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New Releases For The Week Of November 06, 2007
Edited by Jonathan Cohen
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'American' Standard
Jay-Z will release his second album in a year, "American Gangster," this week via Def Jam. The album features all new original material inspired by the upcoming movie of the same name starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. The trailer for the film features Jay-Z's "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)," from his 2001 album "The Blueprint."
"American Gangster," which also features rappers T.I., Common and RZA in supporting roles, is based on the life of drug kingpin-turned-informant Frank Lucas (Washington), who shipped heroin to the United States in the coffins of soldiers killed in Vietnam. Lucas was brought to justice by lawman Richie Roberts (Crowe). The two then worked together to expose the crooked cops and foreign nationals.
Jay-Z's album, which sports production from Just Blaze, Pharrell Williams and P. Diddy, follows quickly on the heels of last year's "Kingdom Come," his much-touted "comeback" project. It has sold about 1.5 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
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Brown's 'Exclusive' Return
Right in time, after his single "Kiss Kiss" featuring T-Pain overtook Soulja Boy's "Crank That" on top of the Hot 100 last week, Chris Brown returns with his sophomore set, "Exclusive" (Jive).
Several producers from his self-titled debut -- including Bryan-Michael Cox, the Underdogs, Sean Garrett and Scott Storch -- returned to helm the decks. Additional songwriters, contributors and producers tapped this time around include will.i.am, Stargate, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, R. Kelly and Pharrell Williams.
"I'm doing this to the best of my ability, just having fun," the teenaged R&B crooner says. His first hit, "Run It!" also topped the charts back in 2005. "It's like a family reunion."
Buzz for the album arrived prematurely more than four months ago, when the first single, "Wall to Wall," was leaked to New York hip-hop station Hot 97, which then pushed up the recording schedule three weeks. The song went on to peak at No. 79 on the Hot 100 and No. 22 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
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Finding Its 'Place'
It will be hard for country quartet Little Big Town to follow up its strong breakthrough album, 2005's "The Road to Here," but some electric performances on "A Place To Land" should help the cause.
Released via Equity Music Group, the album touches on everything from classic rock to hard funk, dance tunes to introspective lullabies. The vocal group relies on this versatility to propel tracks like the recent single "I'm With the Band" (which continues to climb on the Hot Country Songs tally) up the charts.
Live performance has always been one of the band's strengths, and it has toured constantly. Currently out with Sugarland and Jake Owen on the CMT tour, Little Big Town has opened for Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Martina McBride, among others. Last year the band toured with John Mellencamp, who asked the members to sing backing vocals on eight songs on his album "Freedom's Road."
"The collaborations we've done in the last year definitely changed us," the band's Karen Fairchild says, citing its CMT "Crossroads" appearance with Lindsey Buckingham and the tour with Mellencamp. "They stretched us, and we want to do more of that."
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'Los Extraterrestres' Has Landed
The reggaeton revolution has risen and fallen within the last three years on Latin radio, but for Wisin & Yandel, the hip-hop infused genre has yet to die. "I am a reggaeton act. I sing reggaeton, that's what I do," Wisin says. "And I do very well with it."
"Los Extraterrestres," the Latin duo's new Machete album, comes on the heels off 2006's "Los Vaqueros," which yielded a number of Hot Latin Tracks hits.
The new album is not a big departure from the pair's previous efforts, with big hooks and dance beats meshing with an urban flair. "Sexy Movimiento," the set's first single has already reached No. 1 on Billboard's Latin Rhythmic chart.
Wisin & Yandel, born Juan Luis Morera Luna (Wisin) and Llandel Veguilla Malave, also recently became the first act ever to get its own customized Zune player. The limited edition device hit Wal-Mart stores Oct. 29.
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Additional titles hitting stores this week include:
The soundtrack to the Bob Dylan-focused film "I'm Not There" (Columbia), featuring Dylan covers by Sonic Youth, Eddie Vedder, Stephen Malkmus, Willie Nelson and Jeff Tweedy, among many others.
Country up-and-comer Josh Turner's "Everything Is Fine" (MCA Nashville).
Latino rapper Baby Bash's "Cyclone" (Arista).
Expanded reissues of the Joy Division albums "Unknown Pleasures," "Closer" and "Still," plus the soundtrack to the Ian Curtis biopic "Control" (Rhino).
Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan's debut from his side project Puscifer, "V is for Vagina" (Puscifer).
Teenage hip-hop outfit the Pack's "Based Boys" (Jive).
Television guitarist Richard Lloyd's "The Radiant Monkey" (Parasol).
R&B veteran Will Downing's "After Tonight" (Concord).
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There's an appropriate bleakness to "Blackout," Britney Spears' first Jive album in four years, and her first as a tabloid figure rather than a vibrant teen idol. The hazy-eyed bump-and-grind of her "Gimme More" MTV Video Music Awards performance fits all this material.
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After an extended break and the loss of original member Kevin Richardson, the Backstreet Boys return this week "Unbreakable," their latest studio album for Jive Records.
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Fans who have waited since 1979 for a new studio album from the Eagles surely won't be disappointed with "Long Road Out of Eden," which arrives this week.
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This week, Avenged returns with a self-titled Warner Bros. set that Shadows says represents the latest step in the band's "upward trajectory."
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