Weekly US music releases: Steve Earle, Bootsy Collins and Emmylou Harris

On April 26, two singer-songwriters who meld alt-country and folk-rock release new albums, and Bootsy Collins issues a new recording of old-school funk with an all-star guest list.

Emmylou Harris, Hard Bargain
Emmylou Harris delivers 11 new songs and a couple of cover tunes on Nonesuch Records. This album follows the 12-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter's acclaimed 2008 release, All I Intended to Be. Produced by Jay Joyce (Cage the Elephant, Patty Griffin), the deluxe edition includes a DVD with six performances and interviews.
Watch the clip for "Goodnight Old World": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54cxG3lOS58
http://www.emmylouharris.com

Steve Earle, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive
This 11-track collection from the Grammy-winning Steve Earle is produced by Oscar-winner T Bone Burnett. It features a duet with Earle's wife, Allison Moorer, and tributes to New Orleans including "This City," written for the HBO series Treme, in which Earle appears in as an actor. The performer also has a debut novel under the same title as the album, about the ghost of Hank Williams. A deluxe edition of the album includes a DVD with an interview and mini-documentary on New West Records.
http://steveearle.com/

Bootsy Collins, Tha Funk Capital of the World
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and legendary bassist of Parliament Funkadelic Bootsy Collins has a 17-track collection on Mascot Records, featuring an all-star lineup of guests. This collaboration with fellow P-Funkers George Clinton and Bernie Warrell features rappers Snoop Dogg, Chuck D, and Ice Cube, actor Samuel L. Jackson, banjo phenom Bela Fleck, and guitarist Catfish Collins, Bootsy's late brother.
http://www.bootsyalbum.com/

Plus in honor of Prime Williams's upcoming wedding, the Band of the Welsh Guards, the official band of the event, will release A Royal Tribute on Rhino Records, featuring the music performed at the nuptials plus a reading by actor Michael Sheen.

RC