Various needs are expressed in song (8)
I believe the answer is:
serenade
'song' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'various needs are' is the wordplay.
'various' is an anagram indicator.
'needs'+'are'='needsare'
'needsare' is an anagram of 'SERENADE'.
'expressed in' is the link.
(Other definitions for serenade that I've seen before include "Song sung by suitor" , "Evening music (played outside woman's house)" , "(Romantic?) song or tune" , "Evening love song" , "Music played by lover" .)