MUSIC
Some albums to look for this fall
Unquestionably, summer 2008 will be remembered as a time when very few significant artists released new albums. With the notable exceptions of Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson and My Morning Jacket, most of the summer’s finest music was being heard at festivals and inside concert halls, not in living rooms or at the gym on an iPod.
It was beginning to seem that with the retail music industry being what it is, no one was going to bother releasing full-length albums anymore.
All of that is about to change right along with the seasons.
And except for the inevitable “High School Musical” release, the major buzz on new album releases is not surrounding teen pop, country music, or modern rock. The anticipation surrounds new studio albums from a pair of classic hard rock bands.
Metallica, America’s most popular heavy metal band, hasn’t released a new album in five years. Australian high-voltage rock stalwarts AC/DC haven’t rattled the rafters or bothered the charts since the release of “Stiff Upper Lip,” back in 2000. As surprising as this may be, these two albums are likely to sell in abundance. They might even give “High School Musical 3” a run for its money.
Here are a few albums that promise to be worth your attention this fall (and look for full reviews as the release dates near):
Ani Difranco, “Red Letter Year” (Righteous Babe)
This is DiFranco’s most upbeat album, which is not to say that it’s not a serious piece of work, and it includes some pointed sociopolitical commentary and plenty of the fearless poet’s vitriol. Still, with the help of her touring band and producer/partner Mike Napolitano, DiFranco has crafted a record more about joy than anger, and that’s a (very welcome) first.
Release date: September 30
AC/DC, “Black Ice” (Independent)
Unless you’re neurotic, you don’t fix what ain’t broke, a lesson learned well, and early, by the brothers Young. Angus and Malcolm, along with vocalist Brian Johnson and the rhythm section of bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd, teamed with producer Brendan O’Brien to track an album that, from the bits I’ve heard, is looking like yet another hard rock masterpiece. And yes, expect to hear the same three (and sometimes four!) chords you’ve heard on every AC/DC album. Amen!
Release date: October 20, exclusively through WalMart, or better yet, www.ACDC.com .
Metallica, “Death Magnetic” (Warner Bros.)
Word is, this is the Metallica album the band’s long suffering fans have long been clamoring for — as in, it’s dark, heavy and full of the sort of shredding that informed “And Justice For All” and the like. Forget the sensitive little rich boys you saw in the film “Some Kind of Monster.” Forget all the 12-stepping and self-helping and getting in touch with inner children and all of that. While you’re at it, forget every album Metallica has released since “The Black Album,” and maybe even longer. This one just might make your neighbor’s lawn die, if you play it loud enough.
Release date: September 12
Oasis, “Dig Out Your Soul” (Big Brother Records/Warner Bros.)
Can the Gallagher brothers still deliver? Does anyone even care anymore? It would seem that they do — when rumors began circulating that “Dig Out Your Soul” would offer a return to the sprawling, groovy psychedelia of “What’s the Story Morning Glory,” tickets for the group’s just-launched world tour began selling at a rapid clip. The new album will be prefaced by the released of a single, “The Shock of the Lightning.” Release date: October 7
Honorable mention
Kings of Leon, “Only By the Night” (RCA), September 23; TV On the Radio, “Dear Science” (DGC), September 23; Mercury Rev, “Snowflake Midnight” (Yep Roc), September 30; Dungen, “4” (Subliminal Sounds), September 23.
On the reissue front, this fall finds Bob Dylan gathering the best, largely unreleased material from his past two decades. “Tell Tale Signs” looks incredibly promising, concentrating as it does on the Bard’s “Oh Mercy” and onward period. The set is released on October 7.
The Grateful Dead (finally!) releases as 2 CD/1 DVD commemorating its historic trip to perform in front of the Egyptian pyramids in 1978. “Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978” is out September 30.
Lastly, Miles Davis’ seminal “Kind of Blue” album gets the Columbia/Legacy deluxe box set treatment on September 30.
