During this last weekend of April, music lovers have seen some big name musicians release new albums. Many more are in the pipeline with legendary performers, including Neil Young and Keith Urban set to release their work in the next few months.
According to Entertainment Weekly , Rob Zombie, who’s been a producer of both hard rock music and horror movies since 1996, released his sixth LP, The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser, on Friday. Zombie told the magazine that he approaches every album he records differently due to the way the recording industry changes year by year.
“You have to deliver the same results in less time, with less money,” said Zombie. “The business is just always changing.”
Zombie will be joining heavy metal band Korn for a tour of North America starting on July 19 in Englewood, Colo. The musicians will be making stops in Phoenix, Dallas, and Boston before concluding on September 3, in Bristow, Va.
“This will be the best year of touring, ever,” said Zombie. “It doesn’t matter if I used to be traveling with a platinum record, it’s better than ever now.”
The Jayhawks, a band that Rolling Stone has called “electric and overlooked,” released the new album Paging Mr. Proust on Friday, which has “sixties inspired folk and electrified krautrock.”
Gary Louris, who is now the only original member of the group, felt it was important to feature the three singers in the Jayhawks on the album as a more “communal sound .” He particularly wanted to showcase Karen Grotberg, whose voice Louris has likened to Fleetwood Mac.
“There’s just a certain timbre to those voices,” said Louris. “We might not be the most trained or perfect singers, but we have very distinct vocals.”
“No one can accuse the Jayhawks of living off past glory,” said David Bauder of Associated Press . “In fact, their failure to achieve the greatness many had predicted became a defining characteristic and internal motivator.”
One of the more unusual new album releases will be coming in June. On April 28, legendary rocker Neil Young announced the release of the live album, EARTH, on Reprise Records, as reported by Pitchfork .
“Ninety-eight uninterrupted minutes long, EARTH flows as a collection of 13 songs from throughout my life, songs I have written about living here on our planet together,” said Young in a press release.
He continued, “Our animal kingdom is well represented in the audience as well, and the animals, insects, birds, and mammals actually take over the performances of the songs at times.”
According to Ultimate Classic Rock , the live tracks come from Young’s albums After the Gold Rush up to 2015’s The Monsanto Years . It will also feature an unreleased track, “I Won’t Quit.”
Essence reported that on June 10, R&B singer and American Idol favorite Fantasia will be releasing her first new album in three years titled The Definition Of .
“I was just at that place where I didn’t want to do what everybody else was doing,” said the singer, who didn’t want to focus on making radio friendly music. “I wanted music that would touch people’s hearts; that would bless people and move people because, you know, music makes the world go round.”
On May 6, country superstar Keith Urban will release his eight studio album, Ripcord , as reported by the Los Angeles Times . The album features collaborations with a diverse array of musicians and producers, including Carrie Underwood, Pitbull, and legendary R&B producer Nile Rodgers.
“He’s a self-deprecating and engagingly straightforward musician who talks openly about his life, the ups and the downs, often mixing words and music together,” said Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times.
Lewis feels that Urban can reach a broader audience with this new album thanks to his stint as a judge on American Idol for four seasons. He will tour this summer starting in June.
With all of these unique and diverse choices out there, will you be listening to any of these new albums?
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
