Sunday, April 23, 2006

New CD and Music DVD Releases

Fresh spins for the week of April 25

By Staff of CD World

Bruce Springsteen: We Shall Overcome: Seeger Sessions

DUAL DISC: Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen's twenty-first album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. The album features Bruce's personal interpretations of thirteen traditional songs, all of them associated with the legendary guiding light of American folk music, Pete Seeger, for whom the album is named. Speaking of the origins of the new music, Springsteen said, "So much of my writing, particularly when I write acoustically, comes straight out of the folk tradition. Making this album was creatively liberating because I have a love of all those different roots sounds... they can conjure up a world with just a few notes and a few words."

Each CD World store has 10 copies of this new album on vinyl in a special edition only availble at select indie stores. Once these are gone, they're gone forever, and we've got them priced to move!

Godsmack: IV

Brand new studio album from America’s #1 Rock Band. This is follow up to the #1 debut album Faceless. Their first single, 'Speak', breaks all records at Active Rock radio with the highest chart debut since Metallica June ’03! Godsmack IV co-produced by classic rock legend Andy Johns (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones).

Goo Goo Dolls: Let Love In

Better days are here again as one of America's favorite rock bands, The Goo Goo Dolls, returns with its first studio album since 2002. With the renowned Glen Ballad producing the band for the first time, Let Love In welcomes The Goo Goo Dolls back to the top of the rock.

Riverboat Gamblers: To The Confusion of Our Enemies

"The Gamblers guarantee a punk rock catharsis” - Rolling Stone

To The Confusion Of Our Enemies, the new record from Riverboat Gamblers, derives it’s moniker from the favorite hell raising toast of Frank Sinatra’s; because a man without enemies is a man without character and if you stand up for anything, someone is going hate you. Riverboat Gamblers fourth full-length album “To the Confusion of Our Enemies” was produced and mixed by Andrew "Mudrock" Murdock, at The Hobby Shop, in Highland Park, CA.

FREE 7" Riverboat Gamblers single (non-album new songs) with purchase!!

CITIES: Self Titled

These four bright-eyed college kids from Chapel Hill, NC, are keen on creating a decidedly American brand of melancholic, but hooky, indie rock - slicing through Brit- influenced post-punk with mid-90's, layered guitar rock. CITIES has honed its sound while playing sold-out shows with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, We Are Scientists, Thunderbirds Are Now!, Unwed Sailor, Engine Down, etc.

Mark Knopfler / Emmylou Harris: All The Roadrunning

For several years, the iconic Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris have been quietly recording a remarkable collection of duets whenever the Grammy winning artists could steal away from their own illustrious careers. The extraordinary result is All the Roadrunning. The songs from their Nashville sessions, all originals, while undeniably modern, have the appeal of classics, whether country, Celtic flavored or gently soulful. All the Roadrunning is Knopfler & Harris making music and, as the lyric for 'This is Us' puts it, making history.

K.D. Lang: Reintarnation

When K.D. Lang emerged from the Canadian heartland, she reinvented western swing and traditional country with an astonishing voice as big as the wide open prairies she hailed from. Both challenging the country music establishment and delighting myriad country fans, her rich, iconoclastic fusion of influence-blending retro flourishes with post-modern sensibilities also won over roots music and alt-rock lovers in legion numbers. lang's now-historic pipes and spiritied "cowboy-punk" interpretations have created a seamless signature sound that can only begin to be described by "alt-country." Mining her early western-flavored classics, the first-ever compilation from this vocal great explores the ascendance of a brilliant career.

Taking Back Sunday: Louder Now

The band's Warner Bros. debut, Louder Now takes the group's classic ethos of intertwining vocals and hardcore- meets-rock-meets-pop to an even more enticing level. Taking Back Sunday is taking back rock.

Too Short: Gangsters & Strippers

Up All Nite Music is Too Short's new label. The Up All Nite Crew's debut release Gangsters & Strippers features Too Short, Murda Mob, The Pack, Strike 3, Murda 1, Ice Mizzle, The Bishop of Crunk, Worm G, Young B, Slink, Kool Ace, Duke G and Taj Mahal.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed: PCP Torpedo

Originally released in the final year of the 20th century in the unconventional six-inch vinyl format, PCP Torpedo is finally reissued on CD-in the equally unconventional three-inch CD format. (Not only is it a truly compact disc; Agoraphobic Nosebleed apparently wanted to specifically torture Mac users.) The hideously deformed and many-fanged suckling of guitarist/machinist Scott Hull (also of the equally unstoppable Pig Destroyer) and vocalist/programmer J. Randall (formerly of ISIS), ANB specialize in stereophonic slaughter and extreme pharmacological distress, the combination of which is commonly referred to (in the parlance of shitty metal mags) as hyper-grind.

Alchemist: Vol. 1-Chemistry Files

The Alchemist got his start in 1993. He laced Cypress Hill, House of Pain, and Funkdoobiest with beats before unleashing his sound on Dilated Peoples' Platform. DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill introduced Al to his good friends, the popular hip-hop group Mobb Deep. Mobb Deep took him under their wing, using his beats on all their subsequent albums. He went on to with many of Hip Hop's most successful and prominent artists, such as Nas, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Ghostface Killah and Snoop Dogg. He has also remixed songs for Linkin Park and Morcheeba and continued to produce for Dilated, Cypress Hill, Everlast (formerly of House Of Pain) and Crazy Town. In 2004, The Alchemist returned with his long- awaited debut album, 1st Infantry. His hot new album is called The Chemistry Files.

Natacha Atlas: Mish Maoul

With her latest exciting album Mish Maoul, Atlas' career comes full circle to touch base with her roots. The new album harks back in its sound and traditions to the music she grew up hearing in the Moroccan suburb of Brussels, particularly when the Golden Sound Studio Orchestra of Cairo makes its entrance. It also reunites her again with the Temple of Sound's Nick Page aka Count Dubulah, with whom she first worked in Transglobal Underground and who helped produce her very first solo album, Diaspora (and many subsequent collaborations).

Au Pairs: Stepping Out Of Line - Anthology

2-disc album set from the post-punk pioneers, pushing at the boundaries of feminism, anti-Thatcher campaigning & angular guitar music; comprising a 42-track definitive collection of their albums, BBC Sessions and rarities.

Avant: Director

Avant has taken it to the next level musically on Director by collaborating superstar producers Jermaine Dupri (Mariah Carey/Usher), Rodney Jerkins (Destiny’s Child/ Jennifer Lopez), Bryan Cox (Jagged Edge), The Underdogs (Omarion/Marques Houston), Steve Huff, and Styles. Between albums, Avant has stayed fresh in the market place by being featured on the single and video for 'Karma' by Lloyd Banks from G-Unit that reached top 10 on the Urban chart and top 15 on the Rhythmic chart. He is also featured on the new Pussy Cat Dolls remix of'their current #1 single 'Stickwitu'.

Buju Banton: Toppa Di Top & Dirty Rhythms

The first release from Gargamel Music/Big Cat Records. Toppa Di Top & Dirty Rhythms features a who’s who in reggae music and is set to become the classic dancehall album of the year. The wide-ranging social and stylistic approach offered on Toppa Di Top reflects the changes, challenges, circumstances and criticisms, which Buju has surmounted artistically and personally. The CD offers track after track of unadulterated dancehall fun from multi-platinum reggae artists.

Tab Benoit: Brother To The Blues

Tab Benoit’s 2005 release Fever for Bayou peaked at #4 on the Billboard Blues chart. The blues guitarist whose fifteen-year career has embraced virtually every shade of American roots music, reconnects to his earliest and most profound influences with the help of some old friends - Jim Lauderdale, Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Thibodeaux and Louisiana’s LeRoux - on his fourth Telarc release, Brother to the Blues.

Lewis Black: Carnegie Hall Performance

As "America's Foremost Commentator On Everything", Black is a weekly political commentator on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and has starred in four top-rated comedy specials for the network. He's one of the nation's top standup comics and has done numerous films and TV appearances (Caroline's Comedy Hour, Evening At The Improv, The A List, Love From Tompkins Square Park, Comic Cabana, Make Me Laugh, Comedy Showcase, Friday Night, and more), and is seen regularly on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. His first two CDs are consistent sellers. This is his biggest launch to date.

Conflict: Standard Issue

Standard Issue is a sampler of recordings taken from Conflict's extensive catalogue. This release contains 20 tracks digitally remastered from the original source exclusively for this project. Presented in a deluxe digipak containing a full lyric and information booklet including unreleased artwork and photographs from the relevant periods. Contains the complete Conflict single 'Live At The Centro Iberico'.

DJ Tiesto: Vol. 5-Los Angeles - In Search Of Sunrise

DJ Magazine voted him #1 DJ in the world three years in a row. He is the first DJ in the world to sell out a solo stadium event for over 25,000 people. He played live at the opening ceremonies of the Athens Olympics. Known primarily for his contributions to the trance scene, Tiesto's style is now a mix of everything: trance, house, techno and more. This 2 CD set is the fifth installment of his In Search Of Sunrise series.

Eleventh Dream Day: Zeroes & Ones

Recorded at North Branch Studio in Chicago by Barry Phipps, Zeroes and Ones is the band’s tenth album. It presents a contrast between the personal and reflective lyrics and the catharsis of playing really loud. For this new set of songs, Rick Rizzo spent the summer of 2005 vowing to write a new song each day (he jokingly admits that about fifty days somehow slipped by), many on themes of identity and existence, mixed with whatever flew by the window. Zeroes and Ones is about the difference between gravity and floating away, reality or dream, looking for something to grasp or simply letting go. Members of Eleventh Dream Day have gone on to form Tortoise, Brokeback, and Freakwater, as well as releasing various solo albums.

Elf Power: Back To The Web

Elf Power return with Back to the Web, a haunting, twisting journey weaving its way through heavy psychedelic haze, to soulful, melodic folk, to stomping T Rex-styled rock. Back to the Web is full of the band's signature, lovely pop melodies, but a distinct progression is evident in the songwriting and the lush, full production. The folkier tunes are laced with strings and the heavier ones scream psychedelia; influences of Bob Dylan and Wall-era Pink Floyd can be detected. Formed in Athens, GA in 1994, Elf Power was spawned from the legendary Elephant 6 collective that also produced Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal and Apples In Stereo.

Fever: In The City Of Sleep

On their sophomore album the Fever mix up their love for Junkyard crank, Sun Studio reverb, Stax abandon, Fellini-esque Circus music, and '50s Noir to create an intense and mysterious landscape somewhere between the nightmare Rock 'n Roll of the Bad Seeds and the Beach Boys lullabies of lost innocence.

Flogging Molly: Alive Behind The Green Door

Alive Behind The Green Door is Flogging Molly’s very first recording. Recorded live at Molly Malone’s in 1997, Alive Behind The Green Door documents the raw and raucous energy of Flogging Molly’s early days, and is a must own for the legions of Flogging Molly’s faithful fans worldwide. Alive Behind the Green Door includes three Flogging Molly originals only found on this CD, the early live versions of songs that are now fan favorites, and the only recorded version of 'Delilah' which was a staple of the band’s live show during their early years. Previously only available at live shows and through limited distribution, Alive Behind The Green Door features all new artwork and has been re-mastered by Robert Vosgein at Capital Records Mastering.

Jeff Healey & The Jazz Wizards: Its Tight Like That

Everyone knows Canadian guitar legend Jeff Healey can play the blues like nobody's business, but not many know the other side of Jeff: the musicologist with an encyclopedic knowledge of both jazz and blues artists from the early 20th century as well as being an accomplished trumpet player. This album, with the Jazz Wizards and legendary British trad jazz godfather Chris Barber, recreates and reinterprets the classic American jazz of the '20s and '30s. This album was recorded live at a sold out performance at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and at Hugh's Room, the preeminent acoustic music venue in Toronto.

Kool Keith AKA Mr. Nogatco: Nogatco Rd.

A new classic is born from Hip Hop's most outrageous and unpredictable artist, Kool Keith (Black Elvis, Dr. Octagon, Dr. Doom). Nogatco Rd. is Keith's most intentive and highly anticipated album in years. Complete with UFO conspiracies, alien autopsies, coded space raps, and an amazing array of some of the most originally Hip Hop tracks in years. The enhanced CD is loaded with a '50s style Sci-Fi mini-movie starring Kool Keith (viewable on a computer CD-ROM drive). Other features include a digital comic book and a digital photo album. The CD was produced by Iz-Real (who produced MF Doom/Viktor Vaughn's CD Venomous Villain). It features guest appearances from Sage Francis and Sole (of Anticon).

Lil' Keke: Custom Made Gangstas

From Houston, the hotbed of Southern rap for the last couple of years, Lil' Keke's latest is a conglomeration of some of Houston's finest rappers and members of his Screwed Up Click: Big Pokey, Hawk and Bun B., as well as a new generation of Houston talent like QB, Lil. C, and AG, collectively known as CMG (Custom Made Gangstas).

O.S.I.: Free

If there_s a sling or an arrow that could be directed against progressive metal _ or worse, a prog metal super group - it's that the work often turns out to sound like a loose-bolted, duct-taped monster resembling the sum of disparate parts. This was not the case with O.S.I. O.S.I., or Office of Strategic Influence, released their first, self-titled CD in February of 2003 and to this day it remains one of Inside Out Music's best selling titles. As with the first release, Free features the incredible musical talents of Jim Matheos (Fates Warning) on guitar, Kevin Moore (ex-Dream Theater, Chroma Key) on vocals and keyboards, and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) on drums. Present once again is the now patented O.S.I. sound. However, Free takes on a slightly more mature and evolved style.

Rakes: Capture/Release

The Rakes are one of the most exciting and significant London bands to emerge in recent years. Their Paul Epworth produced debut album highlights the lyrical and musical eloquence of which most other hyped London bands are bereft, but which the rakes unquestionably have. The Rakes are Alan Donohue: a singer and vivacious reader who draws lyrical inspiration from the most unlikely of places. Guitarist Matthew swinnerton, whom producer du jour Paul Epworth has called "a genius - so effortlessly doing all the things Bruce Gilbert was doing all those years ago in Wire, but with a modern slant."

Rush: Gold

Rush Gold represents the best of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart's classic studio output. Including their first official radio staple 'Working Man' through their last recordings on Mercury Records. Spanning 13 years, both old and new fans will hear many favorites, including their biggest hits 'Tom Sawyer' and 'New World Man'. Respectful of Retrospective 1 and Retrospective 2, this collection ads the track 'Working Man' to those classic playlists. Features every Rush hit, radio staple and classic track. Full participation by the band. Replaces Rush CDs Chronicles, Retrospective 1 and Retrospective 2.

Scorpions: Gold

Germany's durable scorpions loom large in the annals of contemporary hard rock, spanning multiple generations and surviving all manner of changes in the musical landscape. They remain the only German rock act (and indeed the only band from continental Europe) to achieve long-term international success, with over 50 million in worldwide record sales. As the group closes in on its 40th anniversary, the quintet continues to deliver fist- pumping teutonic thrills to audiences around the world. Includes every big international hit such as 'No One Like You', 'Rock Me Like A Hurricane' and 'Wind Of Change'.

Secret Machines: Ten Silver Drops

Honed by the immediacy of playing an 18-month cross- country tour in support of their debut album, New York City-based Secret Machines blend song craft and melody with their acclaimed power to sculpt epic, dreamy, neo- psychedelic soundscapes on their second full-length album, Ten Silver Drops. While still playing homage to experimentalist pop groups Kraftwerk, Neu and La Dusseldorf with effects laden, heavily processed guitars and primal, stomping drums, Secret Machines expand their universe to reveal both the icy peaks and murky depths of their musical machinations.

Sizzla: Sizzla

Sizzla has been busy recording over classic rhythms from the vast Jammy's vaults. His collaboration with the legendary King Jammy has created an ''old to the new'' buzz on some of the most popular reggae rhythms released by Jammy's. This is an engaging title that will be enjoyed by reggae connoisseurs and Sizzla fans alike.

Snow Patrol: Songs For Polarbears

UK 23-track CD album - their debut album originally released in 1998 and includes 'Velocity Girl', 'Absolute Gravity', 'One Hundred Things You Should Have Done In Bed', 'Starfighter Pilot' plus nine bonus tracks, [originally available as B-sides to the singles] including 'Sticky Teenage Twin', 'My Last Girlfriend' and 'When You’re Right You’re Right' - Darth Vader Bringing In His Washing Mxi.

Snow Patrol: When Its All Over

UK 19-track enhanced CD album. This was their sophomore album [originally released in 2001] and was the follow-up to their 1998 debut Songs For Polarbears and includes the singles 'Ask Me How I Am' and 'One Night Is Not Enough' plus 4 bonus recordings featuring the B-Sides for the 2 singles and the rarely seen 'Ask Me How I Am' CD-Rom Video.

Streets: Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living

Genre challenging musical genius Mike Skinner returns with his brilliant 3rd studio album, The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living. This autobiographical masterpiece retells Mike’s life from street kid to celebrity in the UK. Drugs, sex, loss, love, scandal, and violence echo throughout this magnum opus from the lead single 'When You Wasn’t Famous' until the end.

Tom Verlaine: Around, Songs & Other Things

Thrill Jockey’s simultaneous release of Around and Songs And Other Things this spring will be the first new releases by Tom Verlaine since Warm and Cool in 1992. Around continues where Warm and Cool left off, using many of the same musicians. Former Neon Boy Billy Ficca’s drumming shares the spotlight with Verlaine’s guitar, whose varied tones move effortlessly from melody to rhythm and are at once panoramic, pastoral and atmospheric. The influence of Verlaine’s love of jazz saxophone is manifested in sustained single-note melodies and his expert finesse is rousing. In the past year Tom has been touring with Patti Smith and playing select shows with Television. He is putting together a band that he will debut in his beloved hometown of New York City in late April/early May.

Arctic Monkeys: Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?

UK five-track EP. The follow-up to their record-breaking UK #1 debut album 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' and includes 'View From The Afternoon' plus four exclusive recordings 'Cigarette Smoker Fiona', 'Despair In The Departure Lounge', 'No Buses' & 'Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys'.

Dirty Pretty Things: Bang Bang You're Dead

First single from Carl Barat's new band. Carl was the singer/songwritter in Theibertines before they imploded and Pete got into the gutter press! The Libertines ablum went onto sell more than 35,000 copies in the UK and the Dirty pretty things sold out last months UK tour in less than 20 minute. A record for a band who haven't even released at single. This is a great sng in the true spirit of indie rock/pop. This band are set to take on the World.

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