Big January Releases

Hey Vinyl Fans:

There's a strong lineup of new releases coming in the next few weeks from Pearl Jam, Wanda Jackson, Iron & Wine, and many more.

Here are some highlights:

Pearl Jam—Live On Ten Legs on Monkeywrench features 18 live tracks recorded from 2003 to 2010. It has a Jan. 18 release.

The Decemberists—The Portland, Ore. folk-rockers deliver The King Is Dead (EMI) on Jan. 18. The vinyl package features a 180-gram lp in a gatefold sleeve.

Iron & Wine—Iron & Wine leaps to a major label (Warner) for its latest effort, Kiss Each Other Clean, which has a Jan. 25 release date. Despite the switch from indie labels, I have faith Sam Beam will deliver another stellar album.

Wanda Jackson—Rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson unveils The Party Ain't Over on Jan. 25. The album is produced by Jack White of the White Stripes. If you recall, he got Loretta Lynn back into the studio in 2004, and the result was the Grammy-winning Van Lear Rose, one of Lynn's finest album. He and Jackson hope for similar magic here. Jackson's single, "Shakin' All Over" came out a while ago and is terrific.

Elton John—The Covers Record features Sir Elton singing songs by Nick Drake, John Fogerty, Cat Stevens, and others before he became famous. Should be interesting. This double album is an import on the Lilith label. It is expected to come out Jan. 31, but that seems to be tentative.

And, there's no slowing down in February. A few of the releases we are looking forward to next month are Bright Eyes' The People's Key and The Drive-By Truckers' Go-Go Boots, which both come out on Feb. 11. Adele's sophomore release, 21, is set to come out Feb. 22.