Mellencamp, Jones albums among early '07 releases

01/01/2007 10:58 PM, Reuters


Billboard presents a look at the music you'll be hearing a lot about in the first quarter:

JOHN MELLENCAMP

"Freedom's Road" (Universal, January 23)

Mellencamp's first album of originals since 2001 is led by "Our Country," which has been prominently featured in a Chevrolet commercial to the chagrin of his label. In November, the track earned Mellencamp his first appearance on The Billboard Hot 100 in nine years and just the third of his career on Hot Country Songs.

"'Our Country' is the most John Mellencamp-sounding record on it," he says. "I think people are gonna go, 'Wow!,' or they're gonna go, 'What is he trying to do?"' Elsewhere, Joan Baez duets with Mellencamp on the track "Jim Crow."

THE SHINS

"Wincing the Night Away" (Sub Pop, January 23)

Natalie Portman's character in the 2004 film "Garden State" proclaimed "the Shins will change your life," which the Portland, Ore., indie-pop darlings hope to do with their third Sub Pop album, originally due last summer.

"I'm constantly reminded of how much better the project gets as new discoveries are made," frontman James Mercer says. "That only happens through taking your time and being able to approach it with some new perspective."

Indeed, "Wincing" advances the band well beyond the simple indie pop of its first two albums, the most recent of which, 2003's "Chutes Too Narrow," has sold 407,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Highlights include "Turn on Me," which nearly nicks the melody of the girl-group classic "Then He Kissed Me"; "Black Wave," a ghostly slice of acoustic folk that never releases its tension; and the jammed-out opener "Sleeping Lessons."

NORAH JONES

"Not Too Late" (Blue Note, January 30)

Norah Jones kept a low profile in 2006, recording a collaborative album with New York-based musician friends as the Little Willies and guesting on the self-titled Ipecac album from Mike Patton's Peeping Tom project.

But January 30 sees her back in the public eye with her third album, "Not Too Late," comprising songs all written or co-written by the artist. Production was handled by Jones' songwriting partner/bassist Lee Alexander; indie singer/songwriter M. Ward, Kronos Quartet cellist Jeff Ziegler and organist Larry Goldings make guest appearances.

First single "Thinking About You" typifies an album full of jazz- and soul-shaded arrangements, old-school organ and horns and Jones' honeyed vocals.

KATHARINE McPHEE

Title TBA (RCA, January 30)

McPhee rushed off the road with the American Idols summer tour to build songs from scratch with such collaborators as Timbaland associate Nate Hill, Babyface, Kara DioGuardi and Ryan Leslie. "It's rhythm pop," she says of the album's sound. "It's not like really R&B or really poppy, but there are a couple of tracks that are really good for the 'American Idol' fans who voted for me and knew me as the 'Over the Rainbow' girl."

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH

Some Loud Thunder (self-released, January 30)

The indie-rock darlings headed to upstate New York to record their second album with producer Dave Fridmann. Like the band's 2005 self-titled debut, "Thunder" will bypass a label and be worked directly through the Alternative Distribution Alliance. Look for plenty of what the Talking Heads-influenced rock bloggers have come to love, particularly the danceable title track.

FALL OUT BOY

Infinity on High (Island, February 6)

Fall Out Boy thinks its third album will surprise its fans -- but hopefully in a good way. Vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump says the Chicago band's second major label set, the follow-up to 2005's double-platinum "From Under the Cork Tree," cuts a broader swath than its predecessors.

"From song to song there's a completely different feel, but they all make sense in context," he says. "They've got a few common points, but overall there's a lot of different voices and perspectives and styles. It would be dishonest for us to hold back any of these elements."

As for the funky single "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race," Stump enthuses, "It's basically a hip-hop/R&B song but written as a punk song."

LUCINDA WILLIAMS

West (Lost Highway, February 13)

Loss and loneliness are at the core of Lucinda Williams' eighth album, which finds her coping with another painful breakup and the passing of her mother, about whom she reminisces in songs like "Mama You Sweet" and "Fancy Funeral." Williams says, "It's probably been the most prolific time in my life as a writer. I'd been through so many changes, so obviously there's a lot of pain and struggling, but it ends with a look toward the future."

CHARLIE LOUVIN

Charlie Louvin (Tompkins Square, February 20)

Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Elvis Costello and George Jones are among the artists pitching in on country legend Louvin's first new album in more than a decade. The artist, who turns 80 in July, also netted contributions from Will Oldham, Tom T. Hall, Bobby Bare Sr., Marty Stuart, the Clean's David Kilgour and members of Lambchop, Superchunk, Bright Eyes and Clem Snide.

LIL JON

Crunk Rock (TVT, date TBA)

Lil Jon is hard at work on "Crunk Rock," for which the Atlanta producer is hoping to collaborate with Rick Rubin, Good Charlotte, Korn's Jonathan Davis and Green Day producer Rob Cavallo.

"I ain't trying to save the world, and I ain't trying to reinvent the wheel," he says. "I'm a give people what they know and love me for -- the crunk s--- and the nice club records for the ladies to dance to. But also on this record, I've got live bands, crazy heavy metal and rock guitars, so it's a mixture."

The track "Act the Fool" featuring Three 6 Mafia was recently leaked on Jon's MySpace page.

MODEST MOUSE

We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Epic, date TBA)

Modest Mouse reached previously unknown commercial heights with 2004's "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" and its ubiquitous hit "Float On." But there are no mainstream-courting maneuvers on its third Epic album, which introduces former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr into the fold.

Album opener/first single "Dashboard" rides in on a boogie riff and thudding kick drum, while "Florida" is a tight rocker with a prominent hook and "Fire It Up" conjures vintage Modest Mouse melancholy. But the best of the bunch is the eight-minute-plus "Spitting Venom," which blooms from a sleepy acoustic intro into a full-on psychedelic jam. The Shins' James Mercer sings backup on three cuts.

THE ARCADE FIRE

Neon Bible (Merge, March 6)

The Arcade Fire's "Funeral" was the runaway indie-rock success story of 2005, selling 310,000 copies for Merge and attracting the support of Bono and David Bowie. The Montreal-based band spent significant chunks of 2006 working on "Neon Bible" and opted to self-produce the set. "We kind of realized that we already know how we want things to sound so we should just run after that sound as fast as we can and not rely on someone else to guide the good ship Arcade Fire," frontman Win Butler says.

The pipe organ-laced "Intervention" was made available for sampling via a toll-free number on December 15, sending indie-rock blogs into a tizzy, and five London shows in late January/early February sold out in two minutes.

GUNS N' ROSES

Chinese Democracy (Geffen, March 6)

In late December, Axl Rose broke his silence to announce he had parted ways with manager Merck Mercuriadis and that the decade-in-the-making "Chinese Democracy" would finally arrive March 6. It's anybody's guess if the date will hold, but a monster first week is a fair bet.

AIR

Pocket Symphony (Astralweks, March 6)

Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon lend vocals to the French duo's latest, which is highlighted by the sexy instrumental opener "Space Maker" and the pulse-quickening electro-pop of "Mer du Japon." Drown yourself in the bottle during the Cocker-sung "Hell of a Party," a somber reflection on the morning after.

GOOD CHARLOTTE

Good Morning Revival (Epic, March 20)

"It sounds like Good Charlotte," frontman Joel Madden says matter-of-factly about the Don Gilmore-produced "Good Morning Revival." "It sounds older. We sound more comfortable." Indeed, the first taste of new music was "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl," which Madden wrote after deciding, "I want to make a song I can hear in the club."

The set also includes "I Don't Want to Be Loved," a heavily produced rocker in the vein of the Killers' "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine," and first single "The River," which features metal act Avenged Sevenfold.

THE STOOGES

The Weirdness (Virgin, March 20)

So what does the first Stooges album since 1973 sound like? According to Iggy Pop, it sounds like, er, the Stooges. "You put it on and right away you'd know, well, that's them. There they go," he says of the project, which was recorded by Steve Albini and finds bassist Mike Watt filling in for the late Dave Alexander.

AVRIL LAVIGNE

The Best Dam Thing (RCA, date TBA)

This curiously spelled April release will be preceded by the single "Girlfriend" in February and also features contributions from Lavigne's husband, Sum 41's Derryck Whibley, as well as +44 drummer Travis Barker.

"It is really fast, fun, young, bratty, aggressive, confident (and) cocky in a playful way . . . all the good stuff," Lavigne wrote on her MySpace page earlier this month, adding that she was inspired to make a more uptempo album after spending "so much of my time playing live shows. I wanted to make sure the songs were fun -- fun for the fans and myself. I will only have, like, three slow songs on the record."

"The Best Dam Thing" will be the follow-up to 2004's "Under My Skin," which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 2.93 million copies.

MANDY MOORE

Wild Hope (Firm Music, date TBA)

"It means a lot to me to make something that's mine," stresses Moore, who has forgone music for acting during the past four years. "It's a passion project," she says of "Wild Hope," her debut on the Firm's label. "It won't matter if it doesn't sell tons or have this high level of success."

Moore's new set strips away the gloss from her earlier Sony Music recordings and finds her collaborating with such acts as the Weepies (on "Extraordinary" and the pop hit-in-waiting "All Good Things"), Lori McKenna ("Most of Me"), Rachael Yamagata ("Ladies Choice") and Chantal Kreviazuk ("Gardenia").

THREE 6 MAFIA

Title TBA (Sony, date TBA)

In February, Three 6 Mafia became the first rap act to win a best song Academy Award with "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," but what does it have cooking for its next album? "So far, we've got Chamillionaire, Lyfe Jennings, Paul Wall and Keke," DJ Paul says of contributors to the follow-up to 2005's "Most Known Unknown," which spawned the hits "Stay Fly" and "Poppin' My Collar." "Mainly just friends -- people we actually hang out with and go to bars with."

Reuters/Billboard