Woo doggies, but it's hardcore grrrrrrrrrl power this week in new releases. For starters, Sinead O'Connor has an album of reggae covers called Throw Down Your Arms recorded with Sly and Robbie. Sinead's obviously a high album to hear. The wicked Monkey flings poo in my ear to mock my devotion to Sinead. Still, this is sounding like a pretty good album.
Yet even higher to hear than Sinead, Fiona Apple and her new Extraordinary Machine. I get murky with the back story, but she recorded a whole album by this name and discarded it. This has been one of the top listening items of the year, the reason God made P2P- and I'll be right curious to see what she thinks is better than what she's tossed aside. It appears to have recordings of maybe half the songs from the bootleg. In any case, this is her third album, and first in about six years.
Liable to get lost in the shuffle, Liz Phair also has a new album this week, Somebody's Miracle.
Also in way of girl power, a Melissa Etheridge Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled.
The most powerful girl though, the greatest diva in the world, Celine Dion has a new album, On Ne Change Pas.
Looming over all the girl power though, Rhino has a fancy box set of 60s girl group stuff, One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found with the Shirelles and Motown and such- but no Phil Spector stuff. That's a whole separate universe though, and this just looks like the stuff. You want to get a young girl off of ignorant Ashlee Simpson and Britney albums and listening to real music? Here's the Christmas present.
Representing for the testosterone wielders, note new compilations from Frank Sinatra and Snoop Dogg. Frank Sinatra/Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra have The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Priority is puting out The Best of Snoop Dogg.
Reverend Horton Heat has a Christmas album We Three Kings, which led me to arbitrarily throw in a link for the great Roches album of the same name.
Here's the complete list of this week's major new releases, courtesy AMG:
Fiona Apple Extraordinary Machine Sony
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Franz Ferdinand You Could Have It So Much Better Sony
Indie Rock
My Morning Jacket Z Badman
Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Country-Rock
Liz Phair Somebody's Miracle Capitol
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Various Artists One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found Rhino
Girl Group, Pop
Afro Celt Sound System Volume 5: Anatomic Narada
Celtic Fusion, Ethnic Fusion, Celtic Rock
Andy Bell Electric Blue Sanctuary
Dance-Pop, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Fabio Biondi Vivaldi: Concerti con molti strumenti, Vol. 2 Virgin Classics
Baroque Orchestral Music
James Blunt Back to Bedlam WEA International
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene Arts & Crafts
Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental
Solomon Burke That's Heavy Baby 1971-1973 Raven
Deep Soul, Soul, Country-Soul
Cream Royal Albert Hall: London 2-3-5-6 2005 Reprise
British Blues, Hard Rock, Blues-Rock
Cross Canadian Ragweed Garage Universal South
Alternative Country
The Deadly Snakes Porcella In The Red
Indie Rock, Garage Punk
Deftones Rarities, Covers and Videos Rhino
Rap-Metal, Post-Grunge, Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Alternative Pop/Rock
Digable Planets Beyond the Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles Blue Note
Jazz-Rap, Alternative Rap, Hip-Hop
Celine Dion On Ne Change Pas Sony
Adult Contemporary
WARNING: THIS CD PURPOSELY DEFECTIVE
Will Downing Soul Symphony Verve
Urban, Contemporary R&B
Dwele Some Kinda... Virgin
Neo-Soul, Contemporary R&B
Brian Eno The Pearl Astralwerks
Experimental Rock
Booker Ervin Tex Book Tenor Blue Note
Modal Music, Hard Bop
Melissa Etheridge Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled Island
Heartland Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Sara Evans Real Fine Place RCA
Contemporary Country
Bela Fleck Crossing the Tracks Rounder
Progressive Bluegrass, Folk-Jazz
Kinky Friedman They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore Bear Family
Outlaw Country
The Go! Team Thunder, Lightning, Strike [Bonus Tracks] Vivid Sound Japan
Indie Rock, Indie Electronic
Andrew Hill Andrew!!! [Bonus Tracks] Blue Note
Post-Bop, Avant-Garde Jazz
Gregory Hustis Gregory Hustis, Horn Crystal
Contemporary Chamber Music
The (International) Noise Conspiracy Armed Love [USA Bonus Tracks] Reprise
Punk Revival, Garage Punk
Iron Maiden Death on the Road Sony
British Metal, Heavy Metal
Chris Isaak Christmas Mailboat
Pop/Rock, Pop/Rock
Jimmy Eat World Stay on My Side Tonight Interscope
Alternative Pop/Rock, Emo
Ladytron Witching Hour Rykodisc
Indie Electronic, Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Pop
John Lennon Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon Capitol
Album Rock, Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Rock & Roll
The Living Things Ahead of the Lions Jive
Punk Revival, Post-Grunge, Alternative Pop/Rock, Hard Rock
The Magic Numbers The Magic Numbers Heavenly
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock
Master P The Best of Master P Priority
Southern Rap, Gangsta Rap, Hardcore Rap, Dirty South
Eduardo Mata Aaron Copland: Symphony No. 3; Danzón cubano; El Salon Mexico Angel
Modern Orchestral Music
Jackie McLean Consequence Blue Note
Hard Bop, Post-Bop
Marc Minkowski Offenbach: La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein Virgin Classics
Romantic Operetta
Nickelback All the Right Reasons Roadrunner
Alternative Metal, Post-Grunge
O.A.R. Stories of a Stranger Lava
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, College Rock, Jam Bands
Sinead O'Connor Throw Down Your Arms Rocket Science
Roots Reggae
Reverend Horton Heat We Three Kings Yep Roc
Psychobilly, Rockabilly Revival
Simple Plan Live from the Hard Rock Atlantic
Punk-Pop, Punk Revival
Frank Sinatra/Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra RCA
Traditional Pop, Vocal Jazz, Swing, Ballads
Snoop Dogg The Best of Snoop Dogg Priority
West Coast Rap, Gangsta Rap, Dirty South, G-Funk
The Standard Albatross Yep Roc
Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental
Twista The Day After Atlantic
Gangsta Rap, Hardcore Rap
![Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled [Deluxe CD/DVD Combo]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412P6CMPMDL._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
1 - Tan The Man
A lot of good stuff coming in...
Broken Social Scene
Franz...
Fiona's new one will finally see the "official" light of day
2 - Shark
The Sinatra/Dorsey compilation should be worthwhile: two of the greatest in their fields.
A great intro for the neophyte interested in finding out what made Sinatra AND Big Bands appealing.
3 - BRICKLAYER
*scrolling down list...*
"The Master P Greatest Hits Collection?!?!?!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!"
*grabs car keys, codpiece, and keychain mace, bursts out door on way to nearest Walmart*
*bursts back into house, grabs boombox out of Lil' Brick's popsicle stained hands, opens lid, rips out Regis Philbin Christmas cd, throws it against the wall, shattering it into thousands of glistening,Merry pieces, lovingly removes Master P Greatest hits collection from jewel case womb, places it into boom box and presses play...crosses arms, cocks head to left, yells to Lil' Brick "Shorty, get my gun"...Lil' Brick returns with semi-automatic, fully loaded, home protection device*
"Where's my dogs at?"
*mini pinscher scuttles into room, sliding across hardwood floor, comes to shuddering halt against wall*
"MAKE 'EM SAY UUUUUUUNNNNNNNGGGGHHHHHHHH!"
*fires semi automatic weapon into ceiling, falls to knees, stares into thousands of broken pieces of Regis Philbin's Christmas cd, catches own crazed reflection, and pauses, stares through hole in roof up into the heavens, and beseeches from God...*
"Whuuuuurs myyyyyyy homies aaaaaaat?"
*single, lone tear rolls down cheek, falls onto tofutti fudgesicle stained carpet*
4 - vern halen
Chris Issak Christmas? Can't do it - Dwight Yoakam's "Santa Can't Stay" ruined new Christmas tunes forever after.
5 - Mark Saleski
c'mon vern, that's certainly better than, say, a Coldplay christmas record...yes?
6 - DJRadiohead
I am going to have to check out the Fiona record. Maybe we have another "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" here. The stories between the two albums share some similarities.
7 - Mark Saleski
i have to get the Fiona record just to compare it to the bootleg (which i may or may not have downloaded...)
8 - DJRadiohead
I was tempted to download the bootlegs for the same reason. As I understand it, one or two songs will be identical while others have been re-worked. You will have to give us a side-by-side review.
9 - Mark Saleski
i just might do that.
it'd be interesting to know what the real story was. i mean, i read that she was unhappy with what Brion did...which, given what i've heard, i find very hard to believe.
10 - vern halen
Coldplay Christmas? Can't even begin to imagine that one.....
11 - vern halen
Oh, I forgot - International Noise Conspiracy - I think Rick Rubin produced this new album. Maybe he'll get them to downplay their socialism through art agenda (is there such a thing?). You'd think someone would've told them by now that rock 'n' roll is more about Lennon than Lenin.
12 - godoggo
I wonder what that Andrew Hill is like? He's really one of the greats. Some of his stuff is kind like of Miles's '60s quintet with Monk on piano.
13 - visualsimplicity
Come on Bricklayer, how can you have a single, lone tear roll down your cheek, falling onto a tofutti fudgesicle stained carpet without having picked up the new Nickelback album too?
14 - sinead_celine
i love sinead's newest cd!!!
and here's a recent video of celine singing "pour que tu m'aime encore" in france. mediocre quality, but still she looked so good!!!!
http://rapidshare.de/files/6022236/PQTMAE_STARAC2k5.avi.html
15 - oinks
Fransz Ferdinand is bomb, and do you want to is bomb, i need to get to the store sooon