Do you remember the book-and-seven-inch-single sets for children, with each page turned to the ring of a bell? The publishers at The Secret Mountain are continuing that nifty idea. Next week a new book-and-CD set, Down at the Sea Hotel, is released, developed from a single song by Greg Brown, illustrated into a full book by Mireile Levert, and then fleshed out into an accompanying 14-track audio CD. Featuring a wonderful collection of lullabies written by Tom Waits, Don Henley, Bruce Cockburn, Nanci Griffith, Steve Earle, Marc Cohn, and more, the album's mood is sewn together by the cast of Americana artists that cover the selections, including roots luminaries John Gorka, Eliza Gilkyson, and Guy Davis. Two highlights shine bright: The Wailin' Jennys' grace through Neil Young's "Barefoot Floors" and Lucy Kaplansky's beautiful sway in Billy Joel's "Goodnight, My Angel." Benefiting the Breast Cancer Fund, the project is available two ways: in a traditional hardcover book with the CD tucked inside, or as a cardboard digipak CD with bonus files of all the music charts, illustrations, and lyrics.
Bondi Digital Publishing next week releases Rolling Stone Cover to Cover: The First 40 Years, a hardcover book that holds a DVD-ROM of the magazine's complete archive of album reviews, feature articles, and often iconic photography.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Evanescence on Thursday and Bright Eyes on Monday; The Late Show with David Letterman presents LeAnn Rimes tonight and Band of Horses on Thursday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien boasts Spoon on Thursday and Brother Ali on Friday overnight; and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson welcomes Avril Lavigne this evening and They Might Be Giants on Thursday overnight.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, October 23:
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Follow the Kights (Lost Highway) seven-track CD EP featuring two songs written for the television show October Road, and a cover of Allice in Chains' "Down in a Hole"
Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation (Astralwerks) featuring folk legend Bert Jansch
Balzac - Deep Blue: Chaos from Darkism (Misfits Records) CD reissue featuring a bonus DVD and 24-page booklet
Booka Shade - DJ Kicks (!K7) sweet mix CD from the Berlin duo, featuring Heaven 17, Aphex Twin, Richard Hawley, The Tubes, and the Passengers
The Bridge - The Bridge (Hyena) with guests from The Funky Meters and Citizen Cope, this Baltimore band feels miles south of the Mason-Dixon line, reaching for the soul of Little Feat and The Band
Castanets - In the Vines (Asthmatic Kitty) this somber vehicle for Brooklyn's Ray Raposa is bolstered by guests from Vanishing Voice and Shaky Hands
Euros Childs - The Miracle Inn (Wichita) terrific solo debut from the Gorky Zygotic Mynci vocalist and keyboardist, highlighted by the XTC-ragtime beat of "Horse Riding" and the ambitious15-minute title track
Cobra Starship - ¡Viva La Cobra! (Decaydance) produced by Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy
Coheed & Cambria - No World for Tomorrow (Columbia) with drummer Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters
Justin Currie - What Is Love for (Ryko) absolutely perfect solo debut from the Del Amitri vocalist, sparse and restrained and speaking mountains of truth in heart-stirring lyrics that recall the brave, pensive quality of John Lennon's best ballads
Mark Farina - Live in Tokyo (Om) featuring remixes of tracks by U Step, DJ Sneak, and Hood Fellas
Robert Fripp & Brian Eno - Unreleased Works of Startling Genius (Discipline/Inner Knot) two-CD collection
Dave Gahan - Hourglass (Mute/Virgin) new solo album from the Depeche Mode co-founder
Grace Is Gone - original motion picture soundtrack (Milan) original score by actor/director Clint Eastwood, with one song featuring Jamie Cullum
Carole King - Welcome to My Living Room (Rockingale) DVD featuring 24 songs from her intimate 2005 tour, packed with bonus material including a "Songwriting 101" interview
Layo & Bushwacka! - GU33 Rio (Global Underground) two-disc mix CD of choice electro-house inspired by a Brazilian beach
Mountain Heart - Road That Never Ends (Rural Rhythm) live CD recorded earlier this year at The Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan, featuring new vocalist Josh Shilling and a piano-driven cover of The Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post"
Alison Moyet - The Turn (W14 Music) import-only return of the Yaz vocalist
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (Rounder) produced by T-Bone Burnett, this duet project features covers of songs by The Everly Brothers, Tom Waits, Gene Clark, and Mel Tillis
Say Anything - In Defense of the Genre (Doghouse) with guests from Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, and My Chemical Romance
Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (Bloodshot) joyous, robust, and haunting chamber-pop collective featuring the gorgeous vocals of Ellen O'Hayer, Sally Timms, and Kelly Hogan
Scum of the Earth - Sleaze Freak (Eclipse) featuring Rob Zombie guitarist Riggs
Soft - Gone Faded (Academy Fight Song) tight Brooklyn shoe-gazing quintet with big nods to The Stone Roses
Sole & the Skyrider Band - Sole & the Skyrider Band (Anticon) dynamite, paranoid MC flow surfing over heavy, live tumbling jams, featuring incendiary lyrics reminiscent of Crass' anti-consumer directives
Stare Into the Sun - Whispers Turn to Howls (Reformer) this Detroit trio churns passionate, nervous psychedelic theater like Joy Division grafted with U2
T.Rex - Interstellar Soul (Edsel) import-only limited-edition three-CD set packed with acoustic demos, studio outtakes, and rough mixes
Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead (Serjical Strike/Reprise) solo album from the System of a Down frontman
The Temptations - Back to Front (New Door) covers collection featuring their soul spin on Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' "Wake Up Everybody"
Seth Walker - Seth Walker (Hyena) blazing boogie blues featuring a mellow cover of Tom Waits' "Picture in a Frame" and Kim Wilson's harmonica talents on "I Know It's a Sin"
The Warlocks - Heavy Deavy Skull Lover (Tee Pee) growling third-eye headphone soundtrack for microdot walkabouts over crusty desert terrain
Ween - La Cucaracha (Rounder) the duo's first new studio release in four years; things get weird with guest saxophonist David Sanborn on "Your Party"
West Indian Girl - Fourth & Wall (Milan) infectious, black-light electronic pop sitting nicely on the shelf between Porno for Pyros and The Dandy Warhols
Witchcraft - The Alchemist (Rise Above) dude - groovy-doom Swedish rockers with twinges of dangerous British Invasion blues and Black Sabbath
various artists - The Coolest Songs In the World Vol. 3 (Wicked Cool) more hand-picked favorites from Little Steven, featuring The Romantics, The Fleshtones, The Dictators, The Sugar Twins, and more
various artists - Eyeball Awareness Volume 1: To Write Love on Her Arms (Eyeball) the first CD in a four-disc series conceived in an attempt to bring awareness to the darker side of youth - addiction, depression and suicide
various artists - Look Directly Into the Sun: China Pop 2007 (Invisible China/Bloodshot) compiled by Martin Atkins after his dip into the Beijing underground music scene
various artists - New Orleans Brass (Putamayo) featuring The Dukes of Dixieland, The Yockamo All-Stars, and the Preservation Hall Hot 4
