No 13222, Thursday 15 Apr 2021, Karaoke

Solution to 13A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular / novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

Not in the mood today. The news of CV's demise has shocked me.

ACROSS

6   Soldiers overpower informer on the house (6) GRATIS {G{RAT}IS}

7   Speak softly, literally. Calm down! (4,2) COOL IT {COO}{LIT}

10 What a card player expects? An equitable treatment? (1,4,4) A FAIR DEAL [DD]

11 Donor arranged for the musical composition (5) RONDO*

12 Smooth tuneful composition ignores drums essentially (6) FLUENT TUNEFuL*

13 Spooner’s watch showed up five hundred, maybe (4,4) ?A?D ?A?E ()

15 Tent’s top chopped off with sword (4) EPEE tEPEE

16 Veil stripped in high way robbery (5) HEIST {H}{vEIl}{ST}

17 Mess like in High Banks! (4) HASH {Hi{AS}gH}

21 Carry money during journey by air (8) TRANSMIT {TRANS{M}IT}

23 Military force advanced in long suit (6) LAMENT ? (Correction - TALENT {TA}{LENT} - See comments}

25 Cycling monkey species (5) RANGE (+r)RANGE(-r)

26 Angel Falls in continent for relief from pain (9) ANALGESIA {A{ANGEL*}SIA}

27 Radical baseball pitcher (6) LEFTIE [DD]

28 Organised amount reportedly for Shanghai? (6) RANSOM (~ ran sum) Semi&lit

DOWN

1   Time to get comfort missing second prize (8) TREASURE {T}{REASsURE}

2   Repeating appeal to buy historic period’s books (7) ITERANT {IT}{ERA}{NT}

3   Hounds laid bare for strength (5) ASSET bASSETs

4   Ethics broken by arm-twisting companion (7) COMRADE {CO{ARM*}DE}

5   Old maid in Nazi administration (6) ZINNIA*

7   Liberals associate in the growth of Bush or downfall? (8) COLLAPSE {CO{LL}{A}PSE} 

8   Cocktail after lunch with whiskey in the end at 50! (4-7) HALF-CENTURY {AFTER+LUNCH}*{w...eY}

9   Somehow, growing wheat besieged by butterfly family finally (4,4,3) COME WHAT MAY {COM{WHEAT*}MA}{f...lY}

14 Wipe out revolutionary rodents occupying court (8) DECIMATE {D{MICE<=}ATE}

18 French lawyer, senior becomes object of dislike (8) AVERSION {AV}{SENIOR*}

19 Green lights enable upward movements, I hear (7) ASSENTS (~ascents)

20 Sentence becoming different without comma initially (7) HANGING cHANGING 

22 Chimpanzee gets no first aid during breathing difficulty (6) APNOEA {AP{NO}E}{Aid}

24 Group of activists died in custody (5) CADRE {CA{D}RE}

Reference List

High = H, Money = M, Military Force = TA, Time = T, Second = S, Appeal = IT, Books = NT, Liberal = L, Associate = A, French lawyer = AV, Died = D