Metallica, Drake, Coldplay to release new music FALL ALBUM PREVIEW

September 29, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Chicago Tribune

Here come the would-be blockbusters. The music industry inevitably rolls out new releases by its biggest artists in the fall, just in time for holiday gift-giving. This year is no exception, with studio albums expected from Drake and Mary J. Blige; a host of reissued and rchival material by revered rock acts such as U2 and Nirvana; and new long-form downloads (or discs) from both the first “American Idol” winner and the most recent. Here’s a rundown of what’s in store:

Country

LeAnn Rimes, “Lady and Gentlemen” (released Sept. 27): The singer puts a feminine spin on country classics previously recorded by male vocalists, including tunes associated with Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings and George Jones.

Rodney Atkins, “Take a Long Road” (Oct. 4): Atkins prefers baseball caps to country Stetsons, and he’s usually good for a handful of hits with a small-town flavor on each album.

Scotty McCreery, “Clear as Day” (Oct. 4): The youngest male winner in “American Idol” history, the 17-year-old makes his country-tinged debut.

Hank Williams Sr., “The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams” (Oct. 4): Contemporary artists ranging from Alan Jackson to Norah Jones create new songs out of some of the country legend’s unused lyrics.

Martina McBride, “Eleven” (Oct. 11): One of Nashville’s most durable voices will release 11 tracks on her 11th studio album. Could it be called anything else?

Toby Keith, “Clancy’s Tavern” (Oct. 24): The latest from the former Oklahoma oil-field worker and author of the flag-waving, boot-stomping anthem “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue [The Angry American]” in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Miranda Lambert, “Four the Record” (Nov. 1): One of mainstream country’s “bad girls” aims to keep her string of platinum-plus albums intact.

Hip-hop/R&B

Van Hunt, “What Were You Hoping For?” (Sept. 27): After a lengthy hiatus, enforced in part by record-company problems, the gifted songwriter releases his first album since “On the Jungle Floor” in 2006.

The Knux, “Eraser” (Sept. 27): Kentrell “Krispy” Lindsey and Alvin “Joey” Lindsey, the duo behind the hit “Cappucino,” update their scruffy boho-rap-rock hybrid.

DJ Shadow, “The Less You Know, The Better” (Oct. 4): Josh Davis has taken the art of sampling and pastiche composition to new heights in the past two decades, plotting each album with careful consideration; this is his first since 2006.

Drake, “Take Care” (Oct. 24): The follow-up to Aubrey Drake Graham’s best-selling 2010 release, “Thank Me Later.”

Mary J. Blige, “My Life II ... The Journey Continues [Act I]” (November): The singer’s 10th studio album is being billed as a sequel to her classic 1994 merger of hip-hop and soul, “My Life.”

Pop

Feist, “Metals” (Oct. 4): Leslie Feist made her reputation with quiet, melancholy tunes but promises a makeover to better showcase other facets of her songwriting and guitar-playing on her first album in four years.

Susan Boyle, “Someone to Watch Over Me” (Nov. 1): After selling 14 million albums in little over a year, the ballad singer who burst into fame during the 2009 “Britain’s Got Talent” season returns with her third album.

Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger” (Oct. 25): The original “American Idol” tries to revive a career that started strong but has slowed in recent years.

Rock

Wilco, “The Whole Love” (released Sept. 27): With its current lineup intact for three consecutive albums — a lifetime by Wilco’s once-volatile standards — the band creates a stylistically diverse collection of songs to debut its new label, dBpm Records.

Tom Waits, “Bad as Me” (Oct. 4): The singer’s first album of new material in seven years, once again with his wife, Kathleen Brennan, as coproducer.

Bjork, “Biophilia” (Oct. 11): Iceland’s grandest contribution to pop eccentricity tells the story of the universe’s creation in song, with accompanying iPad apps.

Coldplay, “Mylo Xyloto” (Oct. 24): The British band resumes its collaboration with producer Brian Eno on its fifth studio album, and includes a guest vocal by Rihanna on the track “Princess of China.”

Nirvana, “Nevermind [Super Deluxe]” (Oct. 25): The cannon shot from the Seattle trio that opened the alternative-rock era is retooled with bonus tracks and a DVD.

Lou Reed and Metallica, “Lulu” (Nov. 1): The season’s unlikeliest collaboration matches the godfather of punk with the thrash- metal pioneers, with production by Reed’s confidante Hal Wilner. One track clocks in at more than 19 minutes, and two are 11 minutes long.

U2, “Achtung Baby [Super Deluxe Edition]” (Nov. 1): The Irish quartet reissue one of their most revered albums on its 20th anniversary with all the trimmings.

Beach Boys, “The Smile Sessions Box” (Nov. 1): The great, lost Beach Boys album from the ’60s finally is unearthed with copious documentation.

The Who, “Quadrophenia: The Director’s Cut” (Nov. 15): Pete Townshend’s second major rock opera makes a lavish reappearance.