Release Day Picks: October 25th New Album Highlights

Each week Release Day Picks profiles new LPs and EPs Team JamBase will be checking out on release day Friday. This week we highlight new albums by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, Grace Potter, Joe Bonamassa, The Soul Rebels, Sinkane, Mikal Cronin and Swans. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Colorado

The Scoop: Last year, Neil Young revived Crazy Horse with Nils Lofgren stepping in for Frank “Poncho” Sampedro. Young assembled the group in Telluride this spring and came away with Colorado, a 10-track album out on Reprise. John Hanlon co-produced the album, which is the first featuring Crazy Horse since 2012’s Psychedelic Pill, with Neil Young. “We believe we have a great Crazy Horse album, one to stand alongside Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Rust Never Sleeps, Sleeps With Angels, Psychedelic Pill and all the others,” Young wrote after the sesions. “Our Crazy Horse album with Nils, Ralphie and Billy stands as one of the most diverse albums I have ever made and I can’t wait for you to hear it.”

Van Morrison – Three Chords & The Truth

The Scoop: Legendary singer-songwriter Van Morrison continues his prolific ways with the release of Three Chords And The Truth via Exile/Caroline International. Morrison both produced and wrote the material on the 14-track album. “If We Wait For Mountains” was co-penned by Don Black. Van’s latest features contributions from guitarist Jay Berliner and contains “Fame Will Eat The Soul,” a duet between Morrison of Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers. “Three Chords And The Truth is truly something wonderful — fourteen new original compositions effortlessly encapsulate the Van Morrison sound and showcase his talents as one of our generation’s most celebrated songwriters,” reads part of a press release announcing the LP. “His sixth album in just four years, Three Chords And The Truth is further proof that Van Morrison is one of the greatest recording artists of all time and a creative force to be reckoned with.”

Bruce Springsteen – Western Stars – Songs From The Film

The Scoop: Columbia Records and Bruce Springsteen have shared Western Stars – Songs From The Film. The album contains live performances of songs from Springsteen’s 2019 album Western Stars and film of the same name, Springsteen’s directorial debut. Western Stars – Songs From The Film also features a cover of Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy.” The Boss, who produced the soundtrack with Ron Aniello, retapped Springsteen on Broadway’s Bob Clearmountain and Bob Ludwig to mix and master the 14-track record.

Ringo Starr – What’s My Name

The Scoop: The legendary Ringo Starr returns with his 20th studio album, What’s My Name. Naturally, the LP — recorded at Ringo’s Roccabella West home studio — sees contributions from an “All-Starr” cast including Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Edgar Winter, Dave Stewart, Benmont Tench, Steve Lukather, Colin Hay and more. The album also features a song penned by John Lennon, “Grow Old With Me,” that includes contributions on bass and backing vocals from McCartney. The track also gives a nod to George Harrison-penned Beatles classic “Here Comes The Sun,” and, as Ringo says, “So in a way, it’s the four of us.

Grace Potter – Daylight

The Scoop: The electrifying Grace Potter is back with her first full length studio album since 2015’s Midnight. The subject matter for Daylight — recorded at Barefoot Recording and Topangadise Studios near Grace’s new Topanga Canyon home — stemmed from a transitional period in Potter’s life that saw the singer ending a relationship, beginning a new one and welcoming a son. Potter co-wrote much of the material on Daylight with her new partner, Eric Valentine. Also appearing on the LP are Lucius’ Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig as well as keyboardist Benmont Tench of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers.

Joe Bonamassa – Live At The Sydney Opera House

The Scoop: Acclaimed blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa selected 10 songs performed during a 2016 concert at the legendary Sydney Opera House for inclusion on a new live album. Live At The Sydney Opera, a Provogue/J&R Adventures release follows Bonamassa’s 2018 live album, British Blues Explosion Live. Joe’s band at the Sydney Opera House featured keyboardist Reese Wynans, percussionist Anton Fig, bassist Michael Rhodes, trumpeter Lee Thornburg and saxphonist Paulie Cerra. Additional vocals are provided by Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins and Gary Pinto. Studio versions of eight tracks from the new set were originally released on Joe Bonamassa’s 2016 album, Blues Of Desperation.

The Soul Rebels – Poetry In Motion

The Scoop: Brass band The Soul Rebels launched the new imprint, Rebelution Music Group, just in time to issue their first official studio album in over seven years. The guest-filled Poetry In Motion features 12 tracks. A bevy of guests contributed to the LP including Tarriona “Tank” Ball of Tank and The Bangas, Big Freedia, Robert Glasper, Branford Marsalis, Matisyahu, PJ Morton, Trombone Shorty and more. “Our new album reflects The Soul Rebels’ sound and style, and challenges and expands upon the perception of a New Orleans brass band,” stated Julian Goslin of The Soul Rebels. “We are breaking the stylistic and artistic boundaries of what it means to be a brass group from New Orleans.”

Sinkane – Gettin’ Weird (Alive at Spacebomb Studios)

The Scoop: Sinkane released their latest album, Dépaysé, earlier this year. The band led by Ahmed Gallab performed five songs from that album, plus an additional selection from 2014’s Mean Love, during a recording session held at Spacebomb Records studio in Richmond, Virginia. Produced by Cameron Ralston and Pinson Chanselle and executive produced by Matthew E. White, Gettin’ Weird features Gallab joined by the Spacebomb House Band — Chanselle, Ralston, Daniel Clarke and Benny Ralston — as well as the Spacebomb House Choir and other guest musicians. The live session captures the Dépaysé tracks “Everyone,” “Ya Sudan,” “Mango,” “The Searching” and “Everybody” along with the Mean Love cut “How We Be.” “Working at Spacebomb was a dream,” Gallab said in a statement. “It’s not every day that you can roll up to a studio, instantly connect with the people there, and create magic in less than 3 days. Those guys are the real deal. Preserving the tradition and art of making music in a studio in the age of bedroom major label recordings.”

Mikal Cronin – Seeker

The Scoop: “It was so quiet and peaceful,” said Mikal Cronin about writing the material for Seeker while secluded in a cabin in the Southern California mountain town of Idyllwild. “I got weird looks at the store. I got bug bites that didn’t heal for months. I walked around a small lake a few times. I wrote. I took literally something that’s usually a hypothetical, something every artist thinks about doing. It worked.” His month-long writing retreat was cut short when an arsonist set fires nearby. Cronin returned early to Los Angeles where he setup at Palmetto Studios to record with Ty Segall’s Freedom Band. The results of those efforts make up the 10-track Seeker. “I brought a charred pine cone from the woods to the studio, just in case it would help,” Cronin said. “Fire — specifically its cycle of purging and reseeding the landscape — is a central theme to the record. Death and rebirth.”

Swans – leaving meaning.

The Scoop: Swans mastermind Michael Gira remains the only official member of the experimental band he formed in the early-1980s. Swans’ 15th official studio album, leaving meaning., finds Gira joined by a large roster of supporting players. Here’s Gira’s explanation of the current state of Swans and how the new album was recorded:

leaving meaning. is the first Swans album to be released since I dissolved the line up of musicians that constituted Swans from 2010 – 2017. Swans is now comprised of a revolving cast of musicians, selected for both their musical and personal character, chosen according to what I intuit best suits the atmosphere in which I’d like to see the songs I’ve written presented. In collaboration with me, the musicians, through their personality, skill and taste, contribute greatly to the arrangement of the material.

Thor Harris, Larry Mullins, The Necks, Kristof Hahn, Yoyo Röhm, Anna von Hausswolff, Maria von Hausswolff, Ben Frost, Baby Dee, Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost are among those who appear on the record. A detailed documentation of contributors to leaving meaning. is available via Young God Records.

Compiled by Scott Bernstein, Nate Todd and Andy Kahn.