New This Week: Ryan Adams, Fat Joe & Remy Ma, Alison Krauss, and More
Searching for something to listen to this weekend? Yahoo Music has you covered with a rundown of some of this week’s biggest/buzzing releases, including Ryan Adams, Fat Joe & Remy Ma, Alison Krauss, and more. Check back every Friday for a fresh list of albums to help fuel your weekend playlists.
Ryan Adams: Prisoner (PAX AM/Blue Note/Capitol). Adams takes yet another trip to the ‘80s with his latest release, pairing up with producer Don Was to explore and mine the big sounds of that radio-rock decade. His neatest trick: pairing muscular-sounding stompers with emotional ballads, and doing both of them a solid.
Future: Future (Epic). The rapper has had a busy and productive top of 2017: After unplugging from social media in favor of concentrating solely on his music, he surprised fans by dropping his seventh album, his first solo project since releasing EVOL last year. The set was made available to stream on his and and DJ Esco’s new Beats 1 show, Freebandz Radio, just a few days after announcing it was on the way.
Fat Joe & Remy Ma: Plata O Plomo (EMPIRE Distribution). Fat Joe teams up with his his crew member and Love & Hip Hop: New York star Remy Ma for this highly anticipated set; fans should prepare for an onslaught of A-list guest appearances , including The-Dream, Seven Streeter, BJ the Chicago Kid, Ty Dolla Sign, Kent Jones, and others.
Jidenna: The Chief (Wondaland/Epic). If there is one overriding quality to this debut album from Janelle Monae protégée Jidenna, it would be flexibility. A deeply personal musical journey from a Nigerian-American Stanford graduate, The Chief deftly mixes hip-hop, pop, and global influences with narratives about returning to one’s roots.
Hanni El Khatib: Savage Times (Innovative Leisure). Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Hanni El Khatib kept busy during 2016 releasing EPs leading up to this 19-track compilation. Here, he offers a sonically surprising collection spanning electronica, blues, and indie rock.
Alison Krauss: Windy City (Capitol). Krauss has spent the majority of her recording time fronting her bluegrass band Union Station, and as such, has not released a solo album since 1999. On this new endeavor, she makes a trek into crossover pop while still remaining respectful of the country and roots traditions she has historically handled with grace.
Nikki Lane: Highway Queen (New West). Nashville’s Lane manages to stand out in a town that has no shortage of musical talent; on her third release she brings a tight, witty, and slightly vintage-feeling collection of tunes to the plate.
Jens Lekman: Life Will See You Now (Secretly Canadian). The Swedish pop artist hasn’t put out a record in five years, but he hasn’t lost his joy of elaborate storytelling and solid songwriting, all dressed up here with clever and quirky musical touches of percussion and horns.
Robert Randolph & the Family Band: Got Soul (Sony Masterworks). Randolph keeps it real on this album, which he uses as a vehicle to explore his earliest background as an inspirational/gospel singer. Guest appearances from Darius Rucker, Cory Henry, and Anthony Hamilton make the set sound extra heavenly.
Son Volt: Notes of Blue (Transmit Sound/Thirty Tigers). The band’s eighth album is just a hair over half an hour long, but that’s enough time to aptly show off Jay Farrar’s bittersweet vocals on 10 soul-searching tracks.
Charlie Wilson: In It to Win It (RCA). Former Gap Band singer and R&B icon Wilson is still making music — and hits — at the age of 64. He shows no slowing down on his latest. Here’s yet another mindbogglingly good set of powerhouse guest appearances: Snoop Dogg, Pitbull, Robin Thicke, T.I., and Lalah Hathaway all weigh in.
Pegi Young & the Survivors: Raw (Baltimore Thrush). Young combines covers with original material on this release, which details the dissolution of her 36-year marriage to superstar Neil Young (the pair divorced in 2014). Her new songs — as suggested by the album’s title — don’t hold back any emotion, while her choice of covers tips a hat to both longing and humor (for the latter, see Lee Hazlewood’s “These Boots are Made for Walkin’).
