shiny and new!

Here are some of the releases for today... September 25th, 2007

CD Releases

• Blue October- Foiled for the Last Time ***Sam's Pick***

As promised, the double-disc is out! What you're going to get here is a full version of the album Foiled with some additional remixes and a new version of Calling You. The second disc holds 14 newly recorded live tracks.... those were recorded earlier this year at Stubb's in Austin, Texas. Included in the extras are exclusive video content and some brand new footage of the band, previously unreleased, of course! Listen to the show today and I will have a couple chances to win the new CD.

• Rascal Flatts- Still Feels Good

This country crossover act has earned themselves a pile of awards and gained the respect of country music lovers (and some non-country lovers) everywhere. Their much anticipated new release is out today!

• Foo Fighters- Echoes Silence Patience and Grace **Sam's Pick**

This album marks Foo Fighters 6th full album and touts the return of producer Gil Norton, who last spearheaded a FF album in '97 (The Colour and the Shape). True, the FF have 'toned' it down a bit as the years have passed by, but you hardcore fans will have little to complain about as this evolved FF sound is still familiar, yet a bit more complex than the last couple projects. A solid piece of work from one of my favorites.

• Melissa Etheridge- The Awakening

Melissa has always held a special place in my heart... I saw her on the eve of my 21st birthday at the Opera House in Spokane, WA... shortly after the release of her album "Yes, I Am." I loved her guts, her lyrics, her powerful voice and her leather pants. Hehe. I saw Melissa here in our studio shortly after I began working for Alice. I was sitting in the studio, playing on the computer and I heard the studio door open. When I looked up, there was Melissa, standing there in the doorway. She was just poking around the building before a studio performance for us. Her hair was just starting to grow back after her treatment for breast cancer.

A truly amazing woman and this album shows that her experiences have truly enriched her life. I hear freedom of expression at its best with this release... Melissa's 9th studio album.

• Brian Setzer Orchestra- Wolfgang's Big Night Out

Setzer has done it again... well, not exactly again... in the sense that he's done THIS before, but in the sense that he's impressed me once again. He's taken a grouping of classical tunes and reworked them with his swing magic! Since Setzer departed from the Stray Cats to do his own thing, he's consistently cranked out fun, listenable, danceable and truly feelin' good albums. He's worked his genius on still another.

• Iron & Wine- The Sheperd's Dog

Iron & Wine has often been referred to as the new Simon & Garfunkel, but I think I&W's work stands nicely on its own. The folk meanderings of Sam Beam were first introduced to me with a tune I heard on the Garden State Soundtrack... a cover of Such Great Heights from Postal Service. At the time, I didn't know I&W was much more than that. If you dig folk, this is what I call modern folk at its best.

• Some other releases worth noting:

Jim Brickman- Homecoming (Holiday album)
Queen Latifah- Trav'lin' Light
Will.I.Am- Songs About Girls
Nelly McKay- Obligatory Villagers
Chaka Kahn- Funk This
Herbie Hancock- The Joni Letters (With bonus tracks)


Thanks for reading!

xo,
Sam