With more than 100 new CDs dropping this week -- but surprisingly few reissues, oddly enough -- this could shape up to be one of the hottest summer Tuesdays for new releases. But sifting through the stores, you're bound to see a few standouts hogging most of the attention. That being said, there's a colony of underdogs who deserve some playing time too. So here's this week's onslaught in easy-to-digest capsule form: the Big Guns and Small Shooters who are ready to unload.
Big Guns:
- Paris Hilton: Those who don't guiltily grab the heiress' debut for the sexy artwork alone will probably do so because they're still bopping along to her unexpected club smash, "Stars Are Blind." But there's more to Paris than meets the eye -- no, really -- including a limited-edition version that's waxed up with a 30-minute bonus DVD of in-the-studio and interview gems. Priceless indeed.
Outkast: Will 'Kast's "Idlewild" soundtrack fare better than the film itself? Place yer bets. The musical accompaniment doesn't have any video bonuses -- you'll probably have to wait until the DVD for that -- but it does feature spots by ubiquitous Outkast guests Sleepy Brown and Killer Mike, as well as film co-star Macy Gray. There's also a song called "Chronomentrophobia" -- how can you go wrong with that? Kelis: After droves slurped up her Tasty "Milkshake" back in 2003, it's about time Harlem, New York's R&B maiden quenched people's thirst. Her fourth effort features Too Short on the lead single ("Bossy"), while Nas, Will.I.Am and Cee-Lo crop up elsewhere. With her "Step Up" soundtrack contribution giving her an extra boost, she could be leaving quite the mark with Kelis Was Here. J Dilla: His death may not have had the same impact as Hendrix's, but the recently deceased Jay Dee drew an outpouring of grief from big-name rappers who considered him the genre's unsung production hero. His debut, The Shining, reflects that support, featuring Busta Rhymes, Common, D'Angelo and Pharoahe Monch, among others. Luther Vandross: Another recently fallen beloved artist, the R&B singer makes his way back into the record racks, posthumously, with The Ultimate Luther Vandross. The collector's edition has a bonus DVD bristling with seven remixes, but two unreleased tunes he recorded before his death in July 2005 appear on both versions: "Got You Home" and the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced "Shine." Prince: Also getting the Ultimate treatment is another veteran who's still very much going strong. The two-CD tip o' the cap has the hits plus obscure remixes of "Raspberry Beret" and "Hot Thing." While you've got that in your hand, head over to the DVD section of your store of choice for "Diamonds and Pearls." The 12-clip collection also chalks up concert highlights, interviews and Prince and his band running through Aretha Franklin's "Dr. Feelgood." DJ Kay Slay: With this week's hip-hop competition as hot as it's been all year, Kay and Greg Street might have a hard time living up to the title of their collaborative The Champions: The North Meets the South. Then again, with guest spots by more names than you can shake a stick at, the duo might get all the boost they need. On their red carpet are Busta Rhymes, Chamillionaire, Lil Wayne, Shaq Diesel, Cassidy, Paul Wall, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Remy Ma, Ghostface, Lil Jon and another pal or five you may have heard of. Danity Kane: Will the latest "Making the Band" act make bank with its debut? The self-titled affair isn't just backed by executive producer Diddy, though: Also sharing their wisdom with the newcomers are Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Mario Winans and Bryan-Michael Cox, all of whom spend some time behind the boards. Lamb of God: Switching gears just a wee bit, the death-metal deacons are dishing up "Foot to the Throat," "More Time to Kill" and "Walk With Me in Hell" as part of their very unholy Sacrament. The deluxe edition lives up to its name with 90 minutes' worth of content, including up-close-and-personal segments, the director's-cut versions of two videos and more. Roar. Casualties: With an ever-growing fanbase, lotsa lovin' from Los Angeles' Indie 103.1 FM and some raucous gigs on this year's Warped Tour, could the NYC throwback punks be this year's Billboard albums chart surprise? Produced by ex-Black Flag and Descendents member Bill Stevenson, Under Attack rips into the government's botched Katrina effort ("System Failed Us ... Again"), the music business at large ("Fallen Heroes") and, without a doubt, your eardrums. Small Shooters:
- Cursive: They're best buds with Bright Eyes and landed on the cover of the New York Times Sunday arts section the last time they put out a studio LP. With Happy Hollow -- featuring "So-So Gigolo," "Dorothy Dreams of Tornadoes" and "The Sunks" -- could even bigger and better things be in store for Tim Kasher and company?
Tortoise: There's too much to name going into the Chicago band's four-disc A Lazarus Taxon -- out-of-print material, compilation contributions, every video the collective has made -- but with a second shipment of the box set already being ordered, more than a few fans are shelling out for this one. Radio Birdman: Twenty-five years after the Radio short-circuited, the Australians are back with a new album, giving them something to shout about when they kick off their first U.S. tour ever on August 30. A lucky 13 tracks populate Zeno Beach, including the exceedingly appropriate "We've Come So Far (To Be Here Today)." Headlights: Just over three years ago, indie rockers the Jealous Sound put out a record called Kill Them With Kindness. Now they'll be facing a new Google-search challenger in the Headlights, whose debut of the same name features the playfully titled "The Midwest Is the Best," "Pity City" and "Hi-Ya!" Pajo: You might know him from Billy Corgan's short-lived Zwan, and probably don't know him from indier-than-thou projects like Papa M and Ariel M, but David Pajo's giving you another chance to meet him, this time as simply Pajo. What happens in 1968? Give it a spin and find out. Early Day Miners: Producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan) has a protégé in Daniel Burton, and Burton has a few friends in Black Mountain's Amber Webber, Windsor for the Derby's Johnathon Ford and Tortoise's John McEntire. They all chime in on EDM's six-song, 37-minute Offshore. F--- the Facts: Who knew Ottawa was such a brutal place? The Relapse grind band does seem to have a sense of humor, though, piling tracks like "The Sound of Your Smashed Head" onto its equally sardonically titled Stigmata High-Five. Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band: And speaking of the facts, let's get these ones straight: New York psych-folkie Wooden Wand is prolific. His solo LP Harem of the Sundrum and the Witness Figg was reissued in May. Four records he's made with the Vanishing Voice have dropped since June 2005. And now he's got Second Attention with the Sky High Band -- which features Vanishing members -- added onto his résumé. Got it? Good. Spencer Dickinson: Here's another one that needs some clarification. Jon Spencer has made a name for himself with his Blues Explosion, Pu--- Galore and more projects. Jim Dickenson is an iconic producer who's worked with the Replacements, Big Star and many others. His sons Luther and Cody Dickenson make up the North Mississippi Allstars. Spencer Dickinson is none of, but rather all of, these guys. Got it? Good. Lambchop: And what's a new-releases day like without some stuff by Nashville's favorite chamber-country-crazies? Damaged is the band's 10th studio LP and is the collaborative result of 17 folks. Make some room in your cart for Kurt Wagner's squad -- if you still have any room left, that is. "The 23 Things That Rhyme With Darby Crash" from Guttermouth's Shave the Planet
ActionReaction - 3 Is the Magic Number (Equal Vision) Against Me - Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!! (enhanced; Fat Wreck Chords) Agallah - Purple City Presents the Don Bishop Agallah You Already Know (Babygrande) Alexisonfire - Crisis (Vagrant) Geri Allen - Timeless Portraits and Dreams (two CDs; Telarc) Eric Bachmann - To the Races (Saddle Creek) Lullaby Baxter - Garden Cities of To-morrow (Boompa) Boys Like Girls - Boys Like Girls (Red Ink) Broadcast - Future Crayon (Warp) Anne Hampton Callaway - Blues in the Night (SACD; Telarc) Casualties - Under Attack (Side One Dummy) Crazy Frog - Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits (enhanced; Universal) Cursive - Happy Hollow (Saddle Creek) Danity Kane - Danity Kane (Bad Boy) Read: [article id="1536882"]"Can Diddy's Band Make It? Danity Kane Hope They've Got A 'Show Stopper' "[/article]
Darker My Love - Darker My Love (Dangerbird) Deadsy - Phantasmagore (Immortal) Deicide - The Stench of Redemption (Earache) Spencer Dickinson - The Man Who Lives for Love (Yep Roc) Early Day Miners - Offshore (Secretly Canadian) Easy Star All-Stars - Radiodread (Easy Star) Edgewater - We're Not Robots (Rock Ridge) Eliane Elias - Around the City (RCA) Eluvium - When I Live by the Garden and the Sea (Temporary Residence) Tommy Emmanuel - The Mystery (Favored Nations) Tobias Fröberg - Somewhere in the City (Cheap Lullaby) F--- the Facts - Stigmata High-Five (Relapse) Goat - Twisted Heart (Engine Room) Gojira - From Mars to Sirius (Prosthetic) Golem - Fresh Off Boat (JDub) Gosling - Here Is ... (V2) Gov't Mule - High & Mighty (Red Ink) Pat Green - Cannonball (BNA) Guttermouth - Shave the Planet (Volcom) Sophie B. Hawkins - Bad Kitty Board Mix (live; two CDs; Trumpet Swan) Headlights - Kill Them With Kindness (Polyvinyl) Paris Hilton - Paris (limited edition with DVD due same day; Warner Bros.) Read: [article id="1533187"]"Paris Hilton's Debut Merges Hip-Hop, Reggae, Rod Stewart"[/article]
Gary Hoey - American Made (Surfdog) Intronaut - Void (Goodfellow) J Dilla - The Shining (BBE) Judah Johnson - Be Where I Be (Flameshovel) Jonny Lives! - Get Steady (Eleven Seven Music) DJ Kay Slay & Greg Street - The Champions: The North Meets the South (Koch) Kelis - Kelis Was Here (Jive) Read: [article id="1517626"]"Kelis Preparing To Get 'Bossy' With Her Next 'Strong Kind Of Girl Record' "[/article]
Lake featuring Cormega - My Brother's Keeper (Fastlife) Lamb of God - Sacrament (deluxe edition with DVD due same day; Epic) Read: [article id="1517626"]"Lamb Of God Ease Up On Bush But Get Deep Musically On Sacrament"[/article]
Lambchop - Damaged (Merge) Last Ditch Remedy - The Following (Cake) Layzie Bone - The New Revolution (enhanced; Thump) Luca - Sick of Love (Funzalo) Maná - Amar Es Combatir (WEA Latina) Mercenary - The Hours That Remain (Century Media) Mercy Killers - Bloodlove (Hellcat) Amy Millian - Honey From the Tombs (Arts & Crafts) The Minders - Bright Guilty World (Future Farmer) Roger Miret & the Disasters - My Riot (Sailor's Grave) Misery Signals - Mirrors (Ferret) Monsieur Leroc - I'm Not Young, but I Need the Money (Cornerstone RAS) Mountain Goats - Get Lonely (4AD) Mouth of the Architect - The Ties That Blind (Translation Lost) My Brightest Diamond - Bring Me the Workhorse (Asthmatic Kitty) Necrophobic - Hrimthursum (Candlelight) NoMeansNo - All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt (Ant Acid Audio) Nouvelle Vague - Bande A'Part (limited-edition version with three bonus tracks; Luaka Bop) Jennifer O'Connor - Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars (Matador) Inca Ore with Lemon Bear's Orchestra - The Birds in the Bushes (5 Rue Christine) Outkast - Idlewild (La Face) Read: [article id="1535697"]"Missing Outkast? They've Already Lined Up Three 'Idlewild' Singles"[/article]
Lee Scratch Perry - Panic in Brooklyn (with bonus CD; Narnack) Poisonblack - Lust Stained Despair (Century Media) Doc Powell - Doc Powell (Heads Up) Primal Scream - Riot City Blues (enhanced; Columbia) Radio Birdman - Zeno Beach (Yep Roc) Ratatat - Classics (XL/ Beggars Banquet) Razorlight - Razorlight (enhanced; Universal) Geoff Reacher - Avec Reacher C'est Plus Sûr (Orange Twin) Lee Ritenour - Smoke 'N' Mirrors (Peak) Carina Round - Slow Motion Addict (WoME/ Interscope) Second Story Man - Red Glows Brighter (Mile 11) Skye - Mind How You Go (Cordless) PF Sloan - Sailover (Hightone) Snowden - Anti-Anti (Jade Tree) Starsailor - On the Outside (Adrenaline Music) Susanna and the Magical Orchestra - Melody Mountain (Rune Grammafon) Terrorfakt - Teethgrinder (Metropolis) Terrorizer - Darker Days Ahead (Century Media) /music/artist/terrorizer/artist.jhtml#/music/artist/terrorizer/albums.jhtml">Buy Now: Darker Days Ahead (Century Music)
Thermals - The Body, the Blood, the Machine (Sub Pop) Threat Signals - Under Reprisal (enhanced; Nuclear Blast) Traindodge - Wolves (Ascetic) Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional (enhanced; Domino) Turn Me on Dead Man - Technicolour Mother (Alternative Tentacles) Vaeda - State of Nature (Playtime) Chad VanGaalen - Skelliconnection (Sub Pop) Verona Downs - The Light Reaction (EP; Empyrean) Walls of Jericho - With Devils Amongst Us All (Trustkill) Natalie Walker - Urban Angel (Dorado) What Made Milwaukee Famous - Trying to Never Catch Up (Barsuk) Nancy Wilson - Turned to Blue (MCG Jazz) With Blood Comes Cleansing - Golgotha (Blood & Ink) Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band - Second Attention (Kill Rock Stars) Various artists - One Meatball: The Album - The Cookbooklet (Appleseed) Various artists - Gigantour (two CDs; Image Entertainment) Various artists - Girls Got Rhythm (Liquor & Poker) Various artists - Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, & Chanteys (two CDs; Anti) Various artists - "Clerks II" soundtrack (Bulletproof) Various artists - "Invincible" soundtrack (Hollywood) Notable Reissues and Archival Material:
Aldo Nova - The Best of Aldo Nova (Portrait/ Legacy) Vaughn DeLeath - Ukulele Lady (ASV Living Era) Merle Haggard - Back to the Barrooms (MCA Special Products) Wilbert Harrison - An Introduction to Wilbert Harrison (Fuel) Dave Hollister - The Definitive Collection (Hip-O) Patti LaBelle - The Definitive Collection (Geffen) The Marshall Tucker Band - Live on Long Island 04-18-80 (Shout! Factory) Jelly Roll Morton - The Complete Library of Congress Recordings (eight-CD box set; Rounder) New Riders of the Purple Sage - The Best of New Riders of the Purple Sage (Columbia/ Legacy) Prince - Ultimate Prince (two CDs; Rhino) Boz Scaggs - Hits! (Columbia/ Legacy) Stark Naked - Stark Naked (Fallout) Candy Staton - The Ultimate Gospel Collection (two CDs; Shanachie) Tortoise - A Lazarus Taxon (box set with three CDs and one DVD; Thrill Jockey) Luther Vandross - The Ultimate Luther Vandross (collector's edition due same day with bonus CD of remixes due same day; J/ Epic/ Legacy) Mae West - Come Up and See Me Sometime (ASV Living Era) Windsor for the Derby - Calm Hades Float and Minnie Greunzfeldt (Secretly Canadian) Various artists - Crunk Hits Vol. 2 (TVT) Black Label Society - "The European Invasion: Doom Troopin' - Live" (Eagle Vision) Chris Botti - "Live With Orchestra & Special Guests" (with CD; Columbia) Jimmy Cliff - "The Harder They Come - Film & Soundtrack Special Edition" (Xenon) James Brown - "Live at Montreux 1981" (Eagle Vision) Steve Earle - "Live at Montreux 2005" (Eagle Vision) John Entwistle - "An Ox's Tale" (Image Entertainment) Pixies - "Acoustic: Live in Newport" (Eagle Vision) Prince - "Diamonds and Pearls" (Rhino) Rainbow - "Live in Munich 1977" (Eagle Vision) Lou Rawls - "The Lou Rawls Show: With Duke Ellington; Hal Leonard) U.S. Bombs - "Explosion" (2B1) Suzanne Vega - "Live at Montreux 2004" (with CD; Eagle Vision) Various artists - "Afro-Punk: The Movie That Sparked the Movement" (Image Entertainment) Various artists - "Burn to Shine 3: Portland, OR, 06.15.05" (Trixie) Various artists - "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy: The Concert for New Orleans" (two DVDs; Rhino) Various artists - "MusicCares Presents a Tribute To Brian Wilson" (Eagle Vision) Tego Calderón - The Underdog/ El Subestimado (Atlantic) Method Man - 4:21 ... The Day After (Def Jam) Read: [article id="1533408"]"Method Man Drops Diddy, Seeks Clarity On New LP, 4:21 ... The Day After"[/article]
Roots - Game Theory (Def Jam) Jessica Simpson - A Public Affair (Epic) Read: [article id="1527806"]"Jessica Simpson Album Shifts Gears Along With Personal Life"[/article]
Too Short - Blow the Whistle (Jive) Pete Yorn - Nightcrawler (Red Ink) Read: [article id="1534091"]"Dave Grohl Helps Pete Yorn Rock, Tupac Inspires Him To Be Prolific"[/article]
Young Dro - Best Thang Smokin' (Atlantic) Audioslave - Revelations (Epic) Read: [article id="1527383"]"New Audioslave LP: 'Led Zeppelin Meets Earth, Wind & Fire' "[/article]
Beyoncé - B'Day (Columbia) Read: [article id="1533201"]"Beyonce's Triple Threat: New Album, Film, Fashion Line Before Year's End"[/article]
Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death (limited edition with bonus DVD due same day; Sanctuary) John Mayer - Continuum (Columbia) N.O.R.E. y la Familia - Ya Tú Sabe (Roc-A-Fella) Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds (Jive) Read: [article id="1538469"]"Justin Previews New Tracks At Hollywood Show With Help From Will.I.Am, Timbaland"[/article]
