|
|
|
|
|
|
Young Fashioned Ways (Blues)
Born about 44 years apart, Rush and Shepherd joined forces at Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee for the sessions that led to YOUNG FASHIONED WAYS which includes 10 tracks featuring Shepherd’s trademark guitar work and Rush’s soulful vocals, rhythm guitar and harmonica.
|
|
|
|
Greatest Hits (Celtic)
CELTIC THUNDER Greatest Hits showcases decades of wonderful Irish music! Irish favorites include "Heartland," "Galway Girl" and "Whiskey in the Jar." On the spiritual side, the globally touring group sings "Hallelujah" and "Amazing Grace." Garnering hundreds of millions of streams and tickets sold, Celtic Thunder has been hailed as Billboard's Top World Music Artist.
|
|
|
|
Dream Requiem (Classical)
Rufus Wainwright’s Dream Requiem is an extremely prestigious project, the result of a commission from major cultural institutions in the US, UK, and Europe. This world premiere recording features a new composition by the legendary, Grammy-nominated musician, who has collaborated with the who's who of the pop music world. With narration by Meryl Streep.
The composition is based on a text by Lord Byron and the Requiem Mass, and will feature soprano Anna Prohaska, the Maîtrise de Radio France, the Chœur de Radio France, and the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Mikko Franck
|
|
|
|
Bare Bones: Volume I - Master Takes (Country)
Round Record is proud to reintroduce the recordings of David Grisman & Jerry Garcia with the debut of Bare Bones, a collection of duo performances exploring the foundation of their beloved studio recordings. Spanning 3 discs, the compilation includes the original, unembellished master recordings, alternate takes, and the first performances of classic tunes the duo recorded. After over 30 years, Grisman has opened the Dawg Vault to curate a collection honoring the magic of their studio works.
|
|
|
|
How Did This Happen and What Does it Now Mean (Folk)
Joan Armatrading enjoyed something of a career resurgence with 2021's Consequences, an album that saw her return to the U.K.'s Top Ten for the first time since 1983. But the veteran English singer/songwriter has never really gone away. Although her output slowed somewhat in the 21st century, she has maintained a remarkably consistent presence, creating a body of work that is uniform in quality and craft. In the 2010s, she became a staunch D.I.Y. home recordist, playing, engineering, and mixing her albums almost entirely by herself. Such is the case with 2024's How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean, a rangy and eclectic 12-song set that covers a lot of musical ground. Now in her early seventies, Armatrading seems more interested in challenging herself artistically than revisiting past glories. She recently composed her first classical work, Symphony No. 1, which premiered in London in late 2023. On How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean, she tries on a number of chameleonic styles while simultaneously stretching herself as a producer and multi-instrumentalist. For an artist this deep into her career, Armatrading sings and plays with surprising vitality. Her brand of pop/rock feels kinetic, especially on up tempo highlights like "25 Kisses," "Someone Else," and "I'm Not Moving," which sparkle with bright melodies and rhythmic hooks. There are love songs, soulful R&B ballads, bluesy vamps, and a pair of instrumental cuts devoted solely to distorted guitar shredding. One of those, "Now What," is particularly vigorous with a jazzy art-rock feel and some deft soloing. Sure, it's a little indulgent, but that's part of the charm of Armatrading's late-period renaissance. She's clearly having fun, making the music she wants to make and exploring new facets of her craft. Hopeful, romantic, and energetic, Armatrading offers a strong dose of joy in troubled times. ~ Timothy Monger
|
|
|
|
Chet Baker Re: Imagined (Jazz)
Trumpeter and singer Chet Baker is remembered for his lyrical West Coast jazz, a romantic style that influenced artists far beyond the jazz idiom. This influence is celebrated on the 2025 collection Chet Baker Re:Imagined. Showcased are artists from jazz, pop, and beyond reinterpreting many of the classic American Popular Songbook standards that Baker was known for. Largely unschooled, Baker was a naturally gifted vocalist, whose singing style often felt like an organic extension of his trumpet playing. He sounded unassuming, with a delivery that could seem as cool and unaffected as it was also deeply intimate and romantic, a vibe that (matched with his movie-star looks) found him dubbed the "James Dean of Jazz." Which is to say that, in comparison to virtuosic singers like Frank Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald, Baker often stuck closely to a song's melody with little improvisational variation, or "scat" improvising (though he did occasionally sing solos in the style of his trumpet playing). It's this understated, bedroom-friendly style that is the primary focus on Re:Imagined, and artists like Eloise, Hohnen Ford, and Puma Blue sink into their own half-lidded and blissed-out takes on these standards. Blue's twangy, guitar-heavy reading of "It's Always You" is especially transfixing, pushing the jazz tones of the original into ever more dreamlike shoegaze headspace. Equally compelling is singer Dodie's sad-eyed take on "Old Devil Moon," which feels like a cabaret harlequin doll version of Kate Bush. For more-hardcore fans of jazz and traditional pop, Matt Maltese offers a fairly reverent "My Funny Valentine," while Benny Sings' harmonica-accented take on "Time After Time" nicely evokes the soulful, jazz-adjacent '70s R&B of Stevie Wonder. Chet Baker Re:Imagined pleasantly reveals the lasting influence of both Baker's work and the artful sturdiness of these songs. ~ Matt Collar
|
|
|
|
Cosa Nuestra (Latin)
Rauw Alejandro crafts a vibrantly cross-pollinated Latin pop sound on his fifth album, 2024's Cosa Nuestra. Inspired by the classic 1969 Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe album of the same name, Cosa Nuestra, or "Our Thing," finds Alejandro bringing together all of his stylistic touchstones, from organic salsa and high-energy reggaeton to clubby disco, electronic R&B, and pop. Helping him achieve his genre-bending vibe are a cadre of well-chosen collaborators, including Pharrell Williams on "Committed," Bad Bunny on "Qué Pasaría…," and Romeo Santos on "Khé?" There are equally vibrant contributions by Alexis & Fido, Feid, Laura Pausini, and Latin Mafia. With Cosa Nuestra, Alejandro once again reveals himself to be a master at melding classic and contemporary Latin traditions. ~ Matt Collar
|
|
|
|
Dreams on Toast (Pop/Rock)
Dreams on Toast, album number eight from English rockers the Darkness, is yet another collection of big anthems, winking humor, and undeniable melody. Relatively tame by Darkness standards, only a handful of tracks shoot for the rafters with big riff energy; instead, the set is tempered with midtempo introspection ("Don't Need Sunshine"), cinematic sweep ("Weekend in Rome" with actor Stephen Dorff), and even country twang ("Hot on My Tail," "Cold Hearted Woman"). Listeners expecting any "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"-styled bombast will delight in the "Rock and Roll Party Cowboy," "I Hate Myself," and "Walking Through Fire," which channel AC/DC and Queen. There are still some hilarious bon mots to be found throughout, but now there's a sense of maturity and creative evolution that's starting to creep over Justin Hawkins and the gang, adding depth to their catalog whether they intended it or not. ~ Neil Z. Yeung
|
|
|
|
Is (Pop/Rock)
While My Morning Jacket is a band of five members, even a casual look at their body of work makes it clear vocalist and songwriter Jim James is the one who calls most of the shots. In the studio, this has manifested itself in James either producing or co-producing all of their albums, keeping his musical vision firmly in his control. Given this, 2025's is marks a change in MMJ's working methods, as they recruited Brendan O'Brien to be the sole producer of the sessions, putting someone else in charge for a change. It seems to have been a wise choice; is certainly sounds like My Morning Jacket, honoring their eclectic spirit and love of rootsy grooves, but it also feels tighter and better focused than much of their work, and rocks with an easy balance of heady joy and studio precision. MMJ have never been afraid to show off their influences in 1960s and '70s rock, and with O'Brien at the controls, they've made an album that has the sheen of classic productions of the era without suggesting they're mimicking sounds of the past. With O'Brien in charge, is is an LP that takes advantage of the possibilities of the recording studio, creating music that sounds great without choking the life out of the performances, capturing just enough sweat and muscle to make the songs soar while he puts them on tape with a welcome clarity and balance. The band claim that they wrote a hundred songs while preparing for is, and if O'Brien helped them pick the ten that made it to the final mix, that certainly earned him a good share of his paycheck. The tracks cover plenty of stylistic ground, but they play off each other very well. The upbeat atmospherics of "Out in the Open," the classic rock swagger of "Half a Lifetime," the country-rock earworm of "Everyday Magic," the playful romantic shuffle of "I Can Hear Your Love," and the sweetly mournful slow jam of "Time Waited" are as well-curated an album side as you're likely to hear from a record released in 2025. (The rest of the album is no slouch, either.) Jim James hasn't sung with this much unforced confidence in a long time, and his bandmates (guitarist Carl Broemel, keyboardist Bo Koster, bassist Tom Blankenship, and drummer Patrick Hallahan) give these songs first-rate support, delivering some of the best ensemble playing of their career. There isn't much on is that My Morning Jacket couldn't have done on their own, but having a neutral observer on board certainly appears to have helped them up their game as a recording act, and it's one of the most purely satisfying albums they've delivered since they changed their game with Z. ~ Mark Deming
|
|
|
|
GNX (Rap/Hip-Hop)
GNX is the sixth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. Titled after the Buick Regal model, and a follow-up to Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022). It was surprise released on November 22, 2024, through PGLang and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from SZA, Dody6, Lefty Gunplay, Wallie the Sensei, Siete7x, Roddy Ricch, AzChike, Hitta J3, YoungThreat, and Peysoh.
|
|
|
|
Suffs: Original Broadway Cast Recording
The official musical companion to the 6x Tony Award-nominated new musical from award-winning singer-songwriter Shaina Taub."I grew up in rural Vermont listening obsessively to Broadway cast albums on the boombox in my bedroom, " said Shaina Taub when the album was first announced in April following the show's official opening. "To get to make one of my own with this miraculous cast and orchestra is beyond my wildest childhood dreams. I'm so grateful to Atlantic Records for making it possible, and am so excited to share these songs and this story with the world."Suffs (Original Broadway Cast Recording) includes the groundbreaking show's powerful call to arms, "The March (We Demand Equality)." The album also includes standout tracks such as "Great American Bitch, " "If We Were Married, " "Worth It" and "Ladies."Now playing at Broadway's Music Box Theatre, Suffs recently received six nominations for the 2024 Tony Awards, including a nomination for "Best Musical." Taub was nominated for "Best Book of a Musical" and "Best Original Score, " while Nikki M. James, who plays Ida B. Wells, was nominated for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical." Additional nominations went to Leigh Silverman for "Best Direction of a Musical" and Paul Tazewell for "Best Costume Design of a Musical." In addition, Suffs was recently honored with three Outer Critics Circle Awards, including "Outstanding New Broadway Musical, " "Outstanding Book of a Musical" (Shaina Taub), and "Outstanding Score" (Shaina Taub).Hailed by New York Magazine as "smart, witty, and teeming with mighty performances, " Suffs boldly explores the victories and failures of a struggle for equality that's far from over. Suffs stars book writer, composer, and lyricistShaina Taubin the role of Alice Paul, making history as only the second woman ever to write the book, music, lyrics and star in her own Broadway musical. Taub is an Obie Award-winning, Emmy Award-nominated songwriter and winner of the Kleban Prize, the Fred Ebb Award, the Jonathan Larson Grant, and the NYCLU's Michael Friedman Freedom Award for activism.
|
|
|
Mercer County Library System
2751 Brunswick Pike Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 609-882-9246
https://mcl.org
|
|
|
|