For Sheryl Crow, the title of her seventh album isn't just a location; it's a state of mind. "I grew up in a small town 100 miles from Memphis, and that informed not only my musical taste, but how I look at life," she says. "The drive to Memphis is all farmland, and everyone is community-oriented, God-fearing people, connected to the earth. The music that came out of that part of the world is a part of who I am, and it's the biggest inspiration for what I do and why I do it."

So for the Kennett, Missouri native, calling the disc 100 Miles From Memphis is a statement of purpose, both musical and emotional. It also marks a long-awaited return by the nine-time Grammy winner to the sounds that first drew her to making music.

"This is something I've been thinking about for a long time," says Crow. "When (manager Scooter Weintraub) first started working with me twenty years ago, what he heard in me was that I had heavy influences from the South--Delaney and Bonnie, all the Stax records. So for years he's been asking me, `When are you going to make that record?'"

The results evoke a time when soul and passion filled the radio waves, when the sweat and joy of a recording session could be captured forever on wax. Sometimes the musical references--Al Green, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder--are made apparent, but the album's eleven songs are characterized more by capturing a classic spirit than by imitating any specific style.

Crow explains that the way 100 Miles From Memphis was recorded is crucial to its slinky grooves and rolling rhythms. Produced by Doyle Bramhall II and Justin Stanley ("I knew they could get that old soul feeling with authenticity," she says), and cut mostly live with a regular crew of musicians, the album presented a new set of challenges for her as a singer and a songwriter.

"This wasn't like any other record I've made," she says. "We cut two, three, sometimes four tracks a day, for ten or twelve days. We wrote a lot of music, and then I had to write lyrics later, to catch up. That was definitely a new experience, feeling like I had to do homework. It was super-daunting."

With the musical direction already established, the album's messages crystallized in one night at Crow's farm, outside of Nashville. "Having a three year old, you don't get too much quiet time," she says, "but I sat up one night, and I worked all night long and came up with the better part of five lyrics."

What emerged was a set of songs that are unusually open and direct for someone often celebrated for the care and craft of her writing. "This music called for emotion, a place of sensuality and sexuality, and that's a little challenging for me," she says. "Sometimes it's easier for me to hide behind more intellectual lyrics. So it was a great stretching experience to show more vulnerability in my writing."

The songs on 100 Miles From Memphis display impressive range, in feeling and performance. First single "Summer Day" is a delightfully breezy slice of glory-days AM radio pop. "I wanted to experiment with writing something simple and positive," says Crow. "The feeling of a great, solid love--not just a new love, but something everlasting."

The spare, dramatic ballad "Stop" (the one song on the album for which Crow has sole writing credit) is a powerful vocal showcase that struggles with some hard truths. "That one is really a plea to make everything quit going so fast," she says. "Life has reached this epic point of being out of control. There's so much chaos everywhere you look. And especially when you have a little kid, you just want to protect the people you love from all that pain."

Though the album features a tighter focus on Crow's voice than ever before, a few high-profile guest stars did stop by the sessions. When she cut "Eye to Eye," with its loping reggae groove, there was only one guitarist she could imagine adding his signature slashing riffs to the mix--her old friend Keith Richards. "He has been such a champion for me, and the Stones gave me so many breaks along the way, from very early on," she says. (When Richards recorded his part at Electric Lady studios, the New York City facility built for Jimi Hendrix, he started reminiscing about the incomparable guitar wizard; "we were all like little kids at story hour," says Crow.) Citizen Cope appears on a hazy, impassioned duet of his "Sideways," a song Crow says she has long wanted to record and one of several string-heavy arrangements on 100 Miles From Memphis.

Another guest confirms her appeal across generations. A Memphis native named Justin Timberlake dropped by one of Crow's sessions at Henson Studios in Los Angeles (the former A&M studio), and offered to contribute background vocals to a version of Terence Trent D'Arby's 1987 smash "Sign Your Name" that was being recast in the style of Al Green, right down to the distinctive thud of the Hi Records drums. "He's hysterical and super-smart, and he knows a lot about a lot of different kinds of music," Crow says. "I'm totally impressed in every way."

The final surprise, for both the singer and the listener, came out of a run through of an obscure Marvin Gaye song called "It's a Desperate Situation." The melody reminded Crow of "I Want You Back," the Jackson 5's breakthrough 1970 hit, and she started singing those words. Her natural vocal range sounds uncannily like Michael Jackson's, and when Bramhall and Stanley heard it, they insisted on recording the song then and there. The album's "bonus track" was done in one take; they even had to add the song's introduction afterwards because they had gone straight into the lyric.

Crow, of course, first reached the spotlight as a back-up singer with Michael Jackson, and adds that "I Want You Back" was the first single she ever bought. "It wasn't a conscious choice to do an homage, but it wound up being a very bittersweet thing," she says. "Michael's death brought a lot of stuff back for me, so it was nice that we could include this."

For Sheryl Crow, 100 Miles From Memphis is the right album at the right moment. "My last record (2008's Detours) was pretty political, extremely personal, and more lyric-driven," she says, "so it seemed like a great time to do something soulful and sexy and more driven by the music." It took a lot of years, but with this set of songs, she finally made it back home.

Symphonicities; the companion CD to accompany Sting's highly-anticipated world tour, which begins June 2 in Vancouver, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, conducted by Steven Mercurio (Bocelli, Pavarotti). The new studio album, comprised of Sting's most celebrated songs re-imagined for symphonic arrangement, serves as the ultimate commemoration of the live concert experience. Created exclusively for the tour and correlating album, Sting's greatest hits have been reinterpreted with brand new orchestrations arranged by Jorge Calandrelli, David Hartley, Michel Legrand, Rob Mathes, Vince Mendoza, Steven Mercurio, Bill Ross, Robert Sadin, and Nicola Tescari. In addition to "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," highlights include fan-favorites culled from The Police songbook such as "Roxanne" and "Next To You," as well as songs from Sting's enduring solo career including "Englishman in New York," "I Burn for You," "Why Should I Cry for You," and "She's Too Good For Me," among others. Symphonicities is produced by Rob Mathes and Sting, mixed by Elliot Scheiner (Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac) and Claudius Mittendorfer (Interpol, Franz Ferdinand).Sting will also be joined by a quartet comprised of Dominic Miller (Sting's longtime guitarist), David Cossin (a multi-percussion specialist in new and experimental music and featured member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars), Jo Lawry (vocalist), and Ira Coleman (bassist).

'Crazy Love', Michael Bublé's first CD in two and a half years, features two original songs along with his always original take on 11 standards from various eras. The multi-Grammy winning artist hunkered down in recording studios in LA, Brooklyn, New York and his hometown of Vancouver for the last six months to make his 'ultimate record about the inevitable roller coaster ride of relationships.' The first single, 'Haven't Met You Yet,' written by Bublé (with Alan Chang and Amy Foster) is scheduled to be released to radio on August 31st. Additional tunes on the album include 'Cry Me A River,' 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You,' 'Georgia On My Mind' and 'Baby (You've Got What It Takes)' which was performed with Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings. The title song is a cover of the Van Morrison gem 'Crazy Love.' The CD closes out with a haunting version of 'Stardust' which is performed with the acapella group Naturally 7. The album was produced by David Foster, Bob Rock and Humberto Gatica.

Fearless is the 2008 sophomore album from Taylor Swift, the young Country singer/songwriter who charmed the hearts and charts of America beginning with her debut single 'Tim McGraw'. Her triple-platinum self-titled debut release has scanned over 3.4 million units and spent more weeks at #1 than any other Country album this year: 24 weeks! Taylor is the only Country female artist to have five Top 10 singles from a debut album and the only Country female vocalist this decade to reach the Top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart. Needless to say, she's a sensation that has only just begun to show what she is capable of. 13 tracks including the single 'Love Story' and 'Change', first heard during the 2008 Summer Olympics. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

'With A Twist' sees the acclaimed
a cappella group bringing its extraordinary vocal sound and inimitable musical approach to a wide range of pop favorites. The album features delightfully different renditions of modern classics like Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Under The Bridge,' Coldplay's 'Fix You,' Crowded House's 'Don't Dream It's Over,' and Oasis' 'Wonderwall.' What's more, 'With A Twist' is highlighted by a stellar take on Barry Manilow's 'One Voice,' featuring guest vocals from Manilow himself.

'With A Twist' follows SNC's 2009 smash, 'Christmas Cheers.' A top 10 hit on Billboard's top seasonal albums chart, the collection features a selection of holiday-themed classics, reworked in the group's inventive and original style. Among its highlights is a studio version of the YouTube sensation, 'The 12 Days of Christmas,' the video of which is now approaching an extraordinary 11 million views.

Ray Lamontagne together with producer Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams/Kings Of Leon) has produced one of the solo albums of the year with the majestic 'Trouble'. Recorded at the Alley & Studio 3 at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, 'Trouble' is a truly collaborative e

2009 release from the four-time Grammy Award winner and former American Idol winner. Carrie has come a long way since her AI days including selling more than 10 million albums, garnering ACM and CMA awards and becoming the first Country artist in history to achieve 10 #1 singles from her first two albums. To top that all off, she was also recently inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame! This 2009 album includes the first single 'Cowboy Casanova'.

Known for their one of a kind timeless sound, Sade has enjoyed phenomenal success both internationally and stateside throughout the span of their twenty-five year career. The highly anticipated new body of work SOLDIER OF LOVE features 10 new songs including the latest single, "Soldier Of Love".

One of the World's Great Voices Puts Her Indelible Signature On Songs By Arcade Fire, Band of Horses, Death Cab For Cutie, The Mars Volta, Muse, and of course, Leonard Cohen. Renée Fleming s new album 'Dark Hope', which the opera star describes as a visit to a new universe for her, will be released by Decca this spring. The album was recorded in close collaboration with producer David Kahne (Regina Spektor, The Strokes, The Bangles, Sublime, and countless others) in New York City, and features a diverse and adventurous track listing of songs as interpreted by one of the world s great voices. Fleming, the superstar soprano known as "the people's diva," says of the songs on 'Dark Hope': "One of the ways that you keep people interested is by taking risks and what could be a greater risk than this?" Producer Kahne was a true collaborator during the recording process, driving most of the arrangements and pushing Fleming to learn how to sing all over again. Also joining Fleming on the album are her two daughters and sister, who sing backup on several songs.
The album features a voice that's been called "superlative" (Denver Post) and "radiant" (Chicago Tribune). But Fleming says that for the recording of this album, "Singing in a small, acoustic booth, with a microphone that s very close, in this very intimate style, is the complete opposite of what I [usually] do." There were similarities to how she prepares for an opera role, however. Fleming points out that for each track on 'Dark Hope' "we found an interpretation that enabled the point of view to sound authentic coming from me. Every song has a story like that, so this whole idea of enacting or playing a role is doubly true for this music." Renée Fleming, a Fulbright Scholar and three-time Grammy award winner, is one of the world's most famous and accomplished vocalists. A New Yorker who made her professional opera debut in 1986 and her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1991, she has had star roles at great halls worldwide and last year was a featured performer at President Obama's Inaugural Celebration. Fleming has also had an interest in jazz since her college years at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and has recorded jazz repertoire throughout her career including 'Haunted Heart', the lauded collaboration with pianist Fred Hersch and guitarist Bill Frisell.

1. You Are The Best Thing
2. Let It Be Me
3. Sarah
4. I Still Care For You
5. Winter Birds
6. Meg White
7. Hey Me, Hey Mama
8. Henry Nearly Killed Me
9. A Falling Through
10. Gossip In The Grain