Rihanna's new album is Rated R
She’s finally put down that umbERella folks! With brilliant vocals and tracks that herald in a darker edge, Rihanna’s fourth studio has a more creative feel than previous offerings and will be launched on November 20th 2009.
Showcasing the single written by Ne-Yo and Rihanna, Russian Roulette, the album is the Barbadian R&B singer’s first to receive a Parental Advisory label. There’s also much speculation as to whether it will include any tracks written about Chris Brown – Rihanna’s ex-boyfriend with whom she was involved in an altercation before the 2009 Grammy Awards. With angrier songs carrying titles on the subject of love like Stupid in Love and Cold Case Love and Rude Boy, this could well be the case.
The CD sees Rihanna working with many prestigious song-writers and producers including Chuck Harmony, Tricky Stewart, the Norwegian record producing team Stargate and Justin Timberlake. Ne-Yo has co-written many of the songs and has described Russian Roulette as a “different direction for both of us.” Rihanna specified that she wanted dark songs that had some kind of meaning “a little more morbid,” Ne-Yo says, commenting that she also says some things on this album that you’ve never heard her say before – could he be referring to the inclusion of swear words on some of the tracks? Several recordings feature iconic performers like Velvet Revolver’s Slash who plays guitar on the suitably named track, Rockstar 101 and Hard features the American rapper Young Jeezy.
Rated R reflects Rihanna’s growth as an artist and also as a songwriter but although some of the songs are dark they’re combined with more uptempo club beats and heartfelt ballads. Fans who pre-order Rates R will receive an instant download of Russian Roulette but there’s another reason you need to add this album to your collection – it’s seriously stellar… ella…ella.
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Chris Moyles - The Parody Album
Love him or loathe him – and not many people feel indifferent towards him - Chris Moyles is widely recognised as having single-handedly dragged Radio 1 from the depths of the listener ratings. The Parody Album is an eclectic mix of uproarious parodies originally aired on the DJ’s Breakfast Show with a few new ones thrown in too and is being released on 23rd November.
With twenty tracks including spoofs of songs by well-known artistes including Meat Again (inspired by JLS’s Beat Again), Lorry Driver (from Womanizer by Britanny Spears), Big Bum (from Tom Jones’s Sex Bomb) and a parody of fellow Loiners, the Kaiser Chiefs’ I Predict a Riot - the aptly named, given the extent of Moylsey’s girth - I Predict a Diet, the album also features exclusive tracks written by the man himself.
Undoubtedly the highlight is the Barack Obama song – we challenge you to sing it all the way through without hesitation, deviation or repetition (the latter could be tricky!).
Radio 1’s longest serving Breakfast Show presenter has always courted controversy with various complaints having been upheld against him by the Broadcasting Standard’s Council. These have included accusations of sexism, homophobia and inappropriate behaviour (for fondling Mel’s B’s breasts on air with accompanying graphic description!) for which the DJ has apologised profusely.
Nevertheless, Chris and his team, comprising Comedy Dave (Dave Vitty), Dominic Byrne, Rachel Mallender, Carrie Davis and Aled Hayden Jones have now successfully shocked and amused listeners for five years - and played a few records in-between.
The Parody Album will provide unlimited, eccentric entertainment over the Christmas period, complete with lyrics that will provide the catchphrases of a generation (for the next six months at least). Order yours now to hear Chris Moyles at his funniest – after all - seven million listeners can’t be wrong.
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Echo is Leona Lewis's second studio album
Leona Lewis’s long-awaited album Echo contains a mixture of ballads and dance-floor anthems. It’s to be released on 16th November in the UK and can be pre-ordered from Amazon at £8.98 and £16.09.
Echo is available in three different formats – a standard edition, a deluxe edition with two extra tracks and a 32-page insert and as a download from iTunes to include two live performance songs taken from Leona’s first full UK show at Hackney Empire on 2nd November 2009.
This is Leona’s second studio album and in it, the former winner of the X-Factor has worked with an impressive range of musicians, including Justin Timberlake, John Shanks and Ne-Yo to produce thirteen tracks that combine upbeat, electro numbers with unashamedly romantic songs reminiscent of the heart rending Keep Bleeding. Leona herself has described the album as the creation of a “big, organic sound like an echo.”
The vocalist of OneRepublic, Ryan Tedder who wrote Happy, the lead single from the album and the track You Don’t Care, claims that Leona’s singing has been raised to a new level: “I pushed Lewis vocally more on this song than any song she’s ever done,” he says.
Art work on the album features Leona looking more and more like a sultry pop diva, wearing gold lamé and white satin gowns designed by Vivienne Westwood. Expect a more polished and confident performance than that achieved in the début album, Spirit with Can’t Breathe, Broken and Stop Crying Your Heart Out all strong contenders for future singles. The album has received three out of five stars from The Observer when the reviewer Peter Robinson wrote that “Echo hits its target.” And if the album pleases the likes of the Observer critics, there’s no doubt that Leona’s fans will be more than over the moon with it.
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Susan Boyle has released her inspirational album
After a nail-biting wait, we now have the inspirational album from Susan Boyle, the 48-year-old runner-up to Britain’s Got Talent, whose awe-inspiring rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misèrables left hard-nosed judge Simon Cowell almost speechless.
From the moment Susan Boyle walked on to the stage the audience and cynical judging panel had her down as a dowdy, delusionary no-hoper. When she walked off that stage five minutes later with a standing ovation no-one was in any doubt that a star, albeit an unlikely one, had been born.
This album not only includes those songs that brought Susan Boyle worldwide acclaim like Cry Me A River and I Dreamed a Dream, it also showcases her tremendous versatility as an artist with songs like The Monkee’s Daydream Believer and a rendition of Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones, which brought the studio audience to their feet at the finale of America’s Got Talent.
Also including a song written especially for Susan called Who I Was Born to Be, the album is tipped to be the Christmas Number one on both sides of the Atlantic and is to be released on 23rd November. I Dreamed a Dream not only shows that people shouldn’t be judged by appearances, it also testifies to the fact that anyone can achieve their dream whoever they are… (As long as they’ve got talent!!).
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Slayer - World Painted Blood release date 2nd November
The Californian thrash-metal band, Slayer are to release their tenth studio album – World Painted Blood – on Monday 2nd November in the UK with a RRP of £22.99 for the Deluxe Edition.
The album has been the cause of much excitement amongst fans and within the band itself as this is the first time Slayer have written and prepared material while in the studio. In a recent interview, Dave Lombardo, drummer has described the recording as being one of the greatest experiences Slayer has experienced: “We were together during the writing process more than we had been for the past albums”, he explained, “We worked more collectively, everyone’s suggestions and ideas were heard and considered and that camaraderie is definitely heard in the album,” he said, adding, “The other albums were good, but on this one there’s some kind of magic that I can’t put my finger on, it just flows really well, the structuring is done well, the melodies are done well.”
The album is being released in three different editions: a limited edition CD with multiple CD covers, a deluxe edition CD/DVD and a 180-gram vinyl edition. The CD/DVD comes in a double digipak, housed in a transparent, blood-red sleeve and containing an APET “blood specimen” O-card. DVD content includes the 20-minute animated graphic novel, Playing With Dolls and features music from the album as well as a previously unheard song and an expanded booklet.
The album contains some typically controversial material including a track (Unit 731) about human experimentation undertaken by the Imperial Japanese Army during the second Sino-Japanese War. Other tracks include Snuff, Playing with Dolls and Not of This God. As befits a band credited with being on the of “Big Four” thrash metal legends along with the likes of Metallica, the thirteen tracks mix brutal, full-on metal with intensely brooding intros delivered with faultless production.
Play.com is offering a free exclusive track – Jihad – on the deluxe edition, that can be downloaded within a few days of an order being placed.
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Foo Fighters are releasing a Greatest Hits compilation
The greatest hits compilation of the Grammy Award winning band Foo Fighters is due for release on 2nd November 200, at a price of £11.99.
The American rock band was formed 14 years ago when David Grohl’s previous band Nirvana disbanded following the death of lead singer Kurt Cobain. Since then Ghrol has admitted the huge influence of Cobain on his songwriting: “Through Kurt, I saw the beauty of minimalism and the importance of music that’s stripped down,” he said. Adding rhythmic riffs, great melodies and elements of punk rock and he created Foo Fighter’s unique brand of music that has won the band three Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and a total of six nominations.
All of the group’s best hits are represented on this compilation which also has two tracks produced by Butch Vig; Word Forward and the new single, Wheels.
The deluxe edition comes with a DVD featuring the band’s music videos and live footage of their concerts at Wembley Stadium, Hyde Park and the Skin & Bones Theater Tour. It also contains a 28-page book with previously unseen photos of the band throughout their career.
Happily for their fans, after Grohl hinted in an interview in 2008 that there could be a break, the band is still performing and announced in July this year at an exclusive concert that their third best-of collection would be released on 2nd November.
The track list for the Greatest Hits Album is as follows:
All My Life
Best Of You
Everlong
The Pretender
My Hero
Learn To Fly
Times Like These
Monkeywrench
Big Me
Breakou
Long Road To Ruin
This is a Call
Skin and Bones
Wheels
Word Forward
Everlong (acoustic)
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Bon Jovi's new album The Circle is released on 2nd November
Bon Jovi’s new album The Circle will be released on 2nd November and comes in two versions; a single disc version and the disc and a two-disc DVD Deluxe Limited Edition incorporating the exclusive documentary When We Were Beautiful.
The US rock band continues the successful songwriting collaboration between vocalist Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora that came up with the goods on a series of popular albums throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The Circle sees them reuniting with producer and songwriter, Jon Shanks who worked with the band on Have a Nice Day and half of Lost Highway.
Fans will find that the single We Weren’t Born to Follow is different from the one currently being broadcast on the airwaves, after fans indicated they would prefer more of a typical “rippin’and burnin” Richie Sambora solo. As Richie himself comments; “The album is a wholehearted return to rock and roll with some big choruses; It sounds like Bono Jovi but it sounds fresh,” he says.
Jon Bon Jovi agrees; “The last thing we want to do is try and Xerox something until it becomes a pale imitation of the original so when Jon called me up last year and said it was time to start writing, the first thing we asked ourselves was, ‘what do we feel like doing? Where are our heads at? And rocking was the answer,” he said.
The Deluxe version of The Circle costs £12.98 and the single CD £8.98 and will be on the shelves from 2nd November.
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The Prodigy album Invaders Must Die is out on 9th November
The Prodigy are to re-release their album Invaders Must Die as a three disc version available on 9th November.
The album which was launched earlier this year is the British electronic band’s fifth album featuring their eighteenth single Invaders Must Die and is the first album since 1997’s Fat of the Land, to combine all three members. Keith Fling, Maxim and Liam Howlett reunite for an album that pulses with rave vibes and breakbeats reminiscent of earlier Prodigy tracks.
Band members themselves described the album as going back to their “old-school but cutting edge” roots. Invaders must die also features collaborations with David Grohl of Foo Fighters and James Rushent of Does it Offend You, Yeah.
Released as a CD, CD/DVD set, double vinyl, digital download and luxury 7-inch vinyl box set which includes five vinyls, a CD/DVD, bonus CD, poster, sticker and stencils, disc one is the original album plus three bonus songs; The Big Gundown, Black Smoke, Wild West and Fighter Beat. The bonus DVD features the video of Invaders Must Die, Omen, World’s on Fire and Warrior’s Dance.
Tracks include Omen, Take me to the Hospital, Warriors dance and Thunder featuring elements of the Ethiopian Peace Song or Rasta Peace Song by Trefor Joe.
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Alexandra Burke's debut album is out now
The winner of X-Factor, Alexandra Burke’s keenly-awaited début album entitled Overcome, is now on sale.
The feisty singer has had a rocky time finding her own identity over the past ten months but this album proves that she is so much more than just a winner of talent shows. Alexandra can belt it out like no-one’s business and does so to great effect in tracks like Bad Boys and All Night, but along with the club smashes, Overcome also contains languid soul gems, retro sounds, a touch of Tamla Motown and lyrical ballads that also come with beats.
With a stellar supporting cast of producers, singers and songwriters including Stargate; the Swedish production team who spawned 21 top US hits for the likes of Shakira, Beyoncé and Rihanna and the man behind the hugely successful Lady Gaga – Red One. Overcome has been produced with an eye on the market across the Atlantic and was recorded over a period of six months.
Alexandra herself says; “I want my music to be fun, to be uplifting and to be bold. I want it to reflect my personality. I want it to be in your face. I want it to be a beast.
“I said exactly the same thing to Simon Cowell,” she continues, “He said ‘whatever you do, it has to come from the heart’.” Does Overcome succeed? You can only find out by buying it.
Take That - The Greatest Day: Take That Present The Circus Live
The Greatest Day: Take That Present the Circus Live is a recording of Take That’s legendary performance at Wembley Stadium when they emotional and euphoric renditions of their iconic songs like Patience, Never Forget and Relight My Fire.
These CDs are Take That’s first ever official live recordings and represent one of the defining moments in pop history when, following one of the most talked- about comebacks ever, the boys (minus Robbie Williams) reunited to embark on a mammoth tour culminating in the earth-shattering show at Wembley with unashamedly spectacular effects, fireworks, hot air balloons – and, of course - that robotic elephant.
The first disc captures the excitement and energy of that performance with a 16-track recording mixed by Bob Clearmountain, the famed producer of albums by the likes of Robbie Williams himself and Bruce Springsteen. Disc Two is an exclusive live recording of Take That performing 11 tracks at the more intimate location of the Abbey Road studios, to no lesser effect, focusing on material from their last two albums including Greatest Day, Rule the World and Said it All.
A staggering 1.2 million people attended the concerts and no-one came out disappointed – perhaps that says it all. Get your own ticket to hear the show that rocked the world on 30th November for only £8.95.
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