New CD and Music DVD Releases

by Staff of CD World

Houston has a problem and her name is Natalie; Randy Rogers Band releases limited edition stuff; hot dang Jonny Lang!

Natalie: Everything New

Houston has a problem, and her name is Natalie. After the success of her #1 single "Goin' Crazy" and its subsequent album, Natalie, in 2005, the 27 year old Houston native shows no signs of letting up with her sophomore album, Everything New. The album's hypnotizing and seductive lead single is produced by highly sought after production duo Play N Skillz and features Texas rap legend Bun B. "The minute I heard the track come on with the screwed ‘What ya gonna do 'I was like, ‘I want it'," says the sultry voiced singer. The eclectic mix of musical influences manifests in the diverse collection of songs listeners are privy to hear on Everything New. The soothing ballad "All My Life", an intimate look at love in sound, and the exotic "Pieces" are built around seductive guitar riffs.

Randy Rogers Band: Live At Billy Bob's

Randy Rogers currently has a Live at Billy Bob’s CD and DVD available separately; the limited edition package includes a new track as well as the CD and DVD for the price of one. Randy Rogers and his band are an outstanding live act and these recordings perfectly capture the energy of their live shows.

Chingy: Hoodstar

In 2003, Chingy cashed in with his now classic, almost platinum album Jackpot. He struck gold again in ‘04 with PowerBallin’, which proved to the world that Chingy was no one-hit wonder. Now it’s 2006. And Ching-a-Ling is back with his third and most exciting album, Hoodstar. Hoodstar is one album you won’t soon forget, either. Part autobiographical, part club-bangin’, it chronicles the life of a star from the hood - the highs, the lows, and all the girls, cars, clothes, and everything in between. To make musical magic, Chingy assembled an all-hoodstar team of producers, including Jermaine Dupri, Poli Paul, Timbaland, The Trak Starz, Mannie Fresh, Mr. Collipark and Kwame. Guest artists include Three 6 Mafia, Tyrese, Young Spiffy and Fatman Scoop.

DJ Shadow: Outsider

The underground legend returns! Shadow’s unparalleled musical contributions have and continue to play a crucial role in the development and mastering of genre blending music. His list of collaborations include works with Dr. Octagon, U.N.K.L.E., Thom Yorke, Cut Chemist and many more. The Outsider is a record that will confound those who believed they had Shadow pigeonholed. Working with several different vocalists, the album is an almost schizophrenic collection from an artist to whom loving music and making music are just two sides of the same coin. Fans need have nothing to fear - his power to conjure and affect an emotion by collaging samples, voices and fragments of long-forgotten recorded dialogue remains undimmed.

Fergie: Dutchess

With over 20 million albums sold worldwide with The Black Eyed Peas,the pop icon is ready for her solo debut. From performances on every major TV show throughout the world and appearances on dozens of magazine covers, Fergie has been in the spotlight since an early age - including a starring role on the hit TV show Kids Incorporated, as well as a member of Wild Orchid. Fergie’s solo debut - The Duchess - is produced by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas and features a range of songs which showcase her unbelievable talent as one of today’s leading vocalists. Be prepared for Fergie to revolutionize the sound of the future.

Diana Krall: From This Moment On

In songs, mood and delivery, From This Moment On reveals Krall’s personal ardor for that golden era of song-making, when Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and (especially) Nat King Cole were in their prime. There’s an economy and confidence that speak to the maturity of Krall as a performer, and a recording artist.

New Found Glory: Coming Home

From their humble beginnings as a garage band in Coral Springs, Florida to the international, commercial and critical acclaim NFG has received, the band continues to grow. This latest effort offers an astounding collection of songs that give something tangible and something real for listeners to grab on to.

Clay Aiken: Thousand Different Ways

American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken continues to bring home the gold with sold-out shows, and now he rewards fans with A Thousand Different Ways, which features his powerful pipes on songs such as Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is."

Joseph Arthur: Nuclear Daydream

Since the release of 2004's Our Shadows Will Remain, the Akron, Ohio, native started his own label, Lonely Astronaut Records - which will release Nuclear Daydream. Arthur is known for constantly altering his sound, and he assured that Nuclear Daydream will take listeners in yet another direction. "I'm always movin' on from the last thing I did; I react," he said. "So it's looser and freer. And I think it's a bit more rock and roll."

Black Crowes: Freak N Roll: Into The Fog - Live

Recorded live at the famous Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco in August 2005, this is The Black Crowes caught at their very best. After taking a break to pursue solo ventures in 2002, their 2005 tour became one of the hottest tickets of the US summer. With a set featuring all their greatest hits, and some tunning acoustic versions, in the middle of a two-and-a-half hour show performed by one of the greatest live bands of all time, this is a concert simply not to be missed.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: Thug Stories

The legendary hip-hop pioneers from Cleveland are back to spit fire with their 5th album, Thug Stories. With the first album of all-new material since 2002, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, Bizzy Bone and Wish Bone officially make their long-awaited return to the remarkably unparalleled form they had on their masterpiece E. 1999 Eternal - an album that not only won over ever critic, but also won them a Best Rap Performance Grammy "Tha Crossroads."

Bonnie Prince Billy: Letting Go

Limited Edition two CD set by Bonnie Prince Billy (AKA Will Oldham) featuring the 2006 album The Letting Go plus a bonus disc, Little Lost Songs, which features an additional 13 unreleased or rare tracks! The Letting Go is an overwhelming undertaking. Arrangements by Ryder McNair and Nico Muhly are threaded throughout the record, augmenting a simple quintet of players to provide a sixth sense. ‘Filthy’ Jim White is known far and wide for his resource behind the drum kit and he proves it song after song. Oldham’s bass is a feeling accompaniment to Bonny’s guitar. Young Emmett Kelly’s electric guitar lines roam within the web and suddenly shine, are blues and folk and R&B in shifting turn, guilelessly tactic and soulfully expressive. And up front with Bonny is the bewitching Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables.

Cardigans: Super Extra Gravity

If The Cardigans’ previous album was majestic and mature, Super Extra Gravity is an unruly and spectacular album. Still, there are similarities. The band succeeds in retaining everything that was good about Long Gone Before Daylight while, at the same time, rebelling against it. Continuity and reaction in one.

Guy Clark: Workbench Songs

Workbench Songs, the new album from the legendary Guy Clark is his tenth studio recording and a continuation in the evolution of his mastery of song and craft. The man who gave us 'L.A. Freeway,' 'Desperados Waiting For a Train,' 'Old No. 1,' 'That Old Time Feeling' and 'The Randall Knife,' has delivered another song collection every bit as timeless as the best music of his career.

Chris Difford: South East Side Story

New Glasgow-based label Luna Records releases South East Side Story - a CD and bonus DVD set featuring the latest recordings from British music legend Chris Difford, the award winning solo artist, songwriter and former member of Squeeze. South East Side Story features definitive new acoustic arrangements of such favorite Squeeze tracks as 'Tempted', 'Up the Junction', 'Cool for Cats' and 'Black Coffee in Bed'. The accompanying bonus DVD comprises live footage of the South East Side Story concert filmed at the Albany Theatre in Deptford.

Dry Kill Logic: Of Vengeance & Violence

Of Vengeance and Violence' is Dry Kill Logic’s crushing new album. Dry Kill Logic is a band that transcends genre, trends and classification and their new album, 'Of Vengeance and Violence,' sets the standard for aggressive music in 2006. After years of hard work and constant touring, Dry Kill Logic has well- earned their place in the metal community.

Electronic: Get The Message: Best Of Electronic

British post-punk supergroup Electronic was the intermittent collaboration formed by Joy Division/New Order vocalist Bernard Sumner and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Also featuring the Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant, the band was an influential taste-making force that released three groundbreaking albums throughout the ’90s before its members moved on creatively. For the time that these dynamic artists came together as Electronic, their dance-flavored sound pulsed with the freedom they experienced making music outside of their other, higher profile groups. Though their first gig was performing for 70,000 people at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium, Electronic’s collective spirit was personal and independent-minded. Infused with spirit and innovation, it made for some of the ’90s most compelling U.K.-centric altrock.

Employee Of The Month: Soundtrack

Film stars Dane Cook, creator of HBO’s smash Tourgasm and multi-platinum comedy album Retaliation and co-stars multi-platinum recording artist Jessica Simpson. Soundtrack features a cover of Cheap Trick’s classic Surrender by Camp Freddy (featuring members of Velvet Revolver, Guns N’ Roses, Jane’s Addiction, the Cult and Stone Temple Pilots). Also includes the hit Cobrastyle by Tedybears and tracks from Sugarcult, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, the Sammies, film dialogue excerpts and much more.

Fear Before The March Of The Flames: Always Open Mouth

Fear Before the March of Flames will release "The Always Open Mouth" on September15th to further take their sound across genres and land them on the front page and tip of the tongue of all that hear it. This is Refused's "The Shape of Punk to Come" for the next generation of music listeners. The songs are epic, more experimental, evil and hold the classic Fear Before sound throughout but bring elements of NIN, Faith No More and Converge to the table. Their previous two releases have sold over 50k records and with their rabid fanbase through MySpace, this band is ready to take the next step and show the music world this band has written an album to be talked about and referenced for years to come.

Indigo Girls: Despite Our Differences

The Indigo Girls are folk-rock at its finest. The Grammy-winning duo whose career has spanned two decades, twelve releases and more than 12 million album sales, are releasing this, their debut album with Hollywood Records, this September. The album was produced by Mitchell Froom and is their first to be recorded in California. What is NOT new is their fanatic following or the magic way Emily and Amy’s vocals and guitar playing weave together. Renowned for their crackerjack live show, the Indigo Girls have shown a staying power that has led their career to outstrip those of many of their Lillith Fair peers.

Jane's Addiction: Up From The Catacombs: Best Of Jane's Addiction

Jane’s Addiction rose to worldwide fame in the late ’80s after a fierce bidding war for their talents with the brilliant Warner Bros. debut Nothing’s Shocking. Mashing up rock, punk, folk, heavy metal, and psychedelia, the unpredictable Los Angeles band was desperate to turn the world on with their theatrical vision. Their follow-up album the sprawling 1990 tour de force Ritual de lo Habitual remains one of the genre’s true masterpieces. Fronted by the charismatic Perry Farrell, the trailblazing quartet delivered a fiercely aggressive yet beautifully spacious sound that fueled the course of alt rock.

Jedi Mind Tricks: Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell

New album marks return of indie hip-hop favorites with guest appearances by ILL Bill, Sean Price, R.A. The Rugged Man and more. Jedi Mind Tricks’ fifth album, Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell, reflects another benchmark in the evolution of a group that has continuously pushed the boundaries of indie hip-hop. For the past ten years, Jedi Mind Tricks has been making uncompromising music without regard to an industry that often resembles an exclusively hit-hungry country club. Jedi’s renowned status as one of the most revered and reviled groups in independent music is a testament to their unwavering commitment to a unique aesthetic. The group has continuously cooked up a witch’s brew of sonic decadence comprised of politically-charged firebrand lyricism, a dose of battle rap braggadocio, and punishing production.

Elton John: Captain & The Kid

More than 30 years after its release, Elton John really HAS become Captain Fantastic and Bernie Taupin is most definitely The Brown Dirt Cowboy and they have made a sequel to that landmark #1 album. The Captain & The Kid tells the tale of not only their lives, but also of the fantastic records of the '60's & '70's when music was the most important voice of our culture and the was its prime vehicle. With Elton's 60th birthday coming up, its only right to reflect on a life he has lived to the fullest yet continue to push the musical boundaries forward. Whatever you favorite Elton album may be, after listening to The Captain & The Kid, you will transported back to that place in time when music mattered most and also believe that it still does!

Kasabian: Empire

Coming off their acclaimed self-titled debut, Kasabian is poised for world musical domination. There is no doubt that the stage is set for Kasabian to take things to the next level and their follow-up, aptly titled Empire, delivers on that potential and then some. Produced by Jim Abiss, renowned for his own work with Arctic Monkeys, Placebo and Paul Oakenfold to name a few, Empire is a far more ambitious, personal, and darker record than the band's first outing.

Ben Kweller: Ben Kweller

Simply titled Ben Kweller , the new LP was produced by Gil Norton (Pixies) and it’s the follow up to 2004’s highly acclaimed On My Way and 2002’s indie rock classic Sha Sha . Like these albums, the new one is brimming with unforgettable melodies and deft craft, while it also expresses a deep, often soulfulness that could only come from one so sensitive as Kweller. Unlike the previous albums, however, every note you’ll hear on Ben Kweller was played by the man himself.

Jonny Lang: Turn Around

The Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling former prodigy blues guitarist and singer/songwriter who topped the Billboard New Artist chart with his first album at age 15, stands now as a mature creative force, made more sensitive yet also toughened by life’s adventures. He’s learned what it means to rise above hard times and to find meaning where chaos seemed to rule. These insights, and the emotions they unleash, make Turn Around the pivotal album of Jonny Lang’s career to date a passage that links the triumphs of his past to the promise of his future. Produced by Ron Fair, energized through collaboration with songwriter/performers Drew Ramsey, Shannon Sanders and Steven Curtis Chapman, anchored and elevated by former Prince NPG rhythm dynamo Michael Bland, Turn Around is Lang’s fifth album.

Jim Lauderdale: Bluegrass

Bluegrass, one of two brand new albums that Jim Lauderdale will release simultaneously this year, features the solid pickin' and stark, honest songs that led to 2002's Grammy for Bluegrass Album of the Year for "Lost in the Lonesome Pines". His 1990s recordings for Warner Bros., Atlantic and RCA garnered loads of critical acclaim and a loyal cult following, but working with independent labels has given him the creative freedom to make music that stirs his passions.

Jim Lauderdale: Vol. 1 - Country Super Hits

Country Super Hits, Vol. 1, one of two brand new albums that Jim Lauderdale will release simultaneously this year, features the perfect country choruses and fierce honky-tonkin' sound that first garnered him a loyal cult following in the 1990s. USA Today says when artists "want to get back to their roots, they often turn toward Jim Lauderdale, a singer-songwriter whose talent for lyrical and melodic twists is practically unparalleled in Nashville." These artists have included Dwight Yoakam, Ralph Stanley, George Strait and Patty Loveless, and the collaborations have resulted in hit songs (with artists like George Strait, Dixie Chicks, Patty Loveless and Mark Chesnutt) and a Grammy for Bluegrass Album of the Year (2002's "Lost in the Lonesome Pines").

Lennon: Damaged Goods

If your ears are searching for someone who toes the line between melodic and heavy, look no further than Lennon. With a style described as "mega-crunch personified," Lennon brings a female touch to the hard rock world. As Rolling Stone puts it, "Lennon is every hard-rock-loving dude's wet dream: a voluptuous vixen with a penchant for bawdy lyrics and dark metal riffs." On tour this fall with Aerosmith and Motley Crue!

Lupe Fiasco: Food & Liquor

With Food & Liquor, Lupe Fiasco sets no boundaries for himself as he creates a revolutionary brand of alternative hip-hop in which he shares his mind through original storytelling techniques. He takes hip-hop off the streets and onto the half pipe, off the streets and into the sneaker shops, off the streets and into the hands and in front of real people.

Mushroomhead: Savior Sorrow

It's a new chapter in Mushroomhead's evolution. There are sounds on this album that sound so brutal and huge. We focused on delivering some vicious hardcore mixed with heavy melodic hooks. Lyrically, it definitely reflects where the world is at this moment in time. Mushroomhead's follow-up to 2003's "XIII" (Republic/Universal) will mark the group's recording debut with singer Waylon, who replaced frontman J. Mann in 2004. The album's first single will hit radio in mid-August. The band will begin a world tour starting September 12, 2006.

Aaron Neville: Bring It On Home - The Soul Classics

After five decades of consistent hit-making, Neville has, in the words of one Rolling Stone writer, "reached a highpoint in a career marked by artistic superlatives. Bring It On Home - The Soul Classics is an album for the ages and Neville's most remarkable work to date." "These classic songs," says Aaron, "have been pumping blood to my heart from the first second they heard them. They've been a part of my life. Singing them, especially in the aftermath of Katrina, was a deeply spiritual experience. They helped me get through. They gave me hope. And for me, music has always been about hope."

North Mississippi All-Stars: Early Years

Brothers Cody and Luther Dickinson are the sons of producer/songwriter and all-around Memphis legend Jim Dickinson. Equipped with their father's blues-based sense of eclecticism, during the 1990s the brothers honed their chops playing in punk bands, doing session work for the likes of the Replacements and Billy Lee Riley, and getting hands-on coaching from blues legends like R.L. Burnside. This amazing pedigree has made the North Mississippi Allstars one of the most confidently free-wheeling groups on the jam band circuit, embodying a grittier, tougher sound than other more hippie-inspired bands within the scene's ranks. This album contains songs from the early Grammy-nominated albums Shake Hands With Shorty (2000) and 51 Phantom (2001).

Outlaw Country: Outlaw Country

It’s a simple concept: find the best songwriters around and sit them down onstage. It’s worked many times over the years. But there was something beyond special about this particular night in September 1996. We not only had some of the finest songwriters but some of the living legends of country music – kindred spirits who had seen and done it all. Except for something like this. Willie, Waylon, Kris, Billy Joe, Kimmie. They might as well have been in your living room; to them, the cameras were invisible. Each played a few of their favorite songs- “remember whens” and laughs. There were plenty of laughs that night, amid the sense that what we were seeing and hearing might never happen again. It all came together at the end with Willie’s familiar refrain, “On the Road Again.”

Pogues: Hell's Ditch

Hell's Ditch was released in 1990, was produced by Joe Strummer of the Clash, whose punk/politicized rock was long an influence on The Pogues. Highlights of the band's last disc to feature Shane MacGowan include the modern rock hit 'The Sunnyside Of The Street', 'Rain Street, and 'The Ghost of A Smile. Six bonus rarities include Whiskey In The Jar', Curse Of Love and Rainy Night In Soho.' Intro book essay by Tom Waits and extensive liner notes by Gavin Martin.

Pogues: Peace & Love

1989's Peace & Love was produced by Steve Lillywhite, marked other band members' musically coming to the fore more often as MacGowan became increasingly volatile. Standout tracks include 'Gridlock', 'Blue heaven', MacGowan's superb 'White City' and the band's first CD single Misty Morning, Albert Bridge'. Six pack of bonus tracks include the charting single Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah', the traditional 'Star of The County Down', and the Pogues take on 'Honkey Tonk Women. Essay by Patrick McCabe, extensive liner notes by David Quantick.

Pogues: Red Roses For Me

Originally released in 1984, debuted the bands forceful, poetic, and darkly romantic sound to the world. Features the standouts 'Transmetropolitan', 'Steams of Whiskey, 'Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go', and their fiery take on Brendan Behan's 'The Auld Triangle'. Six rare bonus tracks include essential Pogues versions of 'Muirshin Durkin', and the Dubliners classic foot-stomper 'The Wild Rover'. Intro essay by film director Jim Jarmush and memorable liner notes by Gavin Martin.

Pogues: Rum, Sodomy & The Lash

1985's Rum, Sodomy & The Lash, their brilliant second LP was produced by Elvis Costello who also brought the Pogues on tour and later married the band's Cait O'Riordan. #445 on Rolling Stones magazine's '500 Greatest Albums Of All Time'. Highlights include The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn, 'I'm A Man You Don't Meet Everyday' (sung by Cait), their definitive take on The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, and the stunning 'A Pair Of Brown Eyes,' presenting MacGowan's lyrics and vocals in all their 'dilapidated glory' (Costello phrasing). Six bonus rarities include 'A Pistol for Paddy Garcia', 'London Girl, and 'The Parting Glass'. Poetic opening words from Tom Waits and in-depth liner notes from David Quantick.

Smash Mouth: Summer Girl

Summer Girl is the new record from the multi-platinum, Grammy nominated band behind the hits All Star & Walkin’ on the Sun. Six Smash Mouth songs are featured in the new Major Motion Picture Zoom , starring Tim Allen, Courtney Cox, Chevy Chase- including the new tracks Everyday Superhero & So Insane that can only be purchased on Summer Girl.

Suffocation: Suffocation

The legendary Suffocation has come blasting back to the forefront of the genre they helped to create with it's new, self-titled full-length. Suffocation captures the intensity of their famed concert juggernaut and administers a savage, eleven-track beating. As simply stated as the title itself, it's all here; the speed, the precision, the crushing brutality, and the inhuman vocals that have made Suffocation the most influential band in death metal, period.

Too Short: Pimpin Inc.

Too Short was the first West Coast rap star, recording three albums on his own before he made his major-label debut with 1988’s gold album Born fo Mack his next four all went platinum. Anticipating much of the later gangsta phenomenon, he restricted his lyrical themes to tales of sexual prowess and physical violence, with the occasional social-message track to mix things up. After the release of Gettln’lt (Album Number Ten) in 96, Too Short decided to retire, his status assured as one of the most successful solo rappers of the 80's and early ‘90's, although that decision would prove short-lived. Just three years later, he returned with the and went gold. You Nasfyfollowed in the fall of 2000. This Chopped & Screwed version of 2006’s Pirnpin’ Incorporated was done with 00 Ron C, who has recently worked on Chamillionaire’s Chopped & Screwed multi-platinum Sound of Revenge.

Joe Louis Walker: Playin' Dirty

There must be something about JSP that keeps JLW coming back. In this, his third project for us, he's cut a searing album that's inspired by the early days of electric blues. And don't worry, this isn't a nostalgiafest. Here's modern dirty blues drenched in a heritage Joe's made his own.

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