(Rock Ridge Music/Space Age Bachelor Pad, Sept. 29, 2009)
BTW: For "Susquehanna," frontman Steve Perry says the Cherry Poppin' Daddies wanted an album that lyrically reads like a story.
"I wanted it to be emotional, warm, and physical; not dry like a lot of 'thinky' music can be," he tells P&P. "I also wanted to play around with multiple genre's as the delivery system for the story and ideas. I was inspired in this by say somebody like Godard who pingpongs between various genre's of movie to represent the spheres of influence of different characters. I am thinking here primarily about his film, 'Pierrot le Fou' here. The female character in the film goes between the musical and action/road movie/crime genre's while the male character keeps pulling toward a pastoral type movie - like Doctor Doolittle or something. I just love that kind of stuff and I tried to do that kind of radical, 'disruptive' genre shifting with this recording.
"To me, it adds layers of depth and interest that hopefully encourages repeated listenings, not to mention a creative investment in the group of songs by the listener. I guess you would have to check out that film to see what I am talking about."
It's the Daddies' first album since 2000's "Soul Caddy." Perry says the group wasn't worried whether fans had forgotten about them.
"We have sort of been an enigma for our entire existence," he says, "so I am sort of tired of worrying about how or whether people know what we are doing ... Whilst one ever really know thee? We have resisted simple categorization and had a commercially successful record (gasp) and therefore have committed two grave sins in the eyes of many. We like to make music so we will continue, it's as simple as that."
"lost and found" (producers: Misha Volf, Cliff Kaplan; guests: Volf, Kaplan, Mike Riddleberger; first single: "A Good Day"; Hear here)
(Eternal Amateur, Sept. 30, 2009)
Foreigner (new singer: Kelly Hansen)
"Can't Slow Down [CD/DVD]" (group's first album since 1995's "Mr. Moonlight"; three discs of new music, remixed hits and live performances; producers: Mark Ronson, Marti Frederiksen; Hear here)
(Rhino, Sept. 29, 2009 - to be sold in Wal-Mart stores)
Bebel Gilberto (daughter of bossa nova king Joao Gilberto)
"All in One" (mostly sung in Portuguese; producers: Mark Ronson, the Brazilian Girls' Didi Gutman, the Dust Brothers' John King, Daniel Jobim; Hear here; Read here; MP3 Download)
"Wake Up the Sleepers" (producers: Kill Hannah; guests: Good Charlotte's Benji Madden, The Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer, The Birthday Massacre's Chibi, Powerspace guitarist Tom Schleiter; first single: "New York City Speed"; Hear here)
"God & Guns" (producer: Bob Marlette; guests: Rob Zombie, John 5, Jerry Douglas; first single: "Still Unbroken"; Hear here; Read here; Deluxe edition)
(Loud & Proud/Roadrunner, Sept. 29, 2009)
BTW: Losing two members in less than a year would decimate most groups. Not Lynyrd Skynyrd. For nearly 40 years, adversity has always made them stronger.
Keyboardist Billy Powell died in late January of a suspected heart attack at age 56, and longtime bassist Ean Evans lost a battle with cancer in early May. Singer Johnny Van Zant, who joined the group when it reunited in 1987, tells P&P that their deaths just made them more determined to finish the album in their honor "because those two were on it."
"It seems every time something bad happens to Lynyrd Skynyrd," he says, "we go back to the fans and the music. Thank God the fans are still there for us, and that the music is still going. He's given us a chance to make another record, and I can't wait for the fans to hear it."
With the album title, Lynyrd Skynyrd is making a statement, Van Zant says.
"For us, we've been through a lot of tragedy and whenever you go through a lot of stuff like that, you gotta have faith," he says. "Of course, we believe in God above, the Lord Savior. What ever god you believe in, that's your choice, but for us it's Jesus.
"Also, I live in the swamps, and I'm a true believer in shotguns. I have a lot of friends that hunt; I don't hunt anymore myself, but God and guns — those are two things that shouldn't be taken away from us as Americans. I don't own a pistol, personally; I've never seen a person shoot a deer with a pistol (laughing), but I'm a collector of shotguns.
"And that's not saying that it should be that way for everyone. If you're a criminal, you shouldn't have that privilege of owning something. Myself, hell, I pay my taxes, and I've been to jail a couple of times but it sure wasn't for robbing, killing or hurting anybody. It was from being stupid — public drunkenness. But I would like to able to own a shotgun and not have that taken away from me. And if you want to pray in school, whether you're Christian, Muslim, whatever, you should be able to do your thing. That shouldn't be taken away from you."
Van Zant believes Skynyrd fans will love "God & Guns," because "there's something for everyone on it."
"I know every artist goes 'Oh, I love my record,' but from my heart, I think this is a really great Lynyrd Skynyrd record. It holds up to the Skynyrd legacy."
Madness
"The Liberty of Norton Folgate" (ska legends' first album of new material since 1999's "Wonderful"; producers: Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley; Hear here; Read here)
"Lovely Creatures" (producer: Dwight Baker; guest: Patty Griffin; first single: "40 Dogs [Like Romeo and Juliet]"; Hear here; Read here)
(Kirtland, Sept. 29, 2009)
7 Worlds Collide (Neil Finn with Johnny Marr, KT Tunstall, members of Wilco and Radiohead, etc.)
"The Sun Came Out" (2 CDs, with sales benefiting Oxfam International; other contributors: Bic Runga, Lisa Germano, Liam Finn, Don McGlashan, etc.; first single: "Hazel Black"; Hear here)
"Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy" (he fronted Miracle Legion and Polaris; covers by Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Dinosaur Jr., Mercury Rev, The National, Frank Black, Vic Chesnutt, Frank Turner, Josh Rouse, etc.; Hear here)
(Shout! Factory, Sept. 29, 2009)
Various artists
"Music Inspired By The Film More Than a Game" (the film documents the rise of LeBron James; includes Drake's "Forever," with guests Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem; opens in Los Angeles, New York and Cleveland on Oct. 2; See here)
"The Garland Touch" (1962 album; remastered, with six bonus tracks; this was her last album for Capitol; Hear here)
(DRG, Sept. 29, 2009)
Genesis
"Genesis Live 1973-2007 [Box set]" (8 CDs, 2 DVDs; includes the live albums "Genesis Live," "Seconds Out," "Three Sides Live," "The Way We Walk" and Live at the Rainbow 1973" and previously unreleased material; Hear here; Read here)
"The Collection [Box set]" (3 CDs; contains 1940s/'50s collection "Sinatra Sings Rodgers and Hammerstein," "Swing and Dance with Frank Sinatra," 1946's "The Voice of Frank Sinatra")
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