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.
