Track listing
1. Postcards From Richard Nixon
2. Just Like Noah's Ark
3. Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)
4. Tinderbox
5. And The House Fell Down
6. Blues Never Fade Away
7. Bridge, The
8. I Must Have Lost It On The Wind
9. Old '67
10. Captain And The Kid, The

Details
Distributor:   Universal Distribution
Recording type:   Studio
Recording mode:   Stereo
SPAR Code:   n/a

Album notes

Elton John follows up his legendary 1975 concept album, CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, with the 2006 sequel THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID. Like the original, the album was written in collaboration with longtime writing partner Bernie Taupin, and will chronicle 30 years worth of trials and tribulations that the two music legends have experienced since FANTASTIC's original release.

Thirty years can make a rock star reconsider the past. Bruce Springsteen turned the anniversary of his pivotal 1975 album ''Born to Run'' into an expanded reissue with a documentary and vintage concert video. Now Elton John has made a sequel to his 1975 album ''Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy,'' and on Wednesday night at Rose Theater he and his band played songs from that album, ''The Captain & the Kid'' (Rocket/Interscope), in public for the first time: nine of them in a row, bookended by a dozen 1970's hits. It was a benefit concert for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Playing the 1,200-seat theater rather than his usual arenas, Sir Elton was cozy enough with the audience to offer what few of the new songs needed: explanations. He said that ''Captain Fantastic'' was about struggling to make it before his 1970 pop breakthrough, while ''The Captain & the Kid'' is about ''the next 36 years'' and ''struggling with success.''

Deniability was always part of Sir Elton's charm. Since he doesn't write the words to his songs -- Bernie Taupin does -- most of what he has sung through the years isn't necessarily about him, leaving listeners to read in as much confession as they wish. He wasn't an astronaut in ''Rocket Man,'' or a brawler in ''Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting,'' just a tunesmith singing about characters. In songs like ''Take Me to the Pilot,'' an irresistible chorus sweeps through confusing verses. The team's love songs stay general, in a fine pop tradition, while the autobiography on ''Captain Fantastic'' was obscured in extravagant metaphors.

The new songs are different. They're clear, detailed reminiscences of Englishmen crossing America in a blur of fame and excess; of conflicts and reconciliations between the songwriters; of loss in the era of AIDS; and of gratitude and surprise at their longevity.

Sir Elton was in New York City for Fashion Week -- he was also curator of the ''Fashion Rocks'' extravaganza on Thursday night -- and he looked flamboyant enough at the Rose Theater. He wore a glittering cross around his neck and a black tailcoat with the words ''Elton John'' and ''Stardust Kiss'' emblazoned on it in red. But while fashion is transient, his music hasn't budged.

Two members of his band, Nigel Olsson on drums and Davey Johnstone on guitar, have been with him for decades. ''Our day in the sun has gone as far as radio play goes,'' Sir Elton said bluntly as he introduced ''Old '67.'' ''We realize that. It's O.K.'' But he and Mr. Taupin are sticking to their familiar style.

Now as in the 1970's Sir Elton's music is an Anglo-American hybrid, merging classical arpeggios, Beatles harmonies and the stolidity of English hymns with splashy American barrelhouse piano, touches of the blues and an occasional turn toward country. The new tunes held their own reminiscences; as ''Tinderbox'' compared fame to a rocket, the band played the upward swoop from ''Rocket Man.'' Sir Elton's robust voice has roughened slightly, and he has begun to use scratchy notes strategically like Ray Charles. In his old songs he lets his band members sing the high notes.

Writing so directly about the John-Taupin partnership is a gamble; it presumes that listeners care about hit makers' bygone times and don't mind feeling their own age. The pair's pop instincts haven't deserted them; they aim for inspiration in songs like ''The Bridge,'' which insists, ''Every one of us that ever came to play has to cross that bridge or fade away.'' Meanwhile the piano part reaches back to their 1970 hit ''Your Song,'' from a time when they revealed less while conquering the pop world.

Track listing
1. Wreck This Heart
2. Wait For Me
3. Face The Promise
4. No Matter Who You Are
5. Are You
6. Simplicity
7. No More
8. Real Mean Bottle - (with Kid Rock)
9. Won't Stop
10. Between
11. Answer's In The Question, The - (with Patty Loveless)
12. Long Goodbye, The

Details
Contributing artists:  Kid Rock/Allison Moorer, Patty Loveless
Producer:  Bob Seger
Distributor:  EMI Music Distribution
Recording type:  Studio
Recording mode:  Stereo
SPAR Code:  n/a

Album notes
Personnel: Bob Seger (vocals, synthesizer); Kenny Greenberg, Biff Watson, J.T. Corenflos, Brent Rowan (guitar); John Jarvis, Billy Payne (piano); Glenn Worf, Larry Paxton (bass guitar); Eddie Bayers, Steve Brewster, Paul Leim (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Kid Rock.
Recording information: 2005 - 2006.

Given that the rock legend Bob Seger first bemoaned the eclipse of ''old time rock 'n' roll'' in 1978, one can only imagine how he feels now. Rock music remains a popular radio genre, but part of its audience has been drifting away. So where is a resurgent rock star, known for hits like ''Hollywood Nights'' and ''Night Moves,'' to turn? To country music fans.

As part of the promotion for ''Face the Promise,'' Mr. Seger's first album of new material in 11 years, his longtime label, Capitol Records, is shipping his first new single, ''Wait for Me,'' to country radio, in addition to stations that play classic rock and adult-contemporary formats. There are also plans to pair Mr. Seger with an established country artist on ''Crossroads,'' the odd-couple performance series on Country Music Television, and in other nationally televised performances. And an album of Seger covers performed by country artists may be in the offing, too.

Mr. Seger's return comes as a new crop of artists better known for their rock or pop hits are crossing into country territory. Earlier this year, Bon Jovi scored a No. 1 hit on the country chart with ''Who Says You Can't Go Home,'' a song performed with Jennifer Nettles of the hot country act Sugarland. Michelle Branch, who broke onto the pop charts as a teenage singer-songwriter, showed up on country radio with the debut of the Wreckers, the rootsy duo she formed with a friend.

Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith, lent his trademark wail to a new single by the country singer Keith Anderson, aptly titled ''Three Chord Country and American Rock 'n' Roll.'' And Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, who had recorded albums with Chet Atkins, is back on the country charts thanks to a collaboration with Emmylou Harris.

Many trace the most recent crossover fervor to the unexpected success of ''Picture,'' a song performed by Kid Rock with Sheryl Crow, on country stations four years ago.

Those efforts represent only the latest moves to blur the lines between pop, rock and country: 40 years ago, Ray Charles reimagined Hank Williams and Eddy Arnold in recording his trailblazing album ''Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.''

But the transformation of the radio landscape in recent years seems to encourage crossovers once more. In particular, the country format has displayed relative resilience as other formats that once provided a natural home for these artists now appear unreliable, if not outright unwelcoming.

Slipping between musical genres in the compartmentalized world of record labels and radio formats is not taken lightly. Many country programmers are leery of providing exposure to acts donning country-music trappings as a last resort after failing to maintain popularity with pop or rock fans. (That perception cut short the prospects for ''All I Ever Needed,'' a country single released in 2004 by Bret Michaels, better known as the lead singer of the hair-metal band Poison. He has continued his makeover, though, by appearing as a judge on the USA Networks contest series ''Nashville Star.'')

''I think the consensus is that just because you have an established brand from another genre you don't get a hall pass to come to country and immediately get airplay,'' said Eric Logan, executive vice president for programming at XM Satellite Radio and a former country radio programmer.

But as it happens, prospects for artists who try shifting genres (or at least radio formats) appear to be growing stronger. As listeners change the way they listen to music and discover new releases -- twiddling with iPods or Internet stations, for example -- programmers say they are being forced to consider more experimentation with their playlists to keep fans engaged. Some predict this will mean regular appearances by outsiders between radio mainstays like Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith.

''There used to be a huge group of people that were considered exclusively country music listeners; they grew up in a house where only country music was played,'' said Brian Philips, CMT's general manager. ''Now, how would it be possible to grow up in a house where only one type of music was accessible, given 300 channels of television and infinite possibilities on the Internet? The hybrids and the fashion make all the sense in the world to people who are out there just looking for new sounds.''

That helps explain why Mr. Philips's network has welcomed the singer Jewel, known for breathy folk-pop hits like ''Who Will Save Your Soul?,'' on several programs as she promotes her new album.

The reach of country outlets is formidable: CMT reaches an estimated 83 million homes. And in radio, country remains the most popular genre nationwide, accounting for roughly 16 percent of the country's 13,000 stations, according to Arbitron. Moreover, its overall share of the audience has remained relatively stable in the face of major declines in the pop and rock fields.

In particular, the baby boomers who tuned in to the FM-dial rock revolution of the 1970's have switched to other formats, including news and talk, or tuned out altogether. In the last five years alone, the rock sector (which in Arbitron's definition includes ''classic'' rock and ''album-oriented'' rock stations but not current ''alternative'' rock outlets) has lost approximately 15 percent of its audience. Now, even a hit on older-skewing rock stations is not nearly as meaningful as a performance on country airwaves.

Consider: ''Dani California'' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the most-played song at the 38 ''heritage'' rock stations monitored by Billboard in a recent week, reached a total audience of roughly 2.9 million people; ''The World'' by Brad Paisley, the most-played song at the 131 monitored country stations, reached approximately 38.2 million, according to the tracking service Nielsen BDS.

The Seger efforts are part of a broader push to bring his new album to the widest possible audience, including making it available on iTunes -- a departure for Mr. Seger, who along with Radiohead and the Beatles is among the few remaining holdouts vetoing digital sales of their music catalogs.

Mr. Seger's representatives say that while they expect his music to resonate with all sorts of fans, his image as a workingman's heartland poet meshes especially well with country sensibilities. General Motors clearly thought so, adopting his hit ''Like a Rock'' for its long-running series of commercials for Chevrolet pickups.

His recordings have been covered by numerous country acts, from Kenny Rogers to Brooks & Dunn. One of Mr. Seger's biggest singles, ''Shame on the Moon'' from the 1982 album ''The Distance,'' was written by the country performer Rodney Crowell. In Mr. Seger's heyday and for years afterward, his songs could occasionally be heard on an array of radio formats, including country. But longtime country programmers in the genre do not recall Mr. Seger's music being presented to them specifically as carrying country appeal.

The official date when Capitol hopes country stations start playing his single is not for two weeks, but it has already received airplay on about a dozen such stations.

''In my opinion we've relied on country audiences from the first record we put out,'' said Punch Andrews, Mr. Seger's longtime manager. These fans, he added, ''don't see all the fuzzy lines that everybody wants to draw. Rock 'n' roll and country have always been basically the same. It's just a few instruments that change.''

Disc: 1
1. Diamonds
2. Everlasting Arm
3. In A Funny Way
4. Goddess On A Hiway
5. Chasing A Bee
6. Dark Is Rising
7. Black Forest (Lorelei)
8. Holes
9. Car Wash Hair
10. Empire State (Son House In Excelsis)
11. Something For Joey
12. Frittering
13. Drop In Time
14. Opus 40

Disc: 2
1. I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier
2. I Only Have Eyes For You - Mercury Rev & Sean O'Hagan
3. Observatory Crest
4. Streets Of Larado
5. So There - Mercury Rev & Robert Creeley
6. Afraid
7. He Was A Friend Of Mine
8. Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp
9. It's A Man's Man's Man's World
10. Clamor
11. Seagull
12. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
13. Coney Island Cyclone
14. Silver Street
15. Deadman - Mercury Rev & Alan Vega
16. Philadelphia
17. Good Times Ahead
18. Memory Of A Free Festival

Track listing
1. Adrift
2. Bank Job
3. Sound Of Your Voice
4. Easy
5. Home
6. Bull In A China Shop
7. Everything Had Changed
8. Peterborough And The Kawarthas
9. Maybe You're Right
10. Take It Back
11. Vanishing
12. Rule The World With Love
13. Wind It Up

Details
Producer:  Barenaked Ladies
Distributor:  WEA
Recording type:  Studio
Recording mode:  Stereo
SPAR Code:  n/a

Album notes
Barenaked Ladies: Jim Creeggan (vocals, various instruments); Kevin Hearn (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Ed Robertson, Steven Page (vocals, guitar); Tyler Stewart (drums, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Kim Mitchell.
On BARENAKED LADIES ARE ME--the amiable Canadian rock band's first non-holiday studio outing since 2003's EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE--singer/guitarists Steven Page and Ed Robertson and the lads continue in the vein of that previous album, opting for less overt wackiness than on their 1990s records. Whereas making listeners laugh once seemed to be their main objective, the Ladies have become much more intent on creating charmingly straightforward and catchy pop songs, as best revealed on the wonderfully breezy "Easy" and the energetic, guitar-heavy "Wind It Up." Of course, Barenaked Ladies, by name alone, can't completely abandon humor, and they oblige winningly with highly narrative tracks such as "Bank Job," which finds a would-be robber facing a crowd of nuns. No matter how much they mature, the group can't help being a little ridiculous from time to time, and that's ultimately what makes them so appealing.

Track listing
1. Different World
2. These Colours Don't Run
3. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
4. Pilgrim, The
5. Longest Day, The
6. Out Of The Shadows
7. Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg, The
8. For The Greater Good Of God
9. Lord Of Light
10. Legacy, The

Details
Producer:  Kevin "Caveman" Shirley
Distributor:  RED Distribution
Recording type:  Studio
Recording mode:  Stereo
SPAR Code:  n/a

Album notes
Iron Maiden: Bruce Dickinson (vocals); Dave Murray , Janick Gers, Adrian Smith (guitar); Steve Harris (bass guitar); Nicko McBrain (drums).
Recording information: Sarm West Studios, London, England (2006).
Like all the best metal bands, Iron Maiden has never shied away from grandiosity in both material and presentation--"Rime of the Ancient Mariner," anyone?--and MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH follows in this same bigger-is-better tradition. From the cover art depicting tanks and skeletal soldiers to standout tracks like "These Colors Don't Run" and "For the Greater Good of God," MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH finds these elder statesmen of metal simultaneously reveling in and protesting the horrors of modern warfare and the irony of holy war. Bruce Dickinson proves once again that he is one of metal's greatest vocalists, and Kevin Shirley's no-frills production keeps the focus on the band's trademark guitar interplay. The mood is somber, but the riffs kill and the refreshingly strict 4/4 tempos keep the band close to the script that made them metal legends.

Track listing
1. Begin The Begin
2. Radio Free Europe
3. Pretty Persuasion
4. Talk About The Passion
5. Don't Go Back To Rockville
6. Sitting Still
7. Gardening At Night
8. 7 Chinese Bros
9. So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
10. Driver 8
11. Can't Get There From Here
12. Finest Worksong
13. Feeling Gravitys Pull
14. I Believe
15. Life And How To Live It
16. Cuyohoga
17. One I Love, The
18. Welcome To The Occupation
19. Fall On Me
20. Perfect Circle
21. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Details
Producer:   Don Dixon, Don Gehman, Joe Boyd, Mitch Easter, Scott Litt
Distributor:   EMI Music Distribution
Recording type:   Studio
Recording mode:   Stereo
SPAR Code:   n/a

Album notes:

R.E.M.: Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck , Bill Berry .
Recording information: Reflection Sound Studios, Charlotte, North Carolina (1982 - 1987); Sound Emporium, Nashville, Tennessee; Lucy Cobb Chapel, Athens, Georgia; Belmont Mall Studio, Belmont, Indiana.
A compilation ideal for those who have worn out their copies of EPONYMOUS, 2006's AND I FEEL FINE surveys R.E.M.'s lauded 1980s output for the I.R.S. label, going into far greater depth than the former disc. In fact, this 2006 collection presents album versions of almost every song on EPONYMOUS, and bolsters the track listing to 21 classic tunes, from the spare, chiming "Radio Free Europe" to the rustic, melancholy "Cuyahoga" to the surging college-rock anthem "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." Charting a non-chronological course through the band's early years--when Michael Stipe and company gradually began branching out from their earnest post-punk sound--the set serves to highlight the cohesiveness of R.E.M.'s vision, an aesthetic that made the group one of the most respected and beloved rock acts of the '80s and '90s.

Disc: 1
1. Cutter
2. Back Of Love
3. Killing Moon
4. Seven Seas
5. Never Stop
6. Rescue
7. I Want To Be There (When You Come)
8. Don't Let It Get You Down
9. Promise
10. Silver
11. People Are Strange
12. Do It Clean
13. Game
14. Rust
15. Lips Like Sugar
16. Nothing Lasts Forever
17. Bring On The Dancing Horses
18. Hang On To A Dream
19. It's Alright
20. Stormy Weather

Disc: 2
1. Cutter
2. Killing Moon
3. Seven Seas
4. Bring On The Dancing Horses
5. Game
6. Lips Like Sugar
7. Nothing Lasts Forever
8. Rust

Track listing
1. Call Her A Bitch
2. Blow The Whistle
3. Burn Rubber Pt. 2
4. Keep Bouncin' (Street) - (with Snoop Dogg/Will.i.am)
5. Pimpin' Forever
6. Money Maker - (with Pimp C/Rick Ross)
7. Strip Down
8. Nothing Feels Better
9. Sophisticated
10. Playa
11. 16 Hoes - (with Jazze Pha/Bun-B)
12. Baller - (with David Banner)
13. Sadity - (with Kurupt/Daz)
14. I Want You Girl - (with E-40/Dolla Will/Mr. Fab)
15. It's Time To Go
16. Shake It Baby

Details
Contributing artists:  Bun-B, Jazze Pha, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg & Friends, Will.i.am
Producer:  Lil Jon
Distributor:  BMG
Recording type:  Studio
Recording mode:  Stereo
SPAR Code:  n/a

Album notes
Personnel include: Too Short (rap vocals); David Banner, Jazze Pha, Pimp C, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, Will.i.am, Bun-B (rap vocals).
Recording information: 2006.

Track listing
1. Intro
2. Is It Me
3. Problem
4. Somebody Done F**ked Up
5. Shaolin Soldier (Skit)
6. Fall Out
7. Dirty MEF - (with O.D.B.)
8. 4:20 - (with Streetlife)
9. Let's Ride - (with Ginuwine)
10. Glide, The - (featuring Raekwon/La The Darkman)
11. Kids (Skit)
12. Got To Have It
13. Say
14. Ya' Meen - (featuring Fat Joe/Styles P)
15. Konichiwa Bi*ches
16. Everything - (with Inspectah Deck & Streetlife)
17. Walk On - (with Redman)
18. Pimpin' (Skit)
19. Presidential MC - (featuring Raekwon/RZA)
20. 4 Ever - (with Megan Rochell)

Details
Distributor:  Universal Distribution
Recording type:  Studio
Recording mode:  Stereo
SPAR Code:  n/a

Album notes
When Wu-Tang took the world by storm in 1994, Method Man was the first member to drop a solo album, the now classic TICAL. With undeniable charisma, a sing-song, rise-and-fall flow, and an incredible ability to spin memorable hooks, Meth quickly became one of the most prolific cameo-makers in hip-hop. Since his debut, though, Method Man like many of his Wu brethren has stood in the shadow of his early work, with rap fans perennially hoping he'll regain the ruggedness of his hungry, pre-superstar days.
On his fourth release, 2006's 4:21 THE DAY AFTER, Meth gets production from Erick Sermon, Scott Storch, Havoc, K1, and just a few beats from the RZA and continues to develop his sound in line with the 2000s Def Jam formula for crossover success. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it definitely establishes his solo work apart from the group he came up with, both in style and substance. Yet guest appearances from Raekwon and RZA, and archival rhymes from the late O.D.B. kick up some of that old-fashioned Shaolin style.

1   Lost in Motion
2   Indian Summer
3   Out of the Blue
4   Elevate
5   Insolation
6   Cry
7   Needlejuice
8   Soul on Soul
9   Exhale
10   Solstice
11   Mode Confusion
12   Cry Unplugged (feat. Saskia Lie Atjam)