New and Coming Soon from Lana Del Rey and More

Honeymoon, by Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey’s newest album, Honeymoon, is an interesting continuation of her unique vocal style and preferred arrangement technique—dreamy, slow, with dabs of Murakami-ish fatigue—with lyrics that show a broader range of inspiration than her previous records. “High By the Beach” has a noir feel to it that brings Inherent Vice (the book, not the movie) to mind, and “Terrence Loves You” was partially influenced by her meeting with Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, as well as her own views on America’s technological progress. Additional inspiration for this album came from the beach, which can be heard in the song structures presented here, as well as the rolling and crashing of Lana’s low, somber voice.

Grease Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Grease took the nation by storm in 1978, cementing John Travolta as an international star and introducing America to Olivia Newton-John in a film that remembers 1950s teenager B-movies with more gravitas than a lot of them deserved. The soundtrack, which is being re-released on vinyl by Polydor Records, is the best-selling movie soundtrack of all time, and features music by the cast (including Newton-John and Travolta), Frankie Avalon, nostalgia act Sha-Na-Na, and Frankie Valli, who sang the title track (which was written by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees). “You’re the One That I Want” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You” were both number-one hits that have become American pop classics in their own right, and deeper cuts like the up-tempo “Greased Lightnin’” are equally fun.

Crosseyed Heart, by Keith Richards
Considering the length of Keith Richards’ legendary music career, it’s a little surprising that Crosseyed Heart is only his third solo album, and his first in over 20 years (his previous solo record, Main Offender, came out in 1992). As one might expect, Crosseyed Heart is a stripped-down, unpretentious rock ‘n roll album with an obvious blues influence, but there’s some Lou Reed-style swagger here that might catch listeners off guard (as evidenced by the first single, “Trouble”). Richards and his band—Waddy Wachtel, Ivan Neville, Steve Jordan, and Bobby Keys—keep the music pretty loose and fun, and rock fans who are tired of overproduced albums will love Crosseyed Heart‘s ragged edges.

Songs from the Arc of Life, by Yo Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott
Chinese-American cellist Yo Yo Ma and British pianist Kathryn Stott have been playing music together since 1984, so it’s no surprise that their album, Songs from the Arc of Life, is so good. This project saw them curate a selection of classical pieces that trace the emotional arc of a full life, and they mined the compositions of Brahms, Saint-Saëns, Bach, and Schubert, among others, to build this album’s fanciful highs and crashing lows. Their efforts are not only successful, they shatter the notion that classical music is more concerned with technique than with reaching for the soul. Just try listening to Messiaen’s “Louange à l’éternité de Jésus” without tearing up by the end. It’s impossible.

Grace Under Pressure, by Rush
Originally released in 1984 and inspired by mounting tension between the United States and Russia, Grace Under Pressure is one of Rush’s darker albums, and one of the band’s favorites. For this album, Rush parted ways with longtime producer Terry Brown, put a greater emphasis on guitars, and added some ska and reggae touches to their sound, best heard in tracks like “The Enemy Within.” They also chose to abandon a larger narrative for this album in favor of a looser, more thematic connection between the songs, which have more concrete lyrics as a result. While those changes were significant from a conceptual standpoint, “Afterimage” and “Kid Gloves” proved that Rush’s knack for anthemic rock was still as strong as ever.

Love to Love You Baby, by Donna Summer
It’s been 40 years since Donna Summer originally released Love to Love You Baby, which was her second studio album and also her first album to be released in the United States. Produced by Pete Bellotte and electronic music pioneer Giorgio Moroder, this album marked a major development in disco music, and the title track (which was Summer’s first US hit record) is said to have introduced open expression of female sexual desire to American pop music. Other songs on this album have more of an R&B style, especially “Full of Emptiness” and the Motown-reminiscent “Pandora’s Box.” Bolstered by the success of this album, Summer went on to win five Grammys and become one of the best-selling pop artists of all time.

Strangers In The Night, by Frank Sinatra 
It’s hard to imagine a guy like Frank Sinatra, of all people, needing to mount a comeback, but by the mid-1960s his signature sound had been eclipsed not only by rock ‘n roll, but by slicker, more polished pop music as well. This album, which struck a balance between pop and Sinatra’s big band comfort zone, hit #1 on the Billboard charts, and was his only non-Christmas solo album to earn Platinum sales certification. The title track played a big part in this album’s success, as did “Summer Wind,” which became a regular fixture in television shows and commercials, but Sinatra’s bustling version of the Petula Clark hit “Downtown” deserves praise as well. Along with the effortlessly charming “You’re Driving Me Crazy!”, it’s one of this album’s less obvious treasures.