Who better to talk about Love & Life than Mary J. Blige? And who better to take the reins on the new album than P. Diddy, the producer responsible for getting Mary's career off the ground more than a decade ago? That's not the only reunion on Love & Life -- the single "Love @ 1st Sight" features one of Blige's best-remembered collaborators, Method Man. But this record isn't just a rehashing of Blige's former formulae: She's got new blood in the form of 50 Cent on "Let Me Be the 1" and Eve on "Not Today."
Warren Zevon's The Wind was recorded after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer (see [article id="1457439"]"Singer Warren Zevon Terminally Ill"[/article]) and features special guests Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne and Dwight Yoakam. In a clear allusion to his state of health, Zevon covers "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and closes the album with the ballad "Keep Me in Your Heart."
Metamorphosis, the sweet-rock debut LP by actress Hilary Duff, features the single "So Yesterday," written and produced by the Matrix. Meanwhile, Phish bassist Mike Gordon, fresh off of his backstage misunderstanding involving a 9-year-old girl and his subsequent arrest for child endangerment (see [article id="1476993"]"Phish Bassist Arrested For Child Endangerment"[/article] ), makes the news for a more pleasant reason this week: his new album, Inside In.
The Bronx, a California foursome who were both formed and signed within nine months, release their self-titled debut alongside rapstress 24K's album Quotable and Brookville's Wonderfully Nothing, which features James Iha.
The Nappy Roots return with their second major-label album, Wooden Leather, and the lead single "Roun' the Globe," which is their attempt to show the world they're not Kentucky-fried country bumpkins. But rather, we all are.
Gary Anglin and the Voices of CCC - Gary Anglin and the Voices of CCC (Eagle) Art Ensemble of Chicago - Tribute to Lester (ECM) Ben Atkins - Mabelle (HighTone) Avenged Sevenfold - Waking the Fallen (Hopeless) Mary J. Blige - Love & Life (Geffen) Joe Bonamassa - Blues Deluxe (Medalist) Boo & Gotti - Perfect Timing (Universal) Bouncing Souls - Anchors Aweigh (Epitaph) Rick Braun - Esperanto (Warner Bros.) Bright Calm Blue - Direct Approach for Casual Conversation (EP, Level Plane) The Bronx - The Bronx (White Drugs/Ferret) Brookville - Wonderfully Nothing (Unfiltered) The Business - Hardcore Hooligan (BYO) Michel Camilo - Live at the Blue Note (2 CDs, Telarc Jazz) Caribbean Jazz Project - Birds of a Feather (Concord Picante) John Carty - At It Again (Shanachie) Tommy Castro/Lloyd Jones/Jimmy Hall - Triple Trouble (Telarc) The Chesterfield Kings - The Mindbending Sounds of ... (Sundazed) Clearlake - Almost the Same (EP, Domino) Client - Client (Mute/Toast Hawaii) Dressy Bessy - Dressy Bessy (Kindercore) Hilary Duff - Metamorphosis (Buena Vista) Envy - A Dead Sinking Story (Level Plane) Forty Foot Echo - Forty Foot Echo (Hollywood) Scott Gibson - Make Ready (Hayden's Ferry) Glasseater - Everything Is Beautiful When You Don't Look Down (Victory) Mike Gordon - Inside In (Ropeadope/Atlantic) Growing - The Sky's Run Into the Sea (Kranky) Hamell on Trial - Tough Love (Righteous Babe) The Havoc - Our Rebellion Has Just Begun (Punkcore) The Heavenly States - Heavenly States (Future Farmer) Hella - Total Bugs Bunny on Wild Bass (EP, Narnack) Hot Shots - Jubilee (Sundazed) Stacey Kent - The Boy Next Door (Candid) Bill Mallonee - Perfumed Letter (Paste) T.S. Monk - Higher Ground (Thelonious/Hyena) Joye B. Moore - The Cocoon (Moore Music/Lightyear) Nappy Roots - Wooden Leather (Atlantic) Read: [article id="1472192"]"Nappy Roots Out To Show They're Not Just Country Boys"[/article]
Aaron Neville - Nature Boy: The Standards Album (Verve) Overseer - Wreckage (Columbia) Pedal Steel Transmission - The Angel of the Squared Circle (Cardboard Sangria) Pepe Deluxe - Beatitude (Emperor Norton) Pigeon John - Is Dating Your Sister (Basement) Po' Girl - Po' Girl (HighTone) Pro-Pain - Run for Cover (Spitfire) Radio 4 - Electrify (EP, Astralwerks) Josh Rouse - 1972 (Rykodisc) Eric Sardinas - Black Pearls (Favored Nations) Simply Red - Home (SimplyRed.com) Soundtrak - Soundtrak (EP, Ace-Fu) Streetlight Manifesto - Everything Goes Numb (Victory) Jimmy Sturr - Let's Polka 'Round (Rounder) The Talk - No, You Shut Up! (MoRisen) Vaz - Dying to Meet You (Gold Standard Laboratories) Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site (Epitaph) Keller Williams - Home (SCI Fidelity) Pamela Williams - The Perfect Love (Shanachie) Gerald Wilson - New York, New Sound (Mack Avenue) Warren Zevon - The Wind (Artemis) Various artists - Exile on Blues Street (Telarc) Various artists - The Future Is My Melody (Den of Thieves/Milan) Various artists - "Jeepers Creepers 2" soundtrack (Varese Sarabande) Various artists - "Sweet Charity" soundtrack (Decca) Various artists - Uncorrupted Steel 2 (Metal Blade) Various artists- Verve Remixed 2 (Verve) DVD Atomic Kitten - Right Here, Right Now: Live (Eagle Vision) DVD Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - God Is in the House (Mute) DVD Cher - The Farewell Tour (Image Entertainment) DVD Sinéad O'Connor - Goodnight, Thank You. You've Been a Lovely Audience (Eagle Vision) Mariah Carey - Remixes (Sony) Raveonettes- Chain Gang of Love (Sony) John Mayer - Heavier Things (Sony) Read: [article id="1474672"]"John Mayer Tries Hip-Hop With Help From Roots' ?uestlove"[/article]
Seal - Seal (Warner Bros.) Elvis Costello - North (Universal) Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance (Interscope) Read: [article id="1473437"]"Bubba Sparxxx Softens Bumpkin Image, Teams Up With Justin For A 'Hootnanny' "[/article]
Carnie Wilson - For the First Time (KMA) Jin - Almost Famous (Virgin) 
