Annie Lennox has achieved so much in her legendary career. She has sold millions of records, worked with superstars (Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Al Green and David Bowie, to name a few) and won most of the industry’s major accolades (including Grammy Awards, Brit Awards, a Golden Globe and an Oscar). Now the British icon returns with her fourth solo outing, Songs Of Mass Destruction, due Oct. 2 via Arista Records. If the title is any indication, her latest could be the lovechild of the Eurythmics’ album Savage and 1999’s underappreciated Peace.
The lead single, Dark Road, is produced by musical mastermind Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette, Anastacia, Aerosmith, Pink, Shakira) and serves as a perfect successor to 2003’s Bare. The anthem Sing boasts a choir consisting of 23 female artists highlighted by Bonnie Raitt, Gladys Knight, k.d. lang, Madonna, Pink and Sarah McLachlan. This song is spawned from Lennox’s involvement with Nelson Mandela’s 46664 and Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), two organizations calling for human rights, education and health care for people impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Can’t wait until Oct. 2? American Beat reissued Reality Effect by The Tourists. This pre-Eurythmics album features the European hit So Good To Be Back Home Again and a cover of Dusty Springfield’s I Only Want To Be With You.
Fellow humanitarian and contributor to Lennox’s Sing, Melissa Etheridge is readying for her long-awaited collection, The Awakening. The Lucky rocker will showcase her new album in its entirety on Tues., Sept. 25, at The Hard Rock Café in New York. Teaming with the café, hotel and casino, Etheridge will launch the 2007 Hard Rock Breast Cancer Awareness pin. This limited edition pin is part of the Rocktober Series, Hard Rock International’s annual breast cancer initiative. The accessory will be sold exclusively at select Hard Rock International properties worldwide and on hardrock.com for only $11. All of the net proceeds will go directly to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
One of Etheridge’s career highlights is her duet with Joss Stone at The 2005 Grammys. The pair nailed a medley of Janis Joplin’s classics Cry Baby and Piece Of My Heart. Stone is currently on tour with a scheduled stop at the Charter One Pavilion on Thurs., Sept. 20. The British soul singer is promoting her gold record Introducing Joss Stone, where she collaborates with Lauryn Hill on the track Music and with Chicago rapper Common on Tell Me What We’re Gonna Do Now.
He left an impression during his performance at The Gay Games Closing Ceremonies, and now the unstoppable Ari Gold takes fans for a journey with his latest, Transport Systems. Here, the out New Yorker punches it into a higher gear, as he pushes the barrier by teaming with straight hip-hop star Mr. Man on a reinterpretation of Human League’s chart-topping hit Human. Don’t be worried about Gold reaching in the vault of ’80s material—he did an impressive version of Do You Really Want To Hurt Me on his album Space Under Sun. Transport Systems comes out Oct. 2.