Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Wilco, the Jayhawks, "Pearl Jam 20," & More

"Mockingbird Time," the new album by The Jayhawks, is available for free streaming this week.

More musical heavy hitters are releasing Fall albums this week and next, and there are some much-anticipated new albums up for free streaming this week. If you didn't catch Wilco's 24-hour-only streaming of its new album a couple of weeks back, you'll be glad to know that KCRW is now offering it online for a much longer time: "The Whole Love" will be streaming free through Oct. 2nd.

Other notable releases: The Jayhawks are back with "Mockingbird Time," Tony Bennett teams up with the late Amy Winehouse and others for "Duets II," and the trio Ivy (featuring singer Dominique Durand and Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger) return with "All Hours" (this was previously streaming on Amazon.com). And if you missed last week's stream of "Night of Hunters," the new Tori Amos album, NPR is streaming it now.

There are a couple of interesting re-releases/collections as well: the 29-track soundtrack album for "Pearly Jam 20," Cameron Crowe's documentary about the band (with rare and unreleased tracks), and "Winterland," the live album from Jimi Hendrix's 1968 performances at the famed San Francisco  venue. And although the third season of NBC's a cappella singing show "The Sing-Off" is just beginning tonight, there's already an album of "signature songs" from the first episode up for streaming.

Some of this week's free album streaming choices:

KCRW Album Preview: 
"The Whole Love" by Wilco (streaming through Oct. 2)
"The Stepkids" by The Stepkids (streaming through Oct. 10)

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"An Argument With Myself" (EP) by Jens Lekman
"Earth Division" (EP) by Mogwai
"Pearl Jam 20" by Pearl Jam
"Winterland" by Jimi Hendrix
"Mockingbird Time" by The Jayhawks
"All Hours" by Ivy
"Megafaun" by Megafaun
"Unpersons" by The Pack A.D.

NPR First Listen:
"Night of Hunters" by Tori Amos

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Duets II" by Tony Bennett
"Season 3: Episode 1 - Signature Songs" by The Sing-Off
"The Reckoning" by Needtobreathe

Which of these new releases will you be checking out? And do you plan on seeing "Pearl Jam 20"?

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Dave Stewart, Stephin Merritt, CSS, & More

Video for "The Gypsy Girl and Me," from Dave Stewart's new album.

After last week's free preview of the debut album by Jeff Bridges, I was curious to see what album previews would be showing up online this week. Well, how about "The Blackbird Diaries," the first solo album in 13 years by Dave Stewart (of The Eurythmics), recorded in Nashville with guests including Stevie Nicks and Colbie Caillat?  Or a collection of outtakes and rarities from Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields? Patti Smith is also represented with "Outside Society," the first single-disc retrospective (18 songs) to span her entire career.

Some other new previews this week that I haven't heard yet but am looking forward to:
"Dos" by Andrea Echeverri, half of the Colombian rock band Aterciopelados ... a new CD from Canadian singer-songwriter Ana Egge ... the self-titled album by Committed, the gospel-singing winners of NBC's a cappella singing competition, "The Sing-Off" ... "La Liberacion," the latest album by the always entertaining Brazilian party-rock band CSS ... and "Tassili," the newest effort by Tinariwen, the guitar-based collective from Mali.

See the websites below for even more free album previews, since the titles below are just a sampling. Generally the albums stream online for one week; I give the date if the album is available longer than that.

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Blackbird Diaries" by Dave Stewart
"Obscurities" by Stephin Merritt
"La Liberacion" by CSS
"Rise Ye Sunken Ships" by We Are Augustines
"Bad Blood" by Ana Egge
"Outside Society" by Patti Smith (a greatest-hits album)
"Let Alone Sea" by Arrica Rose & the ...'s

NPR First Listen:
"Dos" by Andrea Echeverri

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Tassili" by Tinariwen (streaming through Sept. 20)

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Committed" by Committed

Which albums are you looking forward to hearing the most?

2010 "Sing-Off" Winner Crowned in Finale

Alabama's Committed is the 2010 "Sing-Off" winner.

I'm a few days late in posting this, but the 2010 "Sing-Off" winner was finally crowned Monday night. Amid nearly two hours of highlights, montages, and guest performances by stars like Neil Diamond and Sheryl Crow, the show did get down to business.

The four finalists were reduced to two, and then the winner (chosen by viewer votes) was announced: the six-man Alabama group Committed, who beat out southern rockers Street Corner Symphony to take the "Sing-Off" title. (The Backbeats and Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town were the first two groups to be eliminated in the live finale, broadcast on NBC from 8 to 10 p.m.)

(Read Entertainment Weekly's take on the "Sing-Off" finale and its grades for the performances.)

The young men of Committed got together singing in church, and according to an article in Zap2It.com, they had never performed secular music before "The Sing-Off." I couldn't even find a website for them. (Read Zap2It's interview with Committed.) Well, Committed will be performing a lot of non-church music now: by winning the competition they've earned $100,000 and a Sony recording contract.

Congrats to Committed, and to all the competitors in this year's edition of "The Sing-Off." It'll be fun to see where Committed goes from here and what kind of songs they choose to record.

Legendary Singer Jerry Lawson Heads to "Sing-Off" Finale

The self-titled album by Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town.

If you've been watching the NBC show "The Sing-Off," you've probably been impressed with the soulful singing of Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town. And you may have recognized the voice of main soloist Jerry Lawson and thought, "Where have I heard that voice before?"

After a bit of checking, I found out: Jerry Lawson was for 40 years the lead singer of the legendary a cappella group The Persuasions. At one point he moved on to sing jazz, soul, and other forms of music with instrumental accompaniment, and thought he had retired from a cappella singing... but then met up with the men who would become the members of Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town. On December 15th they reached the final round of "The Sing-Off," with the chance to win the contest on Monday.

Sadly, Oregon's On the Rocks was eliminated on Wednesday's show, but the four remaining groups on the program are all quite talented, not to mention entertaining. You can view episodes of the show online, and vote for the "Sing-Off" winner here.

You can buy the Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town self-titled album here, and learn all about Lawson's musical endeavors at his official website. These are guys with a lot of professional experience singing, and it shows.

Music Notes: 2011 Rock Hall of Fame Inductees; Hank Williams' Daughter Speaks; The Sing-Off Continues

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2010 inductees. They are: the Alice Cooper Band, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Darlene Love, Tom Waits, Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman, Specialty Records founder Art Rupe, and Leon Russell.

Speaking of musical history, Jett Williams, daughter of Hank Williams, was interviewed recently on WNYC. She discussed her decades-long struggle to confirm her father's identity and the upcoming 16-disc boxed set that includes dozens of Hank Williams radio appearances, as well as conversations and other content.

The set, which comes housed in a box that looks like an old-style cathedral radio, is called Hank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best Recordings.

I haven't been following NBC's a cappella singing contest "The Sing-Off" as closely this year as last (my family knew someone in the competition last year), but have caught some of the performances online. The show continues tonight, and one of the groups remaining is Oregon's On the Rocks. The other night On the Rocks performed a nice version of the catchy Mr. Mister 1980s hit, "Kyrie," which OTR recorded on its album "Full Coverage." (You can see the entire "Sing-Off" episode in which the song appears here.)

"The Sing-Off" airs on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern, and you can also view episodes online (for a limited time).

Congrats to Nota, Winners of the "Sing-Off" Finale

Nota, the six-man singing group from Puerto Rico, has won NBC's a cappella competition, "The Sing-Off," in the show's finale, which was televised live Monday night. The sextet won over the Beelzebubs, the 15-man group that has been an institution at Tufts University for more than three decades. (See the "Sing-Off" live blog from the Baltimore Sun for a blow-by-blow recap of tonight's show.)

Voices of Lee, a group from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, was eliminated earlier in the two-hour live broadcast. The show featured each of the final three groups performing a song with a special musical guest. Voices of Lee performed "Pocketful of Sunshine" with Natasha Bedingfield; the Beelzebubs sang Leslie Gore's '60s girl-power anthem "You Don't Own Me" with Pussycat Dolls singer (and "Sing-Off" judge) Nicole Scherzinger; and Nota performed the Smokey Robinson and the Miracles hit "The Tracks of My Tears" with Mr. Robinson.

The "Sing-Off" finale also featured performances from the show's other on-air personalities: Nick Lachey singing along with the final three groups; Ben Folds playing piano as the Beelzebubs and Nota sang "Why Can't We Be Friends," and Shawn Stockman singing a medley of Boyz II Men hits with the two other members of the group.

Congrats to Nota for the victory, and to the Beelzebubs, Voices of Lee, and the other competitors for being chosen for the show.

For those who want to hear what Nicole Scherzinger does when she's not when she's singing and prancing with the Pussycat Dolls, here's a video of her performing a song with Slash:

The Beelzebubs (The Bubs) Advance on NBC's "The Sing-Off"

If you watched NBC's "The Sing-Off" on Monday night, you discovered what a lot of people in New England have long known: that the Beelzebubs are impressive performers.

The Beelzebubs, also called The Bubs, are the all-male, a cappella singing group from Tufts University, and have been an institution there for decades. On Monday night, the first night of competition of "The Sing-Off," the Bubs wowed the audience with a lively version of The Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour."

You can find out more about the Bubs, including their current and past members, their touring schedules, and their recordings, at the Beelzebubs official Web site.

The Bubs have been around for more than 45 years, and in that time have recorded 30 albums. On the group's album page on their Web site you can buy their albums directly, including their most recent album, Play the Game, which came out this year. The group's 2007 recording, Pandaemonium, includes their version of "Magical Mystery Tour." You can hear audio previews of many of the songs at the site.

The Beelzebubs made it through the first round of "The Sing-Off" and will face their next competition on Tuesday's show.

Oh, and yes, the Bubs have a Twitter page if you want to keep up with all things Beelzebubian: @tuftsbubs.