Taylor Swift
Three new compilation albums featuring prominent country artists were released Tuesday (Jan. 24). The biggest country bang
for the buck comes on
Now That's What I Call Country Ballads, a Capitol release featuring a piano arrangement of
Taylor Swift's "Forever & Always" and 17 other hits, including
Keith
Urban's
"Tonight I Wanna Cry," Lady
Antebellum's
"American Honey," Kenny
Chesney's "Better as a Memory" and
Shania Twain's "Forever and for
Always." .... Universal Republic has delivered
2012 Grammy Nominees, which includes
The
Band Perry's
"If I Die Young," Blake
Shelton's
"Honey Bee," Eric
Church's
"Drink in My Hand," Swift's
"Mean,"
Lady Antebellum's
"Just
a Kiss" and
Jason Aldean's collaboration with
Kelly
Clarkson on
"Don't You Wanna Stay." The collection
also features tracks by
Adele, the Black Keys, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Coldplay
and Lady Gaga, among others. ... To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International, the human rights organization
has compiled
Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan, featuring new and previously-recorded songs written by the
music icon. The first track, "One Too Many Mornings," was created by producer Rick Rubin and features
Johnny
Cash and
the Avett Brothers on a track the Man in Black originally
recorded decades before. Other country-related tracks featured on the Dylan tribute album include
Dierks
Bentley's live version of "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)" and
Sugarland's
live rendition of "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You," along with
Lucinda
Williams' "Tryin' to Get to Heaven" and
Miley Cyrus' "You're Gonna
Make Me Lonesome When You Go." Sting, My Morning Jacket, Lenny Kravitz, Jackson Browne, Ke$ha and Diana Krall also contributed
tracks to the project.
