Album Sweep: October 27, 2012 - Part Two...






Hey gang, it's time for part two of my "album sweep" of this week's newest records making the grade on the Top 200 Albums chart in Billboard magazine. You can check out part one by clicking here, and as before I've included links to buy anything you see that's available on Amazon MP3.

Texas country singer Aaron Watson has his biggest album yet as Real Good Time comes in at #81. It's his third charting record, and his first to reach the top-10 of the country album chart...


(Click below to see the rest of the post)


Contemporary Christian singer Brandon Heath's fourth full-length album, Blue Mountain, arrives at #97. His last album, Leaving Eden, made the big chart's top-40 last year...


Indie rockers Freelance Whales from Queens get their sophomore album Diluvia on to the chart at #109...


 After Blake Shelton's lead last week, we see the second holiday album hit the chart as crossover classical/Irish musicians Celtic Woman's fourth Christmas set Home For Christmas pops in at #112...


 Tenor David Phelps is a member of the gospel singing Gaither Vocal Group, and his album Classic debuts at #114..


There are two greatest hits sets that reach the chart this week. First at #116 its the Beach Boys, who celebrate 50 years in the recording business with Fifty Big Ones: Greatest Hits, which collects their biggest songs from their career. They only topped the US album chart once, with their live Beach Boys Concert set in 1964...


Right behind the boys at #118 is the Electric Light Orchestra, with Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra. The highest the band has gotten here was #4 with both the Xanadu soundtrack and their own Out Of The Blue. This set has twelve songs, which is criminally short for such a great band...UPDATE: It gets worse, as these songs are all re-recorded versions (boo-hiss!)


And now coming in at #133 is ELO's lead singer/producer, Jeff Lynne, with his second solo album, Long Wave. His first, Armchair Theatre, peaked at #83 in 1990...


Canadian synthrock outfit The Birthday Massacre score their second US charting record with Hide And Seek at #138...


Pennsylvania metalcore band August Burns Red hail from Lancaster Country, the center of Amish country in the east, and their fourth charting album is a holiday set called August Burns Red Present: Sleddin' Hill: A Holiday Album, with hard-rock instrumental versions of a dozen Christmas classics, plus new song "Flurries", and it comes in at #147...




Rapper and ride-pimper Xzibit enters at #150 with his seventh studio album, Napalm. His 2002 set Man vs. Machine made it all the way to #3...


Another hardcore rock act from Lancaster Country PA, Texas In July, are classified as "Christian metalcore", and their self-titled third album comes in at #152...


Alt-rock duo the Black Keys are at #156 with another iTunes exclusive (though it'll be on Amazon on October 22), The Tour Rehearsal Tapes, an EP of six songs including three of their past singles...


R&B songstress Vivian Green enters at #169 with her fourth album, The Green Room. Her second album Vivian went to #18 in 2005...


Indie rock group Bad Books debut at #175 with their second album, II. The "supergroup" has folk artist Kevin Devine and members of the Manchester Orchestra...


Alt-rock group Lord Huron jump in at #179 with Lonesome Dreams...


HipHop magazine XXL and Best Buy have an exclusive CD at #182 that has tracks from Eve, Ryan Leslie, Method Man, and more.


Neo-jazz guitarist Kaki King debuts at #186 with Glow, her sixth full-length album.


Christian group Gungor are in at #194 with A Creation Liturgy: Live...


...and lastly, jazz musician Robert Glasper enters at #200 with Black Radio Recovered: The Remix, an EP of songs from his Black Radio album, which made it to #15 here earlier this year...


Well that covers the bottom 20 debuts...out of these the three I would most recommend are the Lord Huron, Jeff Lynne, and Kaki King sets (and if you don't have any Beach Boys, you can't go wrong with that set)....


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