September 11, 2002

By Johnny Ray Huston

THIS FALL IS Cash money season. I'm not talking about new-school Memphis bling bling, I'm talking about Johnny Cash: two tribute albums and a new song collection by the Man in Black himself will soon hit stores. September and October bring a head-spinning multitude of releases, but November is the month for drama in the hip-pop world. Jay-Z and Nas are planning to go another round, releasing albums within a week of each other, and Ja Rule, hoping that the two knock each other out, will make a flyweight bid for the crown. In addition, Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown will wage a war of designer rhymes on the same release date (Nov. 19). Also on the "yes, more drama" horizon are the returns of embattled singers Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Wind-me-up Whitney – recently seen making mad faces at the camera in the video for Ja Rule and his Murder Inc. harem's "Down for You" – had better quit sipping tropical drinks and imbibing whatever else to finish her album. Of course, its release date, like most of those on this list, is tentative.

Sept. 17

Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley, Radio Nights (Sin-Drome). Some might say this list goes downhill from here.

Franklin Bruno, Cat May Look at a Queen (Absolutely Kosher). Indie intellectual puts out a new album on the S.F.-based label.

Manu Chao, Live Album (Virgin). The title says it all.

Billy Childish and Sexton Ming, Here Come the Fleece (Damaged Goods). The garage-rock icon returns.

Natalie Cole, Ask a Woman Who Knows (Universal). Ask a woman who knows how to piss off Aretha Franklin?

Flaming Lips, Finally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid 1983-1988 (Restless). Actually, the Butthole Surfers probably dropped acid first.

Enrique Iglesias, Quizas (Universal Latino). Julio's son takes a break from whispering sweet English nothings in "tennis star" Anna Kournikova's ear.

Isis, Oceanic (Ipecac). More racket from Mike Patton's label.

Wanda Jackson, Wanda Jackson (Capitol). Wanda-rers rejoice!

Kenny G, Paradise (Arista). My Kenny G paradise is a silent one.

Komputer, Market Led (Mute). Programmed to cash in on electroclash.

Diana Krall, Look of Love (Verve). The blond icon of jazz takes on Bacharach, if the title can be trusted.

Ladytron, Light and Magic (Emperor Norton). The electro group recharges its batteries, battling Komputer for control of people's e-money.

Mr. Lif, I Phantom (Def Jux). Indie hip-hop thinker gets phantasmagoric.

Neurosis, Live in Lyon (Neurot). Local metal machine invades France.

Joan Osbourne, How Sweet It Is (Womanly Hips). Scary thought: What if God let Osbourne have another hit?

Tobin Sprout, Sentimental Static (Recordhead). The Guided by Voices tunesmith takes another solo detour.

Sutekh, Incest: Live (Efa/Caroline) Live local electro-noise, hopefully not featuring blood relatives.

Vandals, Internet Dating Superstuds (Kung Fu). Punk rockers deliver one of the best album titles of the season.

Various artists, Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash (Dualtone/BMG). Rodney Crowell, Rosie Flores, Rev. Horton Heat, and others contribute to a B-list tribute to Cash.

Xzibit, Man vs. Machine (Openbar). Dre and Eminem make a cameo.

Sept. 24

Ryan Adams, Demolition (Universal). Demos and B-sides, including one called "Tennessee Sucks."

Asian Dub Foundation, Facts and Fiction (Beggars Banquet). Still waiting to be accepted into the World Wrestling Federation.

Beck, Sea Change (Universal). Beck reverts to Mutations mode, and the song titles suggest he's got the blues.

Big Daddy Kane, Man the Icon (Landspeed). Roll out the red carpet (and pray for a Roxanne Shante cameo).

B-Legit, Hard 2 B-Legit (Koch International). Maybe so, but these days it's even harder 2 B Hammer.

Alice Cooper, Dragontown (Spitfire). Battling Ted Nugent for this week's Rock Grandpa crown.

Steve Earle, Jerusalem (Artemis). Songs include "John Walker's Blues" and "Amerika v. 6.0 (The Best We Can Do)."

Felix Da Housecat, Metropolis Present Day: The Album (Pias America). House for sale.

Peter Gabriel, Up (Universal). First album in a decade; the words "Barry Williams" appear in one song title.

Gold Chains, Straight from Your Radio (Tigerbeat 6). The Bay Area's great white hope tries to be dope.

India.Arie, Voyage to India (Universal). Grammy's bridesmaid returns.

Low, Trust (Kranky). Break out the Valium.

Melanie, Crazy Love (Orpheus). If her great cameo on the last 6ths album is anything to go by, she's a few ball bearings short of a rollerskate.

Nas, Lost Tapes (Sony). Unreleased recordings from Jay-Z's arch-enemy.

Ted Nugent, Craveman (Spitfire). More music to eat meat to from the man who once – on Detroit radio – told Patti Smith he could smell her b.o. from across Eight Mile Road.

Johnny Otis, Food for Life (J and T). The legend who "discovered" Little Esther Phillips keeps on keepin' on.

Lou Reed, Take No Prisoners (Arista). Chances are there's something about Sept. 11 on this album.

Sizzla, Ghetto Revolutionary (Greensleeves). Not to be confused with Sizzler.

Memphis Slim and His House Rockers, Come Back (Delmark). Jon Spencer, eat your heart out.

Underworld, A Hundred Days Off (V2/BMG). "You're too old, it's over, nobody listens to techno."

Various artists, Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash (Sony). Dwight Yoakam, Roseanne Cash, Little Richard, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen cover Johnny.

Weezer, The Lion and the Witch (Geffen). They left out the wardrobe.

Oct. 1

3LW, A Girl Can Mack (Arista). More like 2LW, after a Beyoncé-in-training threw a plate of food in a (now ex-)groupmember's face.

Toni Braxton, Amplified (Arista). Alternate title: Unbreak My Bank Account.

Carter Sisters and Jack White, Southern Songbook (Silverwolf). The final recording of the Carter Sisters, and no, it's not with the White Stripes yowler.

Cassius, Au Reve (Astralwerks). French house keeps on thumpin'.

Elvis Costello, Cruel Smile (Island). Elvis lives on.

El-P, Fantastic Damage: Instrumentals and Remixes (Def Jux). Refried underground hip-hop.

GZA, The Legend of the Liquid Sword (MCA). Wu-Tang forever.

Diana Krall, Live in Paris (Universal). Krall-you-can-get: two albums in two weeks.

Miguel Migs, Colorful You (Astralwerks). Bay Area club music on a semimajor label.

Negativland, Death Sentences of the Polished and Politically Weak (Seeland). Local politicos keep on pranking.

Leann Rimes, Twisted Angel (Curb). The involvement of Desmond Child suggests Rimes wants to rock.

Rolling Stones, Forty Licks (Virgin). A 40th anniversary hits collection featuring four new tracks.

Squarepusher, Do You Know Squarepusher (Warp). More punishing jungle parodies from Simon Reynolds's least-favorite beatmaker?

Thievery Corporation, Richest Man in Babylon (Est Music). From her apartment in New York, Amanda Nowinski makes retching noises.

Amon Tobin, Out from out Where (Ninjatune). Drum 'n' bass.

DJ Vadim, USSR: Art of Listening (Ninjatune). Drum 'n' bass, part two.

Oct. 8

Dot Allison, We're Only Science (Mantra/Beggar's Banquet). Ambient Britpop in need of buyers.

Apples in Stereo, Velocity of Sound (SpinART). Jingle-jangle.

Ben Folds, Ben Folds Live (Epic). Title rhymes with Ben Folds Five.

Aretha Franklin, TBA (Arista). Recently seen cooking meat loaf on BET Tonight.

Bon Jovi, Bounce (Universal). The ageless hair rocker takes a break from acting.

Jennifer Love Hewitt, Barenaked (Jive). Extremely scary tidbit: produced by Meredith Brooks.

Etta James, Let's Roll (Private Music/RCA). The divine Etta belts out the blues.

Jurassic 5, Power in Numbers (Interscope). Cali "indie" rhymes and beats.

Large Professor, 1st Class (Matador). Hip-hop veteran returns on indie-rock label.

Men Without Hats, No Hats beyond This Point (www.menwithouthats.com). "You can dance if you want to."

Sinead O'Connor, Sean-Nos-Nua (Vanguard). Not a Sha Na Na tribute: trad Irish songs by the Pope-ripper turned priest turned ex-priest turned lesbian turned ex-lesbian.

Tom Petty, The Last DJ (Warner Bros.). Guest appearances by Lindsey Buckingham and Jon Brion.

The Sea and Cake, One Bedroom (Thrill Jockey). Some people call it jazz.

Soft Cell, Cruelty Without Beauty (SpinART). Marc Almond and Dave Ball reunite.

Oct. 15

Jello Biafra, Machine Gun in the Clown's Hand (Alternative Tentacles). Not the same as a mic in the clown's hand.

Jeff Buckley, Songs to No One 1991-92 (Columbia). Early recordings by the ill-fated romantic.

Nick Carter, Now or Never (Jive). Now might be too late for the Backstreet Boy.

Tracy Chapman, Let It Rain (Elektra). Seen around town when she wasn't recording this.

Faith Hill, Cry (Warner Bros.). A return to her country roots, allegedly.

Jets to Brazil, Perfecting Loneliness (Jade Tree). How emo can you get?

Gerald Levert, G Spot (Elektra Asylum). Seducing the ladies when B2K were in kindergarten.

LL Cool J, Ten (Def Jam). Can he top "Deepest Bluest (Shark Fin)"? Missy, Tweet, and the Neptunes help him out.

Monica, All Eyez On Me (J). She's been through a lot since battling Brandy.

Oct. 22

Charli Baltimore, The Diary (You Think You Know) (Murder Inc./Def Jam). Former Biggie honey, who's currently one of Ja Rule's down-ass bitches, finally releases her rap debut.

Nate Dogg, TBA (Elektra). Nate Dogg lyric of the day: "Now that I'm sober you ain't that fine."

Donnas, The Donnas Spend the Night (Atlantic). The postteen foursome make their first major-label appearance.

Foo Fighters, 1 x 1 (RCA). Recorded in between court battles with Courtney Love.

O Town, 02 (J). Time is running out for O2.

Kelly Rowland, Simply Deep (Columbia). Soon to star in Freddy vs. Jason; Nelly, she loves you, too.

St. Etienne, Finistere (Mantra/Beggars Banquet). Pop intelligentsia.

Santana, Shaman (Arista). Is the shaman Clive Davis?

Solange, Solo Star (Columbia). The Knowles empire expands, but Beyonce's li'l sis is not exactly a Rhodes scholar.

Oct. 29

Add N to X, Loud like Nature (Mute). More malfunctions from the pre-Atari noise rioters.

Christina Aguilera, Strip (RCA). The ultimate fashion victim battles barenaked JLo Hewitt.

Tori Amos, Scarlet's Walk (Atlantic). No Eminem cover versions slated.

Richard Ashcroft, Human Conditions (Virgin). Ex-Verve singer returns with help from DJ Shadow, Brian Wilson, and Talvin Singh.

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang, Wonderful World (Warner Bros./Columbia). Two crooners for the price of one, covering Louis Armstrong.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Thug World Order (Ruthless). Bobby Brown and a presplit 3LW contribute.

Fabolous, Street Dream (Elektra). More handsome than Ludacris.

Killer Mike, Monster (Aquemini/Columbia). Stamped with the Outkast seal of approval.

Lil Jon and Eastside Boyz, Kings of Crunk (TeeVee Toons). Let me guess: they're getting crunk again.

Liza Minnelli, Liza's Back! (J). Expect at least one more visit to Larry King Live.

The Roots, Phrenology (MCA). Guest appearances by D'Angelo, Jill Scott, and (yikes) Nelly Furtado.

Shaggy, TBA (MCA). Movin' those units, globally.

Sixpence None the Richer, Divine Discontent (Squint). Music for well-scrubbed TV show heroines.

Too $hort, What's My Favorite Word (Jive). Too $hort quote of the day: "You can't turn a ho into a housewife."

Rod Stewart, Great American Songbook (J). I hope he means songs that he's heard while waiting in line for rides at Great America.

Suicide, American Supreme (Mute). Here to make Soft Cell seem young.

Nov. 5

Björk, Björk's Greatest Hits (Elektra/Asylum). In a recent MadTV skit, Whitney Houston skinned her pelt and turned it into a fur.

Johnny Cash, American IV: The Man Comes Around (American). Don't let the tributes fool you, there's only one Johnny, and this time he's got Nick Cave, (yikes) Don Henley, and (double yikes) Fiona Apple with him.

Eric Clapton, One More Car, One More Rider (Warner Bros.). A two-CD live recording.

His Name Is Alive, Last Night (4AD/Beggars Banquet). Art-school damaged rock and soul from Detroit.

Whitney Houston, Just Whitney (Arista). Badass Whitney chooses the Bonnie and Clyde (Bobby Brown) route over the Bonnie and Clive (Davis) route; people are worried.

Insane Clown Posse, The Wraith: Shangri-la (Psychopathic). A circus that refuses to shut down.

R Kelly, Loveland (Jive). The troubled lover of literal lyrics asks heaven for a hug; initial tracklists allegedly featured a song titled "Come to Daddy."

Third Eye Blind, Crystal Baller (Elektra/Asylum). Stephen Jenkins bites ... gangster rap phrasing.

Various artists, We're a Happy Family (DV8/Columbia). A Ramones "tribute" including covers by Metallica and Billy Corgan.

Nov. 12

BLACKstreet, Level II (Dreamworks). It's taken this R&B group years to reach the next level.

Mary J. Blige, Unplugged (MCA). She blazed through Jay-Z's Unplugged, let's hope the arrangements are tight.

Phil Collins, Testify (Atlantic). Is he on trial for sonic war crimes?

Fat Joe, Loyalty (Atlantic). Do jealous ones no longer envy?

Dru Hill, Dru Hill Order (Def Soul). Whatever happened to Sisqo?

Jay-Z, The Gift and the Curse (Roc-a-fella). Another blueprint for bling bling from the man who wants to be B.I.G.

Saliva, Back into Your System (Universal). Their fans are drooling with anticipation.

Justin Timberlake, Justified (Jive). With help from Timbaland, P. Diddy, and – in and out of the studio, rumor has it – Janet Jackson.

TLC, 3D (Arista). Keep your heads up, T-Boz and Chili.

Shania Twain, Up! (Polygram). That don't impress me much.

Nov. 19

Foxy Brown, Ill Na Na Part 2: The Fever (Def Jam). P. Diddy switches sides to executive produce Lil Kim's arch-nemesis, who hopes people still have the fever for the flavor of ill na na.

Missy Elliott, TBA (Elektra/The Gold Mind). "Copywritten so ... don't copy me!"

Ja Rule, The Last Temptation (Murder Inc./Def Jam). Just when you thought he might not be on the radio every five minutes.

Lil' Kim, Hollywood (Interscope). Eminem and Method Man help the queen bee battle Foxy.

Matchbox Twenty, Anything for a Parade (Atlantic). Oh well.

Joni Mitchell, TBA (Warner Bros.). Haughty by nature: a double-CD featuring orchestral versions of her hits.

Nas, God's Son (Columbia). Never one for modesty, he returns to take on Jay-Z.

Mountain Goats, Tallahassee (4AD/Beggars Banquet). Folk for those with master's degrees.

Pearl Jam, TBA (Epic). Eddie Vedder vs. Rob Thomas: not quite Nas vs. Jay-Z.

Piano Magic, Writers Without Homes (4AD/Beggars Banquet). Keyword: "soundscapes."

Nov. 26

Isley Brothers, TBA (Elektra). Ronald Isley reaches for his cane again.

K-Ci and Jo Jo, Emotional (MCA). A post-Mary K-Ci is a lost K-Ci.

Snoop Dogg, Paid the Cost to Be the Boss (Dogghouse). Suge Knight's least-favorite rapper fattens his wallet.

Sum 41, The Return of Sum 41 (Island). The music is sure to be as creative as the album title.

Dec. 3

Busta Rhymes, TBA (J). The most prolific motormouth in rap makes a holiday-season visit.

Common, The Electric Circus (MCA). Guest appearance by Mary J. Blige.

Dec. 10

Lauryn Hill, Khulami Phase (Columbia). Hill's long-awaited studio follow-up – hopefully she's well-stocked with lozenges.

Swizz Beats, GHETTO Stories (Dreamworks). Much-delayed attempt to battle Neptunes/N.E.R.D., with cameos a-go-go: Metallica, Lil' Kim, Fat Joe, Nas, Ja Rule, Eve, and others.

Dec. 17