Sheryl Crow plans final album

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Drake’s ‘Scorpion’ shatters every Apple music record

NEW YORK, July 3, (Agencies): Sheryl Crow says she is finished with recording albums and will put out one final full-length record next year with an all-star list of collaborators.

In an interview broadcast Monday, the nine-time Grammy winner said that her 2019 album will feature Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards, Don Henley and the late Johnny Cash.

The country rocker, who is best known for her 1994 smash hit “All I Wanna Do,” said that she will still put out individual songs.

“I do think that albums… are a little bit of a dying art form, that people are more interested in singles,” she told the syndicated radio host Kyle Meredith.

“It feels great not to spend the time in the studio to make a fully realized, conceptual album but just to put out really pertinent songs that feel immediate,” she said.

Artists in the age of streaming have increasingly debated the relevance of albums, whose duration was originally dictated by the limitations of vinyl LPs.

While many musicians still see albums as focused artistic statements, others — especially in hip-hop and electronica — prefer to put out music at their own pace.

Crow, who has long teamed up with star musicians, recently released a single with the indie rocker St. Vincent.

After high-profile relationships to men including Eric Clapton and Lance Armstrong, the 56-year-old Crow has spoken of how her life has been transformed by adopting two children on her own.

Crow said she considered it was a “luxurious time to be an artist” as she handles her outrage following the election of President Donald Trump.

Gorillaz, “The Now Now” (Warner Bros.)

Is there really another Gorillaz album out? We were actually still trying to digest last year’s overstuffed “Humanz.” And shouldn’t we be wary of a new release so close to that 26-song project?

After spending time with “The Now Now,” the answer is yes — yes, indeed. The 11-track collection includes some of Gorillaz’s funkiest riffs and also some of the weakest tunes in the band’s catalog.

“The Now Now” has basically two speeds — up-tempo, synth-washed EDM and maudlin, half-thought-out ballads. The band’s signature approach — dizzying levels of collaboration with cool guests — isn’t present here. Other than George Benson, Jamie Principle and Snoop Dogg, the Rolodex is thin.

Thinness

That thinness isn’t apparent with the album opener, “Humility,” a blissed-out summer jam enlivened by Benson’s funky guitar work. Snoop Dogg also returns to Gorillaz for a terrifically slinky portrait of “Hollywood.” And on the high-tempo “Sorcererz,” lead singer Damon Albarn’s vocal effects make him sound like an old blues legend. Another standout is the mostly instrumental “Lake Zurich,” a disco throwback with some of the best cowbell ever recorded in this century. Seriously.

But it’s not clear what the poor state of Idaho did to deserve “Idaho,” a turgid, overwrought mess. “Kansas” seems like it was written in 10 minutes while absentmindedly waiting for a bus, and “Fire Flies” manages to be both clumsy and bland. “One Percent” is virtually unlistenable while “Magic City” is lazy and reveals the limits of Albarn’s natural voice.

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LOS ANGELES: Started from the bottom now he’s here.

Just when it seemed like Drake couldn’t get any higher, he’s broken through another ceiling. His newest album, “Scorpion,” has already skyrocketed through the charts and shattered every Apple Music record, including becoming the number one album on the Apple Music charts in 92 different countries almost instantaneously and becoming the fastest-growing album ever on the service.

Just 24 hours after release, “Scorpion” had more than 170 million streams worldwide on Apple Music, with nine of the 10 most-streamed songs coming from the album, breaking not only Drake’s own record, but also shattering the record for day-one album streams on any streaming service, ever. Drake’s 2017 mixtape, “More Life,” held the previous record, with 89.9 million streams on its first day.

Spotify is also enjoying the popularity of the album, tweeting that “Scorpion” was being streamed over 10 million times per hour, and Amazon Music Unlimited also reported the album had broken its own first-day streaming record, which was previously held by Justin Timberlake’s “Man of the Woods.”

Drizzy’s most recent success on Apple Music shouldn’t come as a surprise, as his album “Views,” which became the platform’s first album to garner a billion streams, helped it gain subscribers during its early competition against Spotify after launching worldwide in 2015.

NEW YORK: Musician, producer and composer Nile Rodgers has a new role as chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Board members on Monday unanimously elected the 65-year-old guitarist.

Rodgers will serve a three-year term, succeeding co-chairs Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, known as Gamble & Huff. In a statement, Rodgers says he will try to serve “with all my heart.”

Hall of Fame president Linda Moran says Rodgers’ eloquence in talking about songwriting and its process makes him the ideal voice for the songwriting community.

The hall says it celebrates songwriters and educates the public about their achievements.

Rodgers co-founded the band Chic, known for such songs as “Le Freak” and “Good Times.”

He has worked as a producer or performer with Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna and Sam Smith.

 

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