MADONNA
“Dirty City” is an escalating, hypnotic opus, featuring Win-wood on B-3 organ and a solo by his Blind Faith buddy Eric Clapton; “Fly” sounds like his mellower hits from the Eight¬ies. “I’ve tried to combine in¬gredients of Latin music, gos¬pel, bebop, and add them to the folk-rock-jazz elements I’ve al¬ways tried to have,” Winwood says. “It becomes a soup, and hopefully it’s a tasty soup.” Samson: Regina Spektor:
THE ROOTS
4/29
On its tenth album, the Phila¬delphia crew explores dark territory. “Criminal,” which in¬cludes verses from Saigon and Philly newcomer Truck North, takes on police brutality; “Sing-ing Man” is about Middle East terrorism and the Virginia Tech shooting. Drummer and bandleader Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson says the album, which also features Mos Def, Common and Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, was inspired by watching lots of CNN on the road. “It’s not a party in 2008,” he says.
NEIL DIAMOND
HOME BEFORE DARK 5/6
Three years after Rick Rubin helped Neil Diamond remove
Me.” Justin Timberlake co-wrote and co-produced several tracks, includ-ing the Timbaland-produced single “4 Minutes.” “She was like, ‘I don’t want any ballads, I just want peo¬ple to move,’ ” Williams adds. “It’s like a sex and workout album.”
EVIL URGES
the Vegas polish on 12 Songs, the duo are back with another collection of personal acoustic songs. “This one is more rhyth¬mic,” Diamond says. “I view Rick as an enabler. He allows the musicians and me to just go off and do whatever we want, and then he becomes an editor.” Backed by an all-star group – includ¬ing Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench-Di¬amond, 67, dedicates some of the songs to his thirtysomething girlfriend. “I’m the pro-love candidate,” Dia¬mond says. “The songs reflect it.”
GAVIN DEGRAW
GAVIN DEGRAW 5/6
“Sonically it’s more rock than mv first album,” says pop heartthrob Gavin DeGraw, who’s back with a heavier, guitar-driven disc (made with Daughtry pro¬ducer Howard Benson). In the five years since his debut, De-Graw opened a bar in New York – and nightlife is a big inspira¬tion for the singer. “You get a lot
