Old Artists, New Music

Now don't get me wrong. When I say "old" I only mean that these artists have been banging around for a long time, and it's a credit to them that they're still cranking out new music.

While Roger Waters tries to put together the scattered pieces of his broken pig, another Pink Floyd alumnus is preparing to shrinkwrap a new live album. David Gilmour's Live In Gdańsk (scheduled for September release) was recorded in Poland during his 2006 summer tour.

Maybe sorta possibly there will be a new Boston album not long after the band's 2008 summer tour ends. Producer-engineer-guitarist Tom Scholz is notoriously fussy about all the technical and production details of Boston albums, and has ruffled more than one set of feathers by taking a long time to put them together. But Scholz tells Billboard.com that he "hopes" to finish recording in late summer and have the new album ready in early 2009.

Blues rocker Joe Cocker has one of those instantly recognizable voices -- raspy but powerful, imminently soulful. For his upcoming (May 13) new release Hymn For My Soul, Cocker teams up with heavyweights like Heartbreakers pianist Benmont Tench, session drummer extraordinaire Jim Keltner and Jethro Tull keyboardist Dave Palmer. Care for a sample? Listen to "Love Is For Me."

Apparently Def Leppard's Songs From The Sparkle Lounge was the right release at the right time. It debuted this week at #5 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.

^{Gilmour cover art courtesy Columbia Records. Cocker cover art courtesy Fantasy Records}