscape in 2014. Anka puts a warmer, springlike spin on that upbeat,…
