On November 23, 2011, author, singer, and songwriter Leonard Cohen released "Show Me the Way" as a precursor to Old Ideas, his first album since 2004. Two more new songs, "Lullaby" and "Darkness," were showcased during his two-year world tour that lasted from early 2008 to last year. They are included on the new album, whose topics are deeply spiritual in nature and range from mortality to sexuality, loss, and acceptance. Old Ideas will be released on January 31, 2012. Its producers include his partner, singer/songwriter Anjani Thomas; his saxophonist, Dino Soldo; poet Ed Sanders; and Patrick Leonard.

Lady Antebellum's third studio album, Own the Night, for which the group wrote ten of the 12 tracks, as well as co-producing the project with Paul Worley, generated a hot single on the country charts right out of the box, "Just a Kiss," which became the trio's fastest rising single yet.

Hoping to instill some pride back to the Toronto hometown he feels is unfairly maligned, Blue Rodeo frontman Jim Cuddy's third solo album, Skyscraper Soul, is a love letter to the Ontario capital that rather appropriately eschews his usual country-pop for a more urban soft rock sound. Accompanied by his regular backing band, including producer Colin Cripps and bandmate Bazil Donovan, it's a subtle change in direction that works wonders on the cruising Eagles-esque Americana of "Regular Days," which provides a perfectly suited soundtrack to its story of a cash-strapped couple on a road trip; the gentle acoustic melancholy of "Everyone Watched the Wedding," a heartfelt tale of a man taking stock of his life after watching the recent Royal nuptials; and the lilting piano melodies and ELO-style harmonies of "Don't Know That Much." But with only the toe-tapping rhythms, honky tonk piano chords, and breezy trumpet hooks of the Billy Joel-inspired "Still Want You" and "Water's Running High," a gritty slice of old-school R&B originally intended for a comedy short featuring his wife, moving out of second gear, the record feels a little too one-note to match the obvious passion he has for his beloved city. Indeed, it's not difficult to see why the violin-led instrumental "City Birds" was rejected from a recent film score for being "too sentimental," while the stripped-back "Ready to Fall" and "With You" have their hearts in the right place, but are just too dreary to make any lasting impression. Cuddy has admitted that his solo career is for the songs that aren't cool enough for his day-job outfit, and while it undeniably contains a certain charm, Skyscraper Soul's lack of excitement ensures that no one is likely to disagree with him. ~ Jon O'Brien

The Black Keys' seventh studio album finds the duo teaming up again with Danger Mouse. Viral promos for El Camino include a video of a random man dancing badly and lip-syncing "Lonely Boy," and a used-car commercial satire starring Mr. Show funnyman Bob Odenkirk.

Singer/songwriter Kathleen Edwards has different kinds of traveling in mind on her album Voyageur. There is the geographic kind, of course, but also the journey through the seasons of nature, and, especially, the trip a love affair represents from its beginning to end. Edwards seems to be in transit right from the start, at least in terms of intentions, with the folk-pop leadoff track proclaiming, "I'm movin' to America," before the singer quickly adds, "It's an empty threat." Still, that's a good representation of the themes of the record, as Edwards explores troubled feelings, often expressing dissatisfaction with a lover she is simultaneously obsessed with and unhappy about. "I don't want to feel this way," she says on the slow, ethereal "Pink Champagne," but by the next song she is declaring, "Anywhere you go, I'll follow," even though the song is called "Going to Hell." The folk and rock arrangements, sometimes ambient, sometimes reminiscent of Sheryl Crow (especially the deliberately paced electric guitar rocker "Mint"), support Edwards' listless, melancholy soprano singing, which in turn reflects her unhappiness and pessimism. It all culminates in the seven-minute "For the Record," on which she simultaneously compares her suffering with the passion of Christ and dismisses it as simply her chosen profession. "Hang me up on your cross," she sings, "For the record, I only wanted to sing songs." She manages to sing through her torment on Voyageur, in hope that the journey is ultimately redemptive. ~ William Ruhlmann

Kicking off with a brave rendition of the Smiths' "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me," Canadian singer/songwriter Jann Arden's second installment of her covers series, Uncover Me, promises to be a much more adventurous affair than its 2007 predecessor. But despite the presence of Metallica producer Bob Rock on board, the string-soaked reworking of the indie pop classic, described by Arden as "James Bond on acid," is the only real curve ball on an album that largely sticks to the same repertoire of '60s/'70s lounge-pop, soul, and easy listening classics. Alongside faithful renditions of Dusty Springfield's "This Girl's in Love with You," Peggy Lee's spoken word "Is That All There Is?," and Lesley Gore's big-band number "You Don't Own Me," there are subtle adjustments to the likes of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" and Nazareth's "Love Hurts," but it's only on the stripped-back interpretation of the Beach Boys' "In My Room" and the gritty country-pop retooling of Doris Day's "Que Sera Sera" that the Juno Award winner begins to bring something new to the table. Nevertheless, the song choices are a little less obvious the second time around, as evident on the covers of the Motels' '80s radio classic "Only the Lonely," Dorothy Moore's soul-blues standard "Misty Blue," and a stomping Motown-tinged "Glory of Love" (inspired by the Nina Simone version), while "Mr. McLennen," a self-penned melodic slice of driving AOR based on events in her Alberta community (originally written for U.S. country trio SHeDAISY), introduces one of her better recent original compositions to a wider audience. But despite its strong start, Uncover Me, Vol. 2 is just a little too safe, and ultimately bland, to be anything other than a mildly diverting stopgap, proving that Arden is much more compelling on her own material than when she's performing anyone else's. ~ Jon O'Brien

Longtime Seal collaborators David Foster and Trevor Horn return to co-produce the singer's second volume of classic soul covers, including versions of Bill Withers' "Lean on Me," Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On," and Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," among others.

Recording information: Eightysevenfourteen Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Eyeknowasecret Studios, Brentwood, CA; Fly Eye Studio, London; Jungle City Studios, New York, NY; Roc The Mic Studios, New York, NY; Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg; The Grand Hotel, Oslo, Norway; The Hide Out Studios, London; The Park Hyatt Hotel, Hamburg, Germany; The Radison Royal Blue Hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark; The Savoy London; Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographer: Ellen Von Unwerth.
Rihanna follows 2010's Loud, still riding high on the charts, with Talk That Talk. The singer's sixth studio album features the euphoric, Calvin Harris-produced "We Found Love" -- already a number one single in several countries. Once again, Swedish songwriting and production team Stargate is involved, as is Jay-Z, who appears on the title track.

Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN; Emblem Music, Calabasas, CA; Eye Spy Sound Studio, Nashville, TN; I.T. Sound; Loveshack Studios, Nashville, TN; OMNI Sound; Pain In The Art Studio, Nashville, TN; Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, TN; Soundgrounded, Ljublijana, Slovenia; Warner Studios, Nashville, TN.
Photographers: Justin Nolan Key; Joseph Anthony Baker.
After the success of their first two singles -- "If I Die Young" and "Hip to My Heart," the Band Perry issued a self-titled teaser: a five-track EP that featured a different mix of the latter track. This is confusing, given that it's also the title of their debut album. This is especially true since everything about the group -- Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Reid Perry (bass guitar), and Neil Perry (drums, mandolin, and accordion) -- is so carefully crafted by management, from their look and public image as a family group to their production and presentation (in other words, everything but their considerable talent for writing hooky, rootsy, country-pop songs). Ultimately, it's the latter that matters most. The Perrys wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of what's here. All five tracks from the EP are included on the album (the original mix of "Hip to My Heart" is here, rather than the video mix) along with six others. The meld of acoustic guitars, mandolins, accordion, and piano is added to considerably, with strings, big kick drums, pedal steel, and of course, fiddle. The songs here are carefully crafted; there isn't an extra word, chorus, or beat. The guitar solos are all in the right places, and all the electric instruments take a back seat to the acoustic ones. Stand-out tracks include the two singles, the angry, damning heartbreak song "Postcards from Paris," and "Independence," with its anthemic chorus and Kimberly Perry's passionate vocal chock-full of determination. The bluesy little rocker "Double Heart" is uncharacteristic of the rest of the set, and may be its best, most unguarded cut. There is no doubt that the Band Perry fits 2010's contemporary country radio and video format. Despite their obvious gifts for writing, singing, and arranging, the album is prone to some overly glossy mistakes. It will be interesting to see how they mature with album number two. ~ Thom Jurek

Kids love Raffi, animals, and songs, making Raffi's ANIMAL SONGS an entertainment trifecta for infants, toddlers, and their folks. This 2008 collection by the beloved children's performer (born Raffi Cavoukian) includes charming, easy-going renditions of "Six Little Ducks," "Eensy Weensy Spider" and the Beatles' "Octopus's Garden," among others, resulting in an album that will have little ones saying, "Again! Again!"

Following up her 2008 Nonesuch release Watershed, iconoclastic country singer k.d. lang returns with her third Nonesuch effort, 2011's Sing It Loud.

Sarah Slean, a songwriter who has proceeded at her own pace in her career, releasing EPs when full-length albums might have been expected, cutting independent discs even after signing on with a major, seems to have decided that the time finally was ripe to swing for the fences in 2011 with her sprawling Land & Sea, an 18-song epic album that addresses big themes. It also employs more vibrant, driving music than has been typical for her, at least on the first, Land, half. Here, she plays pop/rock music, still arranged around her piano, but taking a distinctly uptempo approach. That approach serves the sometimes biting, if often abstract, observations in her lyrics. The ambitions are clear in titles like "The Day We Saved the World" and "Set It Free," just as a caustic view of contemporary society is expressed in "Everybody's on TV" (which refers to "the movie of our vanity") and "Society Song" ("I'm glad I don't belong"). In the midst of such broad strokes, however, Slean can paint specific, emotional portraits such as that in "I Am a Light" ("All I can dream about is how to make you smile"). She is no less ambitious in the album's second Sea half, beginning with "Cosmic Ballet," although the rock elements disappear in favor of symphonic arrangements. Here, Slean becomes more conciliatory, notably in songs like "You're Not Alone" and "The One True Love," even as she continues to encourage grand emotions and widescreen expressions. "Throw your heart into the ocean," she tells her listener in "The Right Words." Even if her reach at times seems to exceed her grasp, she is saved from pretentiousness in this lengthy, sometimes overwrought effort by the depth of feeling she evidences and by her ability to take on the universe while never losing sight of the importance of the personal within the cosmic. That makes Land & Sea a big statement that has some small concerns, too. ~ William Ruhlmann