I present to you a continuation of the list of some of the most anticipated pre-summer releases slated to his stores in the next 50 days.
Paul Simon – Surprise
Surprise, Paul Simon is coming out with another studio album this year called what else but “Surpriseâ€. The legendary singer/songwriter turns senior citizen this year, which has to be a scary thought for all those baby boomers who are still curious as to what happened to Garfunkel. Simon’s last album, 2000’s “You’re the One†fetched Simon a Grammy nomination for album of the year. That album was a “Bridge over Troubled Waters†for Simon who spent many years investing in a failed Broadway musical previous to the album’s release. The famed singer teams up with eclectic Talking Heads producer Brian Eno for this newest album on which Simon hopes to prove he is as his 1975 album professes “Still Crazy After All These Yearsâ€. In a last cheesy attempt to hype up this album: Simon hopes you won’t be unpleasantly “Surprise(d)†when you hear his latest on May 9th. I apologize to Paul Simon for this over-the-top album blurb.
Paris Hilton – Turn It Up
I know I am losing any journalistic integrity with this statement but here goes nothing: If you think about buying this absurd album upon its release on May 9th, please consult the nearest tough guy and ask him to give you a concussion.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadia
The Red Hot Chili Peppers or for space saving reasons, TRHCP, release their 9th studio album, “Stadium Arcadia†on May 9th. This album is the third since the return of guitarist John Frusciante and the third featuring a “drug-free†line-up. Both previous albums, 1999’s “Californiacation†and 2002’s “By The Way†continued what has been a very successful run of albums both critically and economically. The band is now considered by most to be cagey veterans of the rock world and it won’t be too many years before we see TRHCP in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. This latest release is a 2-CD set that features twenty-four brand new tracks from the future hall-of-famers.
Ashley Parker Angel – Soundtrack to Your Life
It’s been a whirlwind past few years for Ashley Parker Angel that have found him doing a complete circle. He started off on MTV with fellow O-Towners on the show “Making the Bandâ€. He then released a couple albums with the all boy band and they had a couple of monster hits including “Liquid Dreamsâ€. After O-town’s twenty minutes of fame were up, Ashley found himself unemployed, living off boy band money. When that ran out, he turned once again to MTV and in return we got the show “There and Back: Ashley Parker Angelâ€. The show detailed Angel’s post-boy band life that included having a baby, being rejected on a marriage proposal (well at least delayed) and struggling to make it on his own as an artist. His first solo album “Soundtrack to Your Life†drops on May 16th and the appeal stretches from former boy band fans, to MTV fans, to people who are just interested to see if this album turns into a complete train wreck. If his first single off the album “Let Me Go†is any indication, we may be hearing a lot more from APA in the near future.
Cam’Ron – Killa Season
If you’re thinking of taking the date of rapper Cam’Ron’s latest release “Killa Season†and using permanent marker to write it down on your calendar, think again. This album has been anticipated to come out for months, being pushed back time and again for different reasons. Cam’Ron’s previous release “Purple Haze†got pushed back over a year from its original release date. However, don’t let the tardiness of this album confuse you, this could be one of the biggest studio albums of the year from any rapper. Cam’Ron on recent mixtapes has been bold enough to take shots at industry heavyweight Jay-Z, including a track where Cam’Ron took clips of some of Jigga’s songs and showed how they copied off other rappers songs. The beef between Cam’Ron and Jay-Z go back to when Jay-Z became President of Island/Def Jam records last year and took most of the talent from the former Rocafella Records label with him. Since that time, Cam’Ron was shot in a carjacking and in mixtapes has made reference to the fact that he thinks Jay-Z was behind the shooting. If and when this album is finally released, it may be the breakthrough album that makes Cam’Ron what he has truly been on the verge of being in the past few years, a mainstream crossover success. The album could possibly drop on May 16th.
That’s a look at just some of the most anticipated albums of the days that lead up to Labor Day and the unofficial start of the summer. As it goes with all these albums, the release dates are subject to change, so if your really thinking about picking one of this albums up, check up on it first.