The fall CD preview
This year, Sept. 25 is the day to circle on your calendar. That’s when more than a dozen major artists — including Steve Earle, Foo Fighters, Joni Mitchell, will.i.am, Blue Rodeo, PJ Harvey, Tony Bennett and more — are putting out new CDs.
The rest of the fall calendar is quickly getting crowded too. So crowded, in fact, that we’re adding an extra page of CD reviews every week. To kick things off, here’s a quick look at the biggest and best discs due this fall, along with a sidebar of key box sets.
And while you’re there, start making your own list. And checking it twice.
Bruce Springsteen — Magic
The Boss reunites with the E Street Band for their first disc in five years (and, some say, their last collaboration). Album of the year? We wouldn’t be surprised. Oct. 2.
50 Cent — Curtis vs. Kanye West — Graduation
The beef of the fall: Fiddy vows to retire if he doesn’t outsell Kanye on the first day. Wonder how much Kanye paid him to say that? Sept. 11.
Foo Fighters — Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
If the rest of this disc rocks as hard as the leaked single Pretender, this could be Dave Grohl’s biggest, baddest disc yet. Sept. 25.
Joni Mitchell – Shine
The legendary folksinger delivers her first new album in a decade. The same day, Herbie Hancock releases a Joni tribute CD. Coincidence? We think not. Sept. 25
Neil Young — Chrome Dreams II
The original was recorded and scrapped in the ’70s. This version supposedly resurrects some of those old songs, along with new material. Oct. 16.
The Eagles — Long Road Out of Eden
Too bad they already used the title Hell Freezes Over: It would have been perfect for the country-rockers’ first full-length studio album in 28 years.
Steve Earle — Washington Square Serenade
The backwoods meet the Big Apple. Roots-rocker Earle tones down the politics and gets personal on this folksy CD, singing the praises of his newly adopted hometown: New York City. Sept. 25
The Hives — Black and White Album
Howlin’ Pele Almqvist and his Swedish garage-rock titans squeeze into their matching suits to crank it up and crank it out once again. Oct. 9.
John Fogerty — Revival
Can the original roots-rocker reclaim his past? We’ll see. Either way, you just know somebody’s going to sue him over that title. Oct. 2.
PJ Harvey — White Chalk
Word is that Polly Jean wrote most of this disc on piano instead of guitar. Which presumably means we’ll see fewer upskirt pix from her next tour. Sept. 25.
will.i.am — Songs About Girls
The Black Eyed Peas mastermind releases his next collection of ringtones … er, songs. Sept. 25.
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss — Raising Sand
The legendary Led Zep frontman teams up with the rootsy singer- songwriter. Could be the most interesting matchup of the fall. Oct. 23.
Mariah Carey — Illusions: The Butterfly Within
Uh-oh. Is it just us, or does that title sound like Mariah’s gone off her meds again? Nov. 20
Guns N’ Roses — Chinese Democracy
Ha! Not a chance. But we had you going for a second there, didn’t we?
BOX SETS
The box set everyone’s waiting for — Neil Young’s 10-disc Archives Vol. 1 — was finally due this fall after more than a decade in the works. But in typical Young fashion, it’s now been pushed back to Valentine’s Day. Oh, well. Here are five others to spin while you wait.
Emmylou Harris — Songbird
Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems The angel of Americana assembled this five-disc collection, which has 78 rarities and unreleased cuts, along with a DVD of live performances. Sept. 18
Billie Holiday — Lady Day
The Master Takes and Singles The most tragic figure in jazz — and that’s saying something — gets her due in a four-disc anthology featuring 79 of her finest moments. Sept. 25
Frank Sinatra — A Voice in Time (1939-1952)
This four-disc, 80-song set follows Old Blue Eyes from his first solo recordings to his final tracks for Columbia. Sept. 25
Bob Dylan — Dylan
Fans got to vote on the 51 tracks that form this three-disc retrospective, which is packaged with postcards, mini vinyl sleeves and a 40-page booklet. Oct. 2
The Heavy Metal Box — Various Artists
Headbangers will have a ball with this 70-song anthology from Rhino — which comes in a box shaped like a Marshall amp, with a knob that goes to 11. Oct. 2
The Brit Box — Various Artists
Also from Rhino, this four-disc set of Britrock classics comes in a foot-high replica of an English phone booth — with a working light! Oct. 2
The key CD releases due between now and Christmas (all information subject to change):
Sept 11
Black Francis — Bluefinger
Kenny Chesney — Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates
Elvis Costello — My Aim is True (Deluxe Edition)
Ani DiFranco — Canon
50 Cent — Curtis
Go! Team — Proof of Youth
Joe Henry — Civilians
Hot Hot Heat — Happiness Ltd.
The Proclaimers — Life With You
Kanye West — Graduation
Ann Wilson — Hope & Glory
Sept 18
Babyface — Playlist
James Blunt — All the Lost Souls
Johnny Cash — Best of Johnny Cash TV show (DVD)
Chamillionaire — Ultimate Victory
The Donnas — Bitchin
Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene) — Spirit If …
Dropkick Murphys — The Meanest of Times
Gloria Estefan — 90 Millas
Mary Gauthier — Between Daylight & Dark
David Gilmour — Live at Royal Albert Hall (DVD)
Hard-Fi — Once Upon a Time in the West
Emmylou Harris — Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems (Box)
Mark Knopfler — Kill to Get Crimson
Diana Krall — The Very Best of
Alvin Lee — Saguitar
Love is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets — Various Artists (Box)
Barry Manilow — The Greatest Songs of the ’70s
Reba McEntire — Reba Duets
Ministry — The Last Sucker
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) — Trees Outside the Academy
Mya — Liberation
New Found Glory — From the Screen to Your Stereo Pt. 2
Otis Redding — Dreams to Remember: The Legacy of (DVD)
Simon & Garfunkel — Live 1969
The Simpsons — Testify
KT Tunstall — Drastic Fantastic
Twista — Adrenaline Rush 2007
U2 — Popmart Live from Mexico City (DVD)
Eddie Vedder — Into the Wild (Soundtrack)
Sept 25
Devendra Banhart — Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Tony Bennett — Ultimate American Songbook
Blue Rodeo — Small Miracles
Miles Davis — The Complete on the Corner Sessions (Box)
The Doors — The Very Best of
Down — Down III: Over the Under
Steve Earle — Washington Square Serenade
Melissa Etheridge — The Awakening
Foo Fighters — Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
Give Us Your Poor — Various Artists
Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino — Various Artists
Herbie Hancock — River: The Joni Letters
PJ Harvey — White Chalk
HIM — Venus Doom
Billie Holiday — Lady Day: The Master Takes and Singles (Box)
Iron and Wine — The Shepherd’s Dog
Chaka Khan — Funk This
Nellie McKay — Obligatory Villagers
Bill Medley — Damn Near Righteous
Joni Mitchell — Shine
Meshell Ndegeocello — The World Has Made Me the Man of my Dreams
Pearl Jam: Picture in a Frame (DVD)
Queen Latifah — Trav’lin Light
Brian Setzer Orchestra — Wolfgang’s Big Night Out
Billy Joe Shaver — Everybody’s Brother
Frank Sinatra — A Voice in Time (1939 – 1952) (Box)
Stars — In Our Bedroom After the War
Status Quo — In Search of the Fourth Chord
Supagroup — Fire for Hire
Sweet Honey in the Rock — Experience …101
Randy Travis — Songs of the Season
Scott Walker — And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball?
Weakerthans — Reunion Tour
will.i.am — Songs About Girls
Oct. 2
The Beatles — Unseen Beatles (DVD)
The Brit Box: Indie U.K., Shoegaze and Brit-Pop Gems of the Last Millennium — Various Artists
Brooks & Dunn — Cowboy Town
Ian Brown (Stone Roses) — The World is Yours
Boyz N Da Hood — Back Up N Da Chevy
Peabo Bryson — Missing You
David Byrne — Live From Austin Tx. (DVD)
Cake — B-Sides & Rarities
J.J. Cale — Rewind: Unrelased Recordings (Box)
The Cult — Born Into This
Dashboard Confessional — The Shade of Poison Trees
Celine Dion — These are Special Times (Collector’s Edition)
Bob Dylan — Dylan (Box)
John Fogerty — Revival
Merle Haggard — Bluegrass Sessions
Heavy Metal Box — Various Artists
Faith Hill — The Hits
Mick Jagger — The Very Best of
Elton John — Elton 60: Live at Madison Square Garden (DVD)
Annie Lennox — Songs of Mass Destruction
matchbox twenty — Exile on Mainstream
Megadeth — Warchest (Box)
The Most Serene Republic — Population
Prong — Power of the Damager
LeAnn Rimes — Family
The Sadies — New Seasons
Siouxsie — Mantaray
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band — Magic
Stax–Volt Revue Live in Norway 1967 — Various Artists (DVD)
Oct. 9
Avenged Sevenfold — Avenged Sevenfold
David Banner — Greatest Story Ever Told
Bizarre — Blue Cheese ‘n’ Coney Island
Alter Bridge — Blackbird
Vanessa Carlton — Heroes & Thieves
Chicago — The Best of Chicago 40th Anniversary
Eric Clapton — Complete Clapton
Fiery Furnaces — Widow City
Deborah Harry — Necessary Evil
Hives — Black & White Album
Engelbert Humperdinck — The Winding Road
Kid Rock — Rock n Roll Jesus
Jennifer Lopez — Brave
Bob Mould — Circle of Friends: Live at 9:30 (DVD)
Willie Nelson — Willie Nelson (Box)
LeAnn Rimes — Family
She Wants Revenge — This is Forever
Oct. 16
AC–DC — Plug Me In (DVD Box)
Eve — Here I Am
Robyn Hitchcock — I Wanna Go Backwards (Box)
Jimmy Eat World — Chase This Light
Toby Keith — A Classic Christmas
R.E.M. — Live DVD
Santana — Ultimate Santana
Nicole Sherzinger — Her Name is Nicole
Shaggy — Intoxication
Soulsavers — It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s the Way You Land
Angie Stone — The Art of Love & War
Underworld — Oblivion With Bells
Dan Wilson — Free Life
Neil Young — Chrome Dreams II
Oct. 23
Angels & Airwaves — I-Empire
Ashanti — The Declaration
Babyshambles — Shotter’s Nation
Coheed and Cambria — No World for Tomorrow
David Gahan — Hourglass
Alicia Keys — As I Am
Alison Moyet — The Turn
Robert Plant + Alison Krauss — Raising Sand
Reliant K — Let it Snow, Baby … Let it Reindeer
Lionel Richie & The Commodores — Number Ones
Seether — Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces
Serj Tankian — Elect the Dead
Dwight Yoakam — Dwight Sings Buck
The Temptations — Back to Front
Carrie Underwood — Carnival Ride
Ween — La Cucaracha
Rob Zombie — Zombie Live (CD–DVD)
Oct. 30
Backstreet Boys — Unbreakable
Natasha Bedingfield — N.B.
Bob Dylan — Live at Newport (DVD)
The Eagles — Long Road Out of Eden
Gram Parsons — Archives Vol. 1: The Flying Burrito Brothers Live at the Avalon 1969
Buck 65 — Situation
Nov. 6
Garth Brooks — The Ultimate Hits
Chris Brown — Exclusive
Jimmy Buffett — Live in Anguilla (CD–DVD)
Counting Crows — Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings
Duran Duran — Red Carpet Massacre
Wyclef Jean — Carnival II
Spice Girls — Greatest Hits
James Taylor — One Man Band (CD–DVD)
Stevie Ray Vaughan — Solo Sessions & Encores — Pride & Joy (DVD)
Nov. 13
Boyz to Men — Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA
Dillinger Escape Plan — Ire Works
Celine Dion — The Woman in Me
Goo Goo Dolls — Greatest Hits Vol. 1
Led Zeppelin — Mothership
Paul McCartney — The McCartney Years (DVD)
Ja Rule — The Mirror
Seal — System
Wu-Tang Clan — The 8 Diagrams
Trisha Yearwood — Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love
Nov. 20
Sebastian Bach — Angel Down
Mariah Carey — Illusions: The Butterfly Within
Daft Punk — Alive 2007
Jennifer Hudson — TBA
Led Zeppelin — Song Remains the Same (DVD)
Lupe Fiasco — The Cool
Jordin Sparks — TBA
Dec. 4
Foxy Brown — Brooklyn’s Don Diva
Primal Scream — TBA
Dec. 18
Q-Tip — The Renaissance
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