New Release Pipeline Filling Up Fast

A sure sign that autumn isn't too far off is the pickup in announcements of upcoming new releases.

Foreigner
Apparently they're teasing us. Okay, maybe not teasing, but definitely whetting our appetites for some new Foreigner music. The release of the band's two-CD compilation, No End in Sight: The Very Best of Foreigner (Compare Prices) last week is, according to band founder Mick Jones, a sign that a new album is on the way. Jones says that with its summer tour now over, the band has time to work on an album of new material, to be released sometime in 2009.

Pretenders
Chrissie Hynde has a assembled a new cast of Pretenders for the band's first new album in six years, Break Up The Concrete, due out September 23. Their roots may be in the '70s but the marketing plan for the new album is totally 21st century. Each week between now and the scheduled release date, a different track from the album will be released as a free digital download through a different online partner. Locations of the freebies can be found on the Pretenders website.

Bob Dylan
Hard as it is to believe, there is actually still some new Bob Dylan material to be found. Tell Tale Signs is due to be released October 7. It will be the eighth entry in the Bootleg Series that Columbia Records launched back in 1991. This one will feature outtakes, live versions and previously unreleased material from the mid-80s through the present.

Nils Lofgren
The longtime E Street Band guitarist/vocalist (and prolific solo artist) is the Nils in The Loner -- Nils Sings Neil, an album of Neil Young covers. The history between the two artists goes back to 1970, when Lofgren provided piano and vocals on Young's After The Gold Rush. The new Lofgren album (his 40th) consists of 15 acoustic versions of Young standards like "Harvest Moon," "Mr. Soul" and "Like A Hurricane."

Ry Cooder
Cooder goes even further back with Neil Young, appearing on Young's self-titled debut solo album in 1968. In addition to hundreds of collaborations of that caliber, Cooder has also released nearly three dozen solo albums since 1970. The latest, I, Flathead (Compare Prices) was released last week (July 23) and once again showcases the remarkable talent of the multi-GRAMMY-winning artist who is #8 on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

^{Chrissie Hynde photo by Dave Hogan / Getty Images; Nils Lofgren photo by Jim Dyson / Getty Images}