New Releases: Ryan Cabrera, Tupac, David Banner, Maroon 5, Coheed And Cambria, Disturbed
Look Out: Ryan Cabrera might not have finished high school, but he's certainly got skills, having produced his second record, You Stand Watching, all by himself. On top of that, he recorded the sucker in a mere three weeks. Tracks include: "Shine On" (first single), "Hit Me With Your Light" and "It's You."
Pollinating Pac: The Rose, Vol. 2 - Music Inspired by Tupac's Poetry commemorates the ninth anniversary of the rapper's death and finds Ludacris, Memphis Bleek, Talib Kweli and others using Pac's poetry as a launch pad for songs of their own. Teenagers Morgan McKenzie and Amber Granderson bring his story full-circle with the final track, "Poetry"; they're students at Pac's Kids, a summer performing-arts camp set up in memory of the rapper. Tracks include: "In the Depths of Solitude" (featuring Ludacris), "Power of a Smile" (featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony) and "Life Through My Eyes" (featuring Memphis Bleek and Tupac).
5 Alive: Maroon 5 flipped the name of their CD/DVD combo collection from Live at the Santa Barbara Bowl to the more foreboding Live - Friday the 13th. It's hitched with a bonus DVD featuring an interview with writer/director Mitch Glaser and a photo montage consisting of behind-the-scenes and live footage. Tracks include: "Wasted Years" (unreleased song), "Hello" (Oasis cover) and "She Will Be Loved."
A Novel Idea: As if Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness wasn't enough to chew on, Coheed and Cambria are putting out a 118-page graphic novel to coincide with the long-winded release. Good Apollo tracks include: "Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)," "The Suffering" and "Crossing the Frame."
DualDiscs Galore: Adding extra incentives for fans to buy instead of burn, the video portion of Bon Jovi's limited-edition Have a Nice Day DualDisc has five live clips from a November 2004 gig in Atlantic City, New Jersey, plus a behind-the-scenes video for the title track and a sticker to boot. Flip over Jamiroquai's Dynamite and you'll find two videos and an interview, while David Banner's Certified has some top-secret video goodies.
As Heard On TV: With the Emmys still fresh, the record racks are crossing over into TV land with the "Desperate Housewives" soundtrack (featuring Liz Phair, Macy Gray and Joss Stone); Rock Star: A Night at the Mayan Theatre, a companion to the INXS show; and "American Idol" contender LaToya London's Love & Life. Also, PBS packages three of its specials in video-disc form: the Martin Scorsese-directed Dylan biopic "No Direction Home"; the Carter Family's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"; and "The Sixties: The Years That Shaped a Generation."
Astral Week: Tupac Shakur's The Rose, Vol. 2 captures Talib Kweli wishing on a "Fallen Star"; George Michael decides to "Blame It on the Sun" on Ray Charles' Genius & Friends; Coheed and Cambria take off with Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness; Pilotdrift see "Comets" on Water Sphere; and Trio da Paz "Look to the Sky" on Somewhere. In the meantime, Earth (Hex [Or Printing in the Infernal Method]) and Earth, Wind & Fire (Illumination) stay closer to home. Also going the global route are Alicia Keys and Jermaine Paul ("If This World Were Mine," on So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross); Anthax ("In My World," on Alive 2 (2005)); Jordis Unga (covering David Bowie's "Man Who Sold the World," on Rock Star); Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash ("King of the World," on Mile Markers); Most Precious Blood ("World War You," on Merciless); Bif Naked ("The World Is Over," on Superbeautifulmonster); New Order ("World in Motion," on their "A Collection" DVD); Cage ("Perfect World," on Hell's Winter); the Last Dance ("World Down," on Once Beautiful); and the Cruxshadows ("Edge of the World," on the "Sleepwatching: Volume 1" comp).
Song Titles Of The Week:
Other Notables:
Miri Ben-Ari's The Hip-Hop Violinist and Ray Charles' Genius & Friends: The Jay-Z/Wyclef collaborator has arrived at long last, and she joins forces on her maiden release with Kanye, Fabolous and Musiq ("Fly Away"); Scarface ("Sunshine to the Rain"); and John Legend and Consequence ("I've Been Waiting on You"). Don't miss the bonus reggaetón remix of "Jump & Spread Out," with Fatman Scoop, Zion, Lennox and Pitbull along for the ride. John Legend also crops up on Genius & Friends, which also features Mary J. Blige, Diana Ross and Angie Stone. (And, on that note, Rhino issues the behemoth Pure Genius: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1952-1959) the same day.)
Disturbed's Ten Thousand Fists: The metal band enlisted comic-book guru Todd McFarlane for a special edition of its latest; he crafts original art for the expanded, 24-page booklet. Previously, iTunes offered a video for "Stricken," a bonus track ("Monster") and a McFarlane sketch with pre-orders.
So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross, Love to Love You, Baby: A Tribute to Donna Summer and The Killer in You: A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins: The speedily released Vandross tribute corrals Beyoncé, Elton John, Wyclef and Donna Summer, who gets her own salute the same day via Tom Tom Club, Soft Cell, Heart and others. On the other end of the spectrum, Poison the Well, A Static Lullaby and Hopesfall give Smashing Pumpkins a metalcore makeover with The Killer in You.
New Releases:
Read: [article id="1501362"]"Blessed By Lil Scrappy, Produced By Lil Jon, David Banner Gets Certified"[/article]
Read: "Violinist Miri Ben-Ari Enlists Mya, Fabolous, Kanye West For Hip-Hop Debut" 1485394
Read: [article id="1508270"]"Ryan Cabrera's Love-Song LP Isn't All About Ashlee"[/article]
Read: [article id="1500604"]"Coheed And Cambria Map Out Final Stages Of Their Convoluted Saga"[/article]
Read: [article id="1500160"]"Disturbed Songs Will Be 'United In Anger' On Third Album"[/article]
Read: [article id="1493191"]"R. Kelly, Timbaland Help Ray J Bring The Heat On Raydiation"[/article]
Notable Reissues:
DVDs:
Coming Attractions:
September 27:
Read: [article id="1506680"]"Lil' Kim's Wrath For 50, Foxy Has No Bounds On Naked Truth"[/article]
October 4:
Read: [article id="1506715"]"Fiona Apple's Long-Delayed LP Slotted For October 4 Release"[/article]
Read: [article id="1506680"]"Set A Man On Fire, Name Next LP - Franz Ferdinand Do Whatever They Want"[/article]
October 11:
Read: [article id="1505972"]"Alicia Keys Taps Mos Def, Common For 'Inspired' 'Unplugged' "[/article]
Read: [article id="1506955"]"Ashlee Remembers 'SNL' Incident But Forgets Boys On New LP"[/article]
