Sonm-Son

The moment you hear her voice you realize this is someone special. Critically acclaimed U.K. soul singer Adele releases her debut album 19 in the U.S. after debuting #1 on the U.K. charts. The first single, Chasing Pavements, characterizes her autobiographical approach, written after a brawl in a London club with her boyfriend which sent her fleeing out the door onto Oxford Street. Adele became the first recipient of the Brit Awards' newly inaugurated Critics Choice Honor in December and 19 has already been certified platinum in the U.K.

Teenage Londoner with the voice of a Motown Diva. - Q

AC/DC's widely anticipated Black Ice is the band's first studio album in eight years and it features 15 new tracks from brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, along with Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd. The album was produced by Brendan O'Brien and mixed by Mike Fraser at the Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, BC. The first single Rock N Roll Train is already exploding on Rock Radio and has hit #1 on the Rock Charts. Black Ice has been pressed here on two 180-gram vinyl and is housed in a beautiful, gatefold package.

Kings of the Wild Frontier is the second album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was originally released in November 1980 by record label CBS. This album introduced the Burundi beat sound to popular music.

After having his previous backing band wooed away by producer Malcolm McLaren, who used them to form Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant recorded Kings of the Wild Frontier with guitarist Marco Pirroni as his new writing partner.

Kings of the Wild Frontier reached No. 1 in the UK Album Chart, and spawned three hit singles: Kings of the Wild Frontier, which was released in July and reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart; Dog Eat Dog, which reached No. 4; and 'Antmusic', released in December and reaching No. 2, as well as No. 1 in Australia for five weeks. The album was the UK number 1 selling album in 1981 (and the 48th best seller in 1980) and won Best British Album at the 1982 Brit Awards.

Gran Ciudad is the third album by Costa Rican singer-songwriter, Debi Nova.

Violence begins to mend what was broken, is not only a lyric taken from Lamb of God's song Omerta, it's a theme that's emblazoned throughout Ashes of the Wake both in message and music, inspired as much by personal trial as by world politics. Lamb of God showcases their 80's thrash roots on Ashes of the Wake by featuring solos from both Testament and Megadeth. At the same time the band plows forward here sampling from the new, the old and adding their own menacing footprint.

Recorded Live at The Trocadero in Philadelphia in October of 2004, Lamb of God continues to capture their comfort in taking musical risks. Killadelphia features 15 live tracks, six of which are new renderings from their critically acclaimed album Ashes of the Wake. Pure American Metal at its best!

Richmond, Virginia's own Lamb of God and their franchise of Pure American Metal is undoubtebly growing and they've allready headlined Ozzfest and toured with Slayer. Their new album Sacrament is once again produced by Machine and it is destined to expand their audience even further and bring them mainstream attention with their anthemic hooks and explosive riffs.

Featuring Pitbull and El Cata.

Over the course of his impressive artistic career, Tito Puente was a perennial and prolific innovator of Latin tropical music and Latin jazz of the highest caliber. Now thanks to Sony Music Latin, we all get to enjoy the four signature and landmark albums (artwork - front & back- as it originally appeared), along with a fifth bonus album, that truly defined the "American Icon" and his golden era:

"Cuban Carnival" (1956) is included with the original artwork. "Dance Mania" (1958) is the best-selling album of Tito's career. "Night Beat" (1957) became one of Latin jazz's seminal albums, while "Revolving Bandstand" (1960), considered the most innovative jazz recording of its time with the simultaneous inclusion of two big bands in the studio, is re-issued for the first time, with original artwork and liner notes.

This impressive and ever so unique package of 5 albums is being collectively released as Quatro - The Definitive Collection. A compendium that's like no other in the discography of Tito Puente, as it focuses on his early years, the RCA era of 1955-1960, so beloved by fans, critics and music historians.

Quatro - The Definitive Collection includes informative liner notes written by Joe Conzo (curator & music historian and author of the book "Mambo Diablo My Journey with Tito Puente"), a close friend of Tito Puente. It also contains never-before published facts and photos, plus previously unreleased artwork and alternate takes.

Among the other highlights and most interesting, informative features of this collection are the quotes from a plethora of musicians, producers and others who personally knew and/or worked with Tito over the course of his six-decade musical career.

Vida is the twelfth studio album by Puerto Rican recording artist Draco Rosa, originally released on March 19, 2013 by Sony Music Latin. It consists of 16 duets of Rosa's hits featuring guest artists chosen personally by Rosa himself.

Release from the King Of Bachata. His first solo album, Formula Vol. 1, ''redefined crossover and has taken Bachata mainstream'' (NPR). Now, with Formula Vol. 2, Romeo continues to set the bar in his genre by creating new, unexpected collaborations to fuse further elements of Urban, Pop and Latin styles into the syncopated rhythms and passionate lyrical expression of Bachata. The first single, 'Propuesta Indecente' reached #1 in the Latin Airplay and Hot Latin songs and tropical charts in Billboard, making Romeo the Latin artist with the most #1 hits this decade.

2013 album from the Latin superstar, his first original Tropical music recording in nearly a decade. The album, produced by Anthony and renown producer Sergio George, was recorded at the Hit Factory studios in Miami and Top Stop Music in Delray Beach and includes 8 tracks that reflect the unique style of the top selling Salsa artist in history. Marc Anthony has sold over 12 million albums worldwide, making him one of the most influential artists of his time and a true ambassador of Latin music and culture.

Calle 13 have come a long way since their 2005 debut, when they were a smartass pair of twentysomethings from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, riding the international reggaeton boom with a club-minded mix of sex talk and political invective. With their fifth record, frontman Residente and his halfbrother Visitante have made as ambitious a hip-hop album - if that's not too narrow a term - as any in any language. Beginning with an incantatory intro delivered by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano, the album ramps up through Respira El Momento, where Residente breathlessly escalates his Eminem-ish flow over dark piano, orchestral swells and choral drama. El Aguante pays tribute to human endurance, calling out a laundry list of dubious leaders (among them Hitler, Idi Amin, Stalin/Bush, Truman, Ariel Sharon) over a pennywhistle stomp owing to both Gogol Bordello and the Pogues. And on the title track, driven forward by Middle Eastern vocals and guest Tom Morello's strafing guitar, controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange - who recorded his spoken-word part in the basement of the Ecuadorian embassy in London - salutes the power of people armed with the truth. The song, like the entire LP, is an object lesson in just that.

- Will Hermes (Rolling Stone)

Arroz con Habichuela is the title of the studio album by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. The Spanish title of the album means rice with beans in English which is a popular plate both in Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America. It is also the first album featuring new member, Willie Sotelo, on piano who replaced longtime piano player, Rafael Ithier, so that Ithier could focus more on directing the band.

En Todo EstarÉ (English: I'll Be In Everything) is the 15th studio album by Puerto Rican performer Chayanne.

The Fania All-Stars is a musical ensemble established in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on the record label Fania Records, the leading salsa record company of the time.

Fania records founder Jerry Masucci nurtured a group of musicians who collectively defined the New York-based Latin American dance music called salsa. Masucci packaged his stars in touring revues patterned after the R&B revues mounted by Motown, Stax/Volt and others. The Fania All Stars could thus play such large venues as Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden, promoting both their individual careers and recordings such as Rhythm Machine, which features some big-name jazz guests. Ruben Blades leads a stellar vocal lineup that includes Adalberto Santiago, Hector Casanova, Ada Chabrell, Nancy O'Neill, and Johnny Pacheco, who also plays flute and percussion. Jon Faddis and Randy Brecker are the headliners of a four-piece trumpet section, backed by three trombones, flutes, harp, vibes, and other assorted instruments. --John Swenson

After an exploration away from the mainstream of salsa that would last nearly ten years, beginning with the release of 1984's Buscando AmÉrica, RubÉn Blades fans who missed the coro-shouting, compana-banging fun of his Fania years will rejoice in Caminando. Though a contemporary release, with plenty of contemporary influence, Blades' playlist on this record is much more salsa than fusion. From the rollicking, joyful title cut, to the slinky, trombone-driven Colón-esque Prohibido Olvidar, the RubÉn Blades made famous in the dancehalls is back, if but for a short time. The production on Caminando is unique to other Blades productions. The treatment of his voice has a hollow, retro quality that is curious and yet charming. The band, comprised mostly of his recent Seis del Solar cohorts, Ralph Irizarry, Robby Ameen, Oscar Hernandez, Eddy Montalvo, and others, sounds warm and classic. Perhaps it is the tonality of the record, or maybe 1991 was a great year for writing, but nearly every selection features coros and hooks that are more top-of-the-lungs shoutable than anywhere else in the artist's huge catalog. Though Blades would soon return to the Latin fusion experimentation that would characterize the rest of his career, this brief return to the music that made him famous is pure gold.

- Evan C. Gutierrez (All Music)

Punto de Vista is the fifth studio album recorded by Puerto Rican salsa singer Gilberto Santa Rosa originallyh released on August 10, 1990. It was nominated for Tropical/Salsa Album of the Year at the 1991 Lo Nuestro Awards.

Gilberto Santa Rosa's "En Vivo Desde El Carnegie Hall" ("Live from Carnegie Hall"), is a classic salsa collectors piece, and now for the first time available on Vinyl. This 3 LP set includes the classic songs; "Quien Lo Diria", "Perdoname", "Vivir Sin Ella" and a medley of the hits - ""Te Propongo", "Conciencia", "No Me Dejes". This vinyl release will become part of every Salsa music fan's collection!

Jake Owen's fifth studio LP is new territory for the singer who's known for lighthearted beach and party tunes, and he feels really good about that. After the release of "Real Life" (which was also around the time his divorce was announced), Owen started over with new songs - and he is not releasing the material he originally planned on.
"I was at a different place when I was making that record," he tells EW of ditching the material. "I was still married, and all of the sudden that ended, and I had to find a way to feel good again.

"I started down that path and then I realized that, for me, making music is as about feeling good as the listeners that gets to hear it," he says. "I have to make an album that I enjoy singing every night."

The album is about love. But don't expect every track to be a gushy love song. It turns out Jake Owen enjoys singing about love on tour: "I kept noticing this reoccurring theme. The word kept appearing, but it was said in such different ways. I'm really proud that I got to encompass how love can be felt different ways but still remain the same, if that makes sense."

His vocals will be on full display for American Love. Though he's not entirely walking away from the ultra-cool speak-singing he's known for, Owen wants to really show country fans he can sing. "Sometimes my voice gets hidden," he admits. "People don't even have the opportunity to know that I love to sing."
The album will street July 29, and Owen reveals that he listens to it in his car. "It's been a long time since I made a record that I put on in my car and listen to on my own - but I can't stop. It makes me happy, and I know how much work I put into it."

Included in the album is a collaboration with Chris Stapleton. He helped write "If He Ain't Gonna Love You," and Stapleton also sings backup. "And it sounds so good," Owen tells Taste of Country Nights host Sam Alex. "He sounds unbelievable on it, so I'm so excited."

-Christina Vinson (The Boot)

Ileana Cabra, a/k/a PG-13, the fierce femme vocalist of Puerto Rico's world-renown alternative hiphop/rock/reggaetón band Calle 13, joined the band when she was only 16, but she was already an old soul. "When we did our first concert in Puerto Rico," said ILe, "I sang a solo version of La Lupe's song 'Puro Teatro.' It was kind of a moment of transition for me." It may not have seemed that way at the time, but her debut nostalgia-soaked collection of alternative ballads Ilevitable, was inevitable.

ILe, who began her association with Calle 13 by jumping into a verbal sparring match with her brother RenÉ (Residente) on the band's first single, "La Aguacatona," has been levitating across stages with the band for over a decade. But with Ilevitable, a 12-song collection of meticulously produced boleros, waltzes, mambos, pop-rock ballads, and even a bugalú, ILe has created an instant classic that reveals a thoughtful and innovative artistry for the first time. The album's first single, "Caníbal," is a fitting example of ILe's eclectic tastes and ability to combine an older, more romantic point of view with the darkness of the new millennium. Its melancholy guitar riffs and 60's girl group piano chords-played by Eduardo Cabra (Visitante)--immediately draw the listener into ILe's unique sensibility. The song's lyrics, climaxed by syrupy-scary violins, describe someone who is consuming herself with doubt and regret.

Recorded over several months in local Puerto Rican studios, Ilevitable features upwards of 75 musicians, composers, and arrangers including ILe's brother Eduardo, her sister Milena, her father Joey Cabra, and her romantic partner Ismael Cancel, her co-producer, who is also a drummer-percussionist for Calle 13. "We're all connected," said RenÉ. "We constantly stimulate each other. Ileana grew up in that artistic atmosphere that's why she matured so quickly."

Acclaimed poet Dr. John Cooper Clarke and esteemed singer/songwriter (and founding member of The Stranglers) Hugh Cornwell have teamed up to release their first album, This Time It's Personal. It's a match made in the rock 'n' roll heaven of their respective youth and, just as their eyebrow-raising new album says, This Time It's Personal. Featuring classic tracks that they both grew up listening to, the album is the surprising duo's first collaboration.

With the musical roots of its members stemming from some of the most significant and influential Latin rock groups - Sepultura, A.N.I.M.A.L., Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, and Maná - the metal band, De La Tierra, is about to reach new heights with their new album II.