Got your free download of U2's Songs of Innocence?
You probably do, if you're an iTunes account holder. Apple -- which spent a rumored $100 million to get a five-week exclusive -- sent it to some 500 million iTunes account holders, free of charge. Not an iTunes person? Songs of Innocence will be released everywhere else Oct. 14.
Apple claimed 33 million have accessed the album, but not everyone is happy about having it in their library, free or not. The Associated Press reported that after some complaints, Apple released a special tool that lets people remove the album from their collections.
The tool to remove the U2 album: bit.ly/1pgShH6.
Apple's "how to" guide to deleting the album: bit.ly/1uDS46n.
U2's move was hotly debated as people tried to assess whether it was another stroke of genius from a band that has been a top-selling juggernaut for decades or a ploy by an aging group trying to make a splash in a landscape that has vastly changed since it released its last album in 2009. That album went platinum, but its sales were a bit of a disappointment for the band.
U2 joined Jay Z, Beyonce and a growing number of artists who are working out exclusive corporate deals and employing guerrilla ad campaigns rather than moving the album through the typical marketing plan of singles release and slow build to launch date.
Like Jay Z and his Samsung partnership to release Magna Carta ... Holy Grail last year, U2 and Interscope Records get handsomely paid -- something that's no longer guaranteed from album sales alone -- and the money comes on up front. Apple continues a high-profile relationship with a longtime business and philanthropic partner, plus earns more credit for innovation. Fans get something for free.
But there may be penalties to pay if physical retailers refuse to stock U2's album, as Target did when Beyonce surprise-released her self-titled album exclusively on iTunes in December.
There's some bait to fans to the stores. U2's manager, Guy Oseary, said the deluxe edition release will include four unreleased songs and acoustic versions of album tracks.
-- The Associated Press
B+ Chris Brown
X
RCA
Chris Brown's sixth studio album is cohesive, entertaining and not at all what one might expect of a project plagued by delays.
Brown opens X with the chilly first lines of his title track: "If you're only as good as the company you keep/Then I'ma blame you for what they say about me," he sings, taking listeners on a slow, dark cruise that erupts into a crush of dubstep and electronic stylings from producer Diplo.
That brooding vibe shows up again on "Autumn Leaves," a captivating collaboration with Kendrick Lamar. Collaborations with Brandy on "Do Better" and Ariana Grande on "Don't Be Gone too Long" are winners.
Tired math metaphors drain the energy from the Danja-produced "Add Me In." Danja's "Stereotype" features a chorus that has Brown repeating "stereotype" an annoying number of times and ways.
The singer's work is majorly on point.
Hot tracks: "Autumn Leaves," "X," the danceable "Time for Love."
-- MELANIE SIMS
The Associated Press
A- Leonard Cohen
Popular Problems
Columbia
Age has been kind to Leonard Cohen and the remarkable singer-songwriter, has been especially kind to his fans. Cohen is that rarity ... an artist who improves with age, whose popularity has grown as he's gotten older.
While his latest, released near his 80th birthday, is just nine songs and about 36 minutes in length, Cohen infuses these songs with wit, razor-sharp observations and stunning metaphors that can cut to the bone.
Sometimes bitter, the songs also are heartfelt and seasoned with wry humor. On "Almost Like the Blues" Cohen's craggy baritone sings, "there's torture and there's killing and there's all my bad reviews." There are the familiar thematic musings about the sacred, the quest for liberation and a pervading sensuality.
Cohen is a revered elder in music, one known for poetic grace, insight and a remarkable balance that looks at the politics of life and love, musing with depth on the human condition and the disappointments of romance.
Arrangements are deceptively simple, the tempos are relaxed and the voice, supported by superlative musicians and strong backing vocals, is emotionally unerring.
Available in stores and online today.
Hot tracks: "Almost Like the Blues," "Slow," "You Got Me Singing," "Did I Ever Love You."
-- ELLIS WIDNER
B+ King Tuff
Black Moon Spell
Sub Pop
King Tuff returns, armed with another slab of stoner-garage rawk that sounds like T. Rex if Marc Bolan grew up in the United States and made a habit of skipping school and cruising with his buddies and a 12-pack out to the gravel pits, knocking down a few mailboxes on the way.
The trio -- Kyle Thomas, Magic Jake and Garrett Goddard -- mixes psychedelia with a greasy but pop-tinged lo-fi approach that somehow manages to work and not drift totally off the rails.
Available in stores and online today.
Hot tracks: "Headbanger," "Black Moon Spell."
-- SEAN CLANCY
Style on 09/23/2014