Still catching your breath after last week’s rollout release of Jay-Z & Kanye West’s “Watch The Throne”? Well, today marks the final installment of this superstar release-the deluxe physical version (which Best Buy had a four day exclusive on, to the consternation of many music retailers) hits all music stores today. So now, you can get the album in any way, shape or fashion you would like. Happy now?
Elsewhere on the release schedule, aggro-rock band Blue October returns with Any Man in America. A chronicle of lead singer Justin Furstenfeld’s divorce and child custody battle, this album has definitely been described as a hard pill to swallow, in terms of it being almost uncomfortably person. Make sure you check out this review by my Popdose brethren Dave Steed.
Sly Stone has not released an album since before I had pubes. I’m now at an age when many peoples’ pubes start turning gray (OK, I’m not that old, but it’s kinda close). For I’m Back-Family & Friends, Sly has recruited Jeff Beck, Ray Manzarek, Ann Wilson and other rock and roll royalty to participate. It’s an odd collection of covers and originals. I still have to give it a listen. Look out for a review soon.
Jeff Bridges is an award winning actor whose legacy consists of at least two career-defining roles- his legendary turn as The Dude in the cult classic “The Big Lebowski” and his recent Oscar-winning role as Bad Blake in “Crazy Heart”. Well, we can add the recording artist feather to Bridges’ cap. His self-titled album is produced by award-winning producer T. Bone Burnett and features performances from Roseanne Cash, Sam Phillips and Ryan Bingham, whose song “The Weary Kind” won him a “Crazy Heart”-related Oscar.
Not much else on the schedule this week-there’s the new album from Hercules & Love Affair (review posted later today), a children’s album from Jewel (I can hear you groaning from all the way over here), and a reggae tribute to Gregory Isaacs (because, after all, he was a reggae singer) are the highlights.
Make sure you are checking out Pause and Play for a complete list of this week’s (and next week’s, and the week after’s…) releases.