New Album Releases 11/27/07: Welcome To The Weeks Of New Music Purgatory (With All Due Respect To Chuck D, Alcoholics Unaminous, Common, CunninLynguists, Ian Gillan, And The Ultimate Grammy Collection)

I kinda knew this would be a rough week going in.

But once I saw this week's edition of Mark Saleski's Tuesday Morning Purchase (he was only able to come up with two new releases to spotlight), I knew I was in even deeper trouble than first thought. With Tom Johnson's Breakdown column covering only one new release this week, my worst suspicions and deepest fears were then confirmed.

The weeks of new music purgatory are officially upon us.

By this, I of course refer to that year-end no-man's land for new releases that means the labels have officially given us everything they've got for 2007. What started so promisingly a few weeks back with new music from the likes of Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell, and continued with an unusually promising glut of reissues from Led Zeppelin, Dylan, Genesis, and U2 is now officially over.

This is what you've got for this year my friends, so learn to live with it. Because between right now and sometime probably lasting well into January 2008, what you are going to see from the labels is well, not much.

That is of course not to slight what we have this week in the way of new releases. We've got something for example from Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, backed by the SLAMjamz Artist Revue called Tribb to JB, which I would presume is a tribute to the great James Brown. There are greatest-hits packages from rapper Common and former Deep Purple/Black Sabbath screamer Ian Gillan.

There are also two brand spanking new Ultimate Grammy Collection's, devoted to Contemporary Pop and Contemporary R&B. But from there, the pickings get pretty slim. You want various artist compilations? How about Isreal Unleashed: The Best Rock and Metal From The Holy Land or Si Para Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba? That oughta get the kids excited this Christmas!

Or how about the eagerly anticipated releases from Alcoholics Unaminous, Aspera, Candidate, and the cleverly named rappers CunninLynguists? And for the love of God, can somebody please tell me who in the hell are Gob, and what exactly is a Muertos Vivos?

Face it, friends, this is as good as it's going to get for the next several weeks.

At this point, I also have to include something of a disclaimer on this week's New Album Releases column.

Normally as I sit down to write this, my primary source of information is the always reliable weekly list I receive from All Music Guide. As it turns out, I did not receive that list this week (AMG must've cancelled, after figuring on the certain lack of interest). So I've instead relied on an alternative source for the info here.

Welcome to the weeks of new music purgatory.

Here are all of this week's new album releases:

Alcoholics Unaminous
20 Years of Tanked Up Tunes
Steel Cage Records
Rock/Pop

Aspera
Back When Love -One-sided LP
Burnt Toast Vinyl
Rock/Pop

Candidate
Oxengate
Snowstorm
Rock/Pop

Chuck D & the SLAMjamz Artist Revue
Tribb to JB
Slam Jamz Records
Soul/R&B/Hip Hop

Common
This Is Me Then: The Best Of Common
Legacy/RSM
Hip Hop

CunninLynguists
Dirty Acres
Bad Taste Records
Rap

D.O.A
Live in San Francisco
2B1
Rock/Punk

Gillan, Ian
Gillan's Best
The Great American Music Co.
Rock/Pop

Gob
Muertos Vivos
Cobraside
Rock/Pop

Incubus
Light Grenades
Epic
Rock/Pop

Incubus
Look Alive
Epic
Rock/Pop

Rob Jungklas
Gully
Madjack Records
Rock/Pop

Freddie King
Texas in My Blues
The Great American Music Co.
Blues

Malajube
Le Compte Complet
Dare To Care Records
Rock/Pop

Mr. Knightowl
Knightmares
PR Records Inc.
Rap

Mudvayne
By The People, For The People
EPIC
Rock/Alternative/Nu Metal

Original Broadway Cast
Lovemusik
Ghostlight
Soundtrack

Pathology
Soundtrack
Lakeshore
Soundtrack

Radiators
The Radiators
Radz Records
Rock/Pop

Rumble Club
Rides Tonight
Grease & Ink Records
Rock/Pop

Rumble Club
The Gambler's Regret
Grease & Ink Records
Rock/Pop

Rumble Strips
Alarm Clock EP
Kanine Records
Rock/Pop

Scary Kids Scaring Kids
After Dark (Re-Issue)
Immortal
Rock/Punk

Various Artists
Ultimate Grammy Collection: Contemporary Pop
Shout! Factory
Contemporary Pop

Various Artists
Ultimate Grammy Collection: Contemporary R&B
Shout! Factory
Contemporary Pop

Various Artists
Conquer The World: The Lost Soul Of Philadelphia International Records
Leagcy
R&B/Soul

Various Artists
A Santa Cause 1-2
Immortal
Rock/Alternative

Various Artists
Isreal Unleashed: The Best Rock and Metal From The Holy Land
JMG
Rock/Hard Rock/Metal

Various Artists
Through the Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna
Manimal Vinyl Records
Rock/Pop

Various Artists
The Bickershaw Festival
Ozit
Rock/Pop

Various Artists
Si Para Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba
Light in the Attic/ Waxing Deep
Rock/Pop

Various Artists
Foxhole/The Magic Lantern/Soporus/Questions in Dialect
Burnt Toast Vinyl
Rock/Pop

Various Psychopathic Artists
Pyschopathic: The Videos
Psychopathic
Rock/Pop