After more than 50 years in the music business, Dame Shirley Bassey needs little introduction. The Welsh icon has sold more than 135 million records and remains the only singer ever to record three James Bond theme tunes.

Next week she returns to the spotlight, releasing her first full-length studio album in more than 20 years.

But at 72 does she still possess that unmistakably forceful voice and contagious conviction? The critics certainly think so.

The Times’s chief pop critic, Pete Paphides enthused that The Performance was “fascinating, multilayered”, while her recent outing at the Electric Proms saw reviewer David Sinclair calling it a “commanding return”.

It can't have hurt to have recruited a who’s who of song writers. The Manic Street Preachers, Pet Shop Boys, KT Tunstall and Take That frontman Gary Barlow have all penned numbers for the album.

But if she has a new team of songwriters on board, the Dame continues to work with old, trusted collaborators: David Arnold, the Grammy Award-winner behind the scores for five James Bond films, has produced The Performance.

“I tried to make a record that made the most of that voice and one that could sit alongside her other classic recordings,” he said.

“There isn’t a 'next Shirley Bassey', there never really was and I doubt if there ever will be.

“She's as unique and wonderful today as she has ever been and I hope this record will reach an audience who may never have heard her before, so they can say 'she's got it', and for her fans from the past who can say ‘she's still got it’.”

To celebrate the release of The Performance, Times Online brings you an exclusive free download from the album - I Love You Now, penned by the Kaiser Chief’s Nick Hodgson.

Click here for your free download

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