Nelson delivers on Promise
Swift announces new album
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, “Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real” (Fantasy Records)
First, let’s just get this out there: Lukas Nelson sounds a lot like his famous dad, the red-headed stranger better known as Willie Nelson.
Secondly, don’t let the striking similarities in their vocal styles and deliveries cloud your judgment of the younger Nelson. At 28, he is the real deal and deserves to be treated seriously independent of his father’s legacy.
On his latest self-titled release with his six-piece band Promise of the Real, Lukas Nelson delivers a haunting collection of 12 songs that’s steeped in musical influences from his dad to recently departed Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings and Neil Young — whom Promise of the Real has backed. Lady Gaga appears on a couple tracks and vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig of the indiepop group Lucius back Nelson on the opening, and best, tune “Set Me Down on a Cloud.” Nelson’s quivering vocals over more than 7-minute countryrock ballad, accented by his lilting guitar and Lucius’ singing, is enough to give you goosebumps.
“Set me down on a cloud, with my soul turned inside out,” Nelson sings in the song he’s said is about a friend whose child died in an accident. He delivers it so convincingly, you know exactly how he feels.
It’s a bold, and inspired, choice to open the record and sets the tone for the entire soulful collection that should make his dad proud.
Taylor Swift announced a new album titled “Reputation” on Wednesday, just over a week after scoring a court victory at a high-profile groping
Stewart and Katharine McPhee have been published online by a website specializing in photos of stars.
In a statement, Vonn’s spokesman says the skier will take legal action and believes whoever hacked her photos and published them “should be prosecuted to
Lambert
By Scott Bauer
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trial in Colorado.
The singer made the announcement in a series of Instagram images, including a possible album cover featuring a black and white illustration of Swift with newspaper-style headlines overlapping part of her face.
The album will be released Nov 10, and the first single will debut on Thursday.
Swift, 27, ended a six-month absence from the spotlight to deliver unflinching testimony against a radio DJ in a Denver court earlier this month.
She was awarded the symbolic $1 in damages that she had sought after a federal jury in Denver found the DJ had grabbed her … while posing for a photo with her in 2013.
The singer, one of the most followed people on social media, followed her court victory by deleting posts from Instagram, Twitter and removing her avatar from her Facebook page, sending fans into a frenzy speculating about whether Swift had been hacked or was preparing to launch new music or reinvent herself.
“Reputation” will come three years after Swift’s 2014 best-selling album “1989,” which spawned hits such as “Shake It Off” and “Bad Blood.”
Swift, who broke out at the age of 16 with her debut album and has become one of pop music’s best-selling solo artists, carved a career writing songs that delve into her own experiences of love, friendship and growing up in the public eye.
Her lyrics are often scrutinized by eager fans for references to former flames or friends such as her relationships with singers such as John Mayer and Harry Styles and feud with fellow pop star Katy Perry. “Reputation” may focus on the singer’s struggle with media scrutiny of her private life, which she has spoken about in previous interviews. (Agencies)
the fullest extent under the law.” Woods’ agent declined to comment on Wednesday, telling The Associated Press that it was “a personal matter.” (AP)
NEW YORK:
For a rapper whose debut single was called “Unorthodox,” Joey isn’t one to accept conventional wisdom. Defying widespread warnings, he proudly stared at the solar eclipse without protection.
It didn’t turn out to be a great idea. The rapper canceled three shows starting Wednesday as he complained about his vision.
The 22-year-old Brooklyn rapper on Monday shared on social media that he was gazing into the sky without special glasses as the United States witnessed its first coast-to-coast total eclipse in nearly a century. (AFP)