The Best New Vinyl to Spin This September

To Be Loved, by Michael Buble
Taking on one of Jackie Wilson’s best songs is a bold move, but Michael Buble did it and named an album after it, proving that his ambition is every bit as boundless as his voice. To Be Loved, originally released in 2013, has a lot to offer as an album, including a fantastic duet with Bryan Adams (“After All”), a charming version of Randy Newman’s now-classic “You’ve Got A Friend In Me,” and even a few original songs; in addition to “After All,” Buble and a small team of songwriters wrote “Close Your Eyes” and the album’s lead single, “It’s a Beautiful Day,” specifically for him. As for Buble’s version of “To Be Loved,” we think Mr. Excitement would be pleased with it.

Brave Enough, by Lindsay Stirling
We’re big fans of Lindsay Stirling, and we’ve been curious about how she was going to follow up her fantastic 2014 album, Shatter Me. Turns out, the new album, Brave Enough, continues her exploration of classical violin and electronic music, and if lead single “The Arena” is any indication, this record will be the best thing she’s done yet; few artists expand the boundaries of their signature sound the way Stirling does. Like her previous albums, Brave Enough has a lot of guest vocalists and collaborators, including Raja Kumari, ZZ Ward, Christina Perri, who sings on the album’s title track, and Weezer’s own Rivers Cuomo, who has a cameo on “Don’t Let This Feeling Fade.”

Kin, by KT Tunstall
Kin, the latest album from Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, came at a time when Tunstall considered giving up the pop music industry for writing cinematic music. She’d even gotten a spot in the Sundance Institute’s Film Composers Lab, which would have been a definite career change for most people. But Tunstall couldn’t stay away from pop music, and Kin is all about her journey to make peace with herself as a songwriter and figure out what her strengths are. Songs like “Evil Eye” and “Maybe It’s a Good Thing” prove that Tunstall is a smart lyricist with a keen sense of melody—both vocal and instrumental—and even her most sugary material has some muscle to it.

Hymns of the 49th Parallel, by k.d. lang
k.d. lang is more than just a Juno and Grammy-award-winning pop singer, she’s a proud Canadian as well. This album, originally released in 2004, confirms her national pride, as the album’s name references the boundary line that separates Canada from the United States. With the exception of one song, “Simple,” Hymns is a lovingly-curated collection of songs written by lang’s favorite Canadian songwriters, including Joni Mitchell (“A Case of You,” “Jericho”), Neil Young (“After the Gold Rush,” “Helpless”), and Leonard Cohen (“Hallelujah,” “Bird On a Wire”). Lang hits all of these songs out of the park, with excellent vocal deliveries on the Joni Mitchell songs in particular.

Wicked Cast Recording
One of the go-to modern Broadway soundtracks, Wicked is a Tony and Grammy award-winning piece of art whose original cast recording went double platinum and received plenty of accolades from critics. Success isn’t the only thing setting Wicked apart from its peers; musically speaking, it’s more cinematic than most Broadway fare. That’s not to say it isn’t catchy, though. People have been humming “Popular” in their cars for years for a reason, and “What Is This Feeling?” works as both a pop song and a character piece. “Defying Gravity” is the most powerful song overall, with all the belting and embellishments and mounting tension a show tune could ever ask for.

Braver Than We Are, by Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf’s signature goofiness, sense of theatrics, and operatic singing voice are all present on Braver Than We Are, his 13th studio album. Even though Meat Loaf doesn’t take himself all that seriously, his big, powerful vocals are no joke; the voice that once blew a fuse on a recording monitor hasn’t dimmed much over the years. He pulled in some great guest vocalists for this album, too. Ellen Foley and Karla DeVito step in on the album’s lead single, “Going All the Way Is Just the Start,” and Stacy Michelle cameos in “Loving You’s a Dirty Job (But Somebody’s Gotta Do It),” originally sung by Bonnie Tyler. And finally, Cian Coey joins Meat Loaf for “Skull of Your Country.”

Shadowland, by k.d. lang
Shadowland was k.d. lang’s debut album, and is a bonafide country record in the old style, full of gut string and steel guitar melodies, heartbroken lyrics, and a twang in lang’s mezzo-soprano voice that will remind listeners of Patsy Cline (in fact, Lang worked with Cline’s producer, Owen Bradley, on this record). Not only that, but Lang secures her country cred by collaborating with Kitty Wells, Loretta Lynn, and Brenda Lee on the album’s closing track, “Honky Tonk Angels’ Medley.” Shadowland is a great record and an impressive debut, tapping into a sound that, because of its emotional vulnerability and plain-spoken honesty, is timeless.

Chapter & Verse, by Bruce Springsteen
This album is a companion piece for the Boss’ autobiography, Born to Run, and spans his entire career, from his early days as lead singer for the Castiles until 2012. All eighteen tracks were hand-picked by Springsteen himself, and five of them have never been released until now. It goes without saying that “Born to Run,” “Badlands,” and “Born In the USA” are all on this album—no Springsteen retrospective would be complete without them—but the unreleased tracks are the real gems here. “Henry Boy” is an early indicator of Springsteen’s strengths as a lyricist, and the two Castiles tracks that open the album are charming in that loose, earnest, mid-1960s way.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack
This strange, darkly comedic animated musical has been the cornerstone of every spooky teenager’s sense of self since 1993, and the soundtrack still has a lot of staying power. Composed by Danny Elfman, the songs here tread very carefully between creepy, funny, and endearing, and a few of them are all three at once. “This Is Halloween” is a great opener that immediately sets the premise and tone for the show, and introduces some nightmare fuel right away thanks to “the clown with the tear-away face.” Jack Skellington’s discovery of Christmastown is chronicled in the fun, iconic “What’s This?,” and our personal favorite is the swaggering, hilarious “Oogie Boogie’s Song.”
What are you listening to on vinyl this month?