Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
NICKI MINAJ recently released her new single “Only” featuring Drake, Lil Wayne and Chris Brown in advance of the December 15 debut of her new album The PinkPrint. Minaj’s recent track “Anaconda” was her 51st Hot 100 hit, breaking Michael Jackson’s record of 50, and she shows no sign of slowing down.
NEIL YOUNG never sleeps. The legend’s new 20-track album Storytone, with 10 brand new songs recorded in both solo and orchestral versions, comes out tomorrow. A vinyl edition will follow on December 16.
EVERCLEAR‘s new album Black is The New Black will be out in Spring 2015. In the meantime, vocalist and guitarist Art Alexakis kicks off a North American solo tour November 14 in Ramona, CA.
LEE ANN WOMACK is playing some select U.S. shows this fall before gearing up for 2015’s Country To Country Tour, where she’ll share the bill with Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, and Brandy Clark at venues like London’s O2 Arena and Dublin’s 3Arena.
THE NEW BASEMENT TAPES is essentially a supergroup gathered by producer T Bone Burnett to create new music “founded on a treasure trove of recently discovered lyrics handwritten by Bob Dylan in 1967 during the period that generated the recording of his original Basement Tapes.” The project features Elvis Costello, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Rhiannon Giddens of Carolina Chocolate Drops, Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes. The forthcoming album Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes produced by Burnett will be released November 10, and the latest lyric video is now online.
On December 8 UMC/Capitol will release a new vinyl 7″ collection of R.E.M.‘s Iris Records singles released between 1983 and 1988, featuring replicated original picture sleeve art.
Legacy Recordings will release WILLIE NELSON AND SISTER BOBBIE‘s December Day, the first installment of the Willie’s Stash archival recordings series, on December 2. Described as “An eclectic album collaboration from outlaw country legend Willie Nelson and Sister Bobbie Nelson, December Day debuts intimate new recordings of the siblings performing 18 songs they love,” featuring new versions of songs by Willie (“Permanently Lonely,” “My Old Peculiar Way”) and cover tunes (Al Jolson’s “The Anniversary Song,” Irving Berlin’s “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “What’ll I Do” and “Always”).
SOUNDGARDEN‘s latest release will be a 3-CD rarities collection, Echo Of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across The Path, out November 24 in box set, digital, and 14-track single CD form.
The JASON MARSALIS VIBES QUARTET is on tour supporting their just-released second album The 21st Century Trad Band. Marsalis plays a variety of mallet instruments including marimba, glockenspiel, tubular bells, xylophone, and of course vibraphone. Accompanying him are Will Goble on bass, Austin Johnson on piano, and David Potter on drums.
CRACKER‘s 10th studio album, Berkeley To Bakersfield, comes out December 9 on 429 Records. The “Bakersfield” disc leans country while “Berkeley” shows the group’s California rock edge.
Finally, we’ll take a moment to remember the late Jack Bruce, bassist and singer for CREAM, who died last week. A vinyl boxed set of Cream’s studio and live recordings comes out November 24 on 180-gram vinyl, with exact reproductions of the original artwork. It includes all the albums by the trio of Bruce, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker: Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, Wheels of Fire, Goodbye, Live Cream, and Live Cream Volume II. R.I.P. Jack.
