TOMORROW MORNING ON OUTQ (WEATHER PERMITTING)

Last week, due to scheduling conflicts and bad weather, I didn't get to make my weekly appearance on SiriusXM OutQ Radio's The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick.  I have a bunch of records to talk about, first of which is Wanda Jackson's The Party Ain't Over, which I wrote about last night.

Larry sometimes tires of my seemingly endless supply of reasons to bring in records involving Jack White: Wanda's album was produced by Jack, who plays guitar on it, and he put it out on his Third Man Records label.

I've often pointed out on Larry's show that Jack deserves credit: most macho-seeming loud guitar rock guys seem to have a problem treating women as equals, artistically or otherwise. But Jack has produced great records from two older female legends - Wanda and Loretta Lynn - and Third Man has put out 7"s by a number of women, including Laura Marling, The Smoke Fairies, The Secret Sisters, The Black Belles and Karen Elson. All of this was pointed out in a recent article in the UK's Guardian. What the article didn't point out was that women figure heavily into two of his three bands: Meg White in The White Stripes and Alison Mosshart in The Dead Weather.

Anyway, tomorrow we'll also talk about new releases from many other talented ladies, including Corinne Bailey Rae, Nicki Minaj, Duffy, Adele, and a new-ish band called Warpaint.

Of course, if the weather stays the way it's been (here in the tri-state area), I may not make it in for the second week in a row!

WANDA JACKSON: THE PARTY AIN'T OVER...

...it sure ain't!  Wanda Jackson's new album The Party Ain't Over is another great new album... 2011 is quite rocking so far!

I've been talking about this album for a while, ever since I heard that the album was being produced by Jack White for his label Third Man Records.

People will probably compare this album to Loretta Lynn's classic 2004 album, Van Lear Rose, also produced by Jack, and there are some parallels.  In both cases, he used his considerable starpower and cred to back a legendary woman who wasn't getting much mainstream attention. But they are very different artists: Jack felt that Loretta was one of the great, and under-appreciated, songwriters, and he used Van Lear Rose to prove it.

Wanda Jackson is totally different.  When you hear her today, she still sounds radical.  Like, you hear her voice, and wonder what ever gave her the idea that she could be a singer! So imagine how badass she must have sounded back in 1954 when she first hit the music scene. It was probably as abrasive and shocking as Johnny Rotten or Chuck D. She's in her 70s, and of course her voice doesn't sound quite so abrasive anymore, but still has an edge. And Jack White put together a band and found material that plays to her strengths as a singer. The songs, including Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Shakin' All Over," Bob Dylan's "Thunder On The Mountain," Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" and the traditional "Dust On The Bible" work perfectly.  I don't think that the album is a classic on the level of Van Lear Rose, but it is a great album, and hopefully it will get some Wanda some new fans.

I also have to mention "The Third Man Records House Band," who are great: they include Ashley Monroe, who has worked with Jack White in The Raconteurs, Olivia Jean of The Black Belles (she also played in Karen Elson's band), Rich Gilbert from Frank Black's band, and drummer Joey Waronker who plays in R.E.M., among other folks. Great band!

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: SADE, RAE, PATTY AND MORE

Last week, I didn't make it in to work on Wednesday due to all the snow we got here in New Jersey, so I didn't get to go on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SIRIUS XM's OutQ channel.

So, if you tune in tomorrow morning at 9 am ET, I'll be talking about the albums I meant to talk about last week: Sade's Soldier of Love, Corinne Bailey Rae's The Sea, Patty Griffin's Downtown Church, as well as new songs by rockabilly legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson, and a new group called The Black Belles (the latter two artists are both produced by Larry Flick's arch-enemy Jack White, so we'll see how this goes over).

TOMORROW ON OUTQ (WEATHER PERMITTING): SADE, RAE, AND MORE

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ. I am a weekly contributor to The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick. We talk about - surprise! - music. Given that our area is supposed to be snowed in tomorrow, I may or may not make it in, stay tuned!

But if I do, I'll be talking about albums from some very talented ladies. First off is what might be the most anticipated album of 2010: Sade's latest, Soldier Of Love, which came out today. I only have the single, the title track, which I love. Sade is like Peter Gabriel, she's practically her own genre. Anyway, Larry has the whole album, so I'll be hearing some of it for the first time.

Corinne Bailey Rae's The Sea is just so, so sad. It is about her late husband, who died of an accidental overdose. I guess it is kind of like Lou Reed's Magic & Loss, about the death of a friend, or Sting's The Soul Cages about the death of his father or Neil Young's Sleeps With Angels, which was inspired by the death of Kurt Cobain. It's a hard album to listen to over and over, but it is a really good album at the same time. There are some beautiful sentiments, like "I Would Like To Call It Beauty" (inspired by a conversation Corinne had with her husband's brother), and "I'd Do It All Again." She had a hard time getting back into music, and then Questlove, a great guy by all accounts, gave her a live DVD of a Nina Simeone concert, and that helped her. I don't know how long I can really talk about this album for.

Patty Griffin's latest album, Downtown Church, is very gospel-inspried, and was in fact recorded in a church. Produced by the great Buddy Miller, it features guest appearances by Buddy, Julie Miller and Emmylou Harris. It's interesting: she could have made a much more "pop" album... especially since more people are finding out about her (she has been covered by Kelly Clarkson, Jessica Simpson, Susan Boyle, The Dixie Chicks, Ben Harper and Emmylou Harris, among others). This would seem to be the right time to just go for it, and try and make the breakthrough album. Clearly not her m.o., and good for her. It's a really, really good album. I love her writing and her singing.

Once again, I am going to try and get Larry to accept Jack White's greatness. Actually, this proably won't work. As I've written about before, Jack is producing Wanda Jackson's new album, and the first single is out now. The A-side is a cover of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good," and the B-side is a cover of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Shakin' All Over." The thing is, even five decades after she started making music, her voice still sounds really abrasive. I'm not sure the Amy cover works.

Then there is The Black Belles, an all-female rock band who I am sort of enjoying, the way you enjoy your first taste of a strong whiskey before you are old enough to drink. You're not actually sure you liked it at all, but you're going to try it again next weekend. Jack produced them, they have a cool sound, a cool look and I'm giving this one some time.

Well, I think it started snowing, so I don't know if I will make it in. If I don't, I'll be talking about all of this music next week. If I do, next week will be all about David Bowie!

NEW FROM THIRD MAN: 7" SINGLES FROM WANDA JACKSON AND THE BLACK BELLES

Third Man Records has released two new 7" singles today. First, the well-publicized label debut from Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson. Side A is Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good," and Side B is Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Shakin' All Over." Supposedly, there's a whole album to follow.

Also out is a 7" by a new group, The Black Belles.  They look like witches. They sound pretty badass though, I'm definitely psyched to hear more from them. They are like psychadelic garage rock from the mid '60s.  As you can see, they have a look.  There is a video coming out, directed by Jack White.

In the case of both artists, as is usually the case with Third Man 7" singles, Jack White is the producer. GREAT stuff.

WANDA JACKSON: NEW TRACKS DUE OUT THIS MONTH

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Jack White is producing some tracks for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson. The first two tracks - covers of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Shakin' All Over" will be out on iTunes and on vinyl 7" via Third Man Records on January 26.

In other Jack White news, there's an extended verison of his recent Rolling Stone interview at their website. Although he is a great collaborator (both as a band member and a producer) he discusses, among other things, the chance of doing a solo album. 

DEAD WEATHER - NEW ALBUM IN 2010

This week, Jack White told Rolling Stone that The Dead Weather will release their next album next year, possibly in time for their March tour of Australia. He also verified reports that he produced some tracks for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson. He was planning on just doing a 7" single for Third Man Records, but they started doing more songs, and that may turn into an entire album.

I wonder how these projects effect the next White Stripes project: the documentary film and new album that Jack White has talked about.

JACK WHITE TO PRODUCE WANDA JACKSON

One of my
favorite records of the decade is Loretta Lynn's 2004 classic, Van Lear Rose, produced by Jack White. Now it looks like he is going to produce another female icon, Wanda Jackson, according to The Oklamhoman. According to the story, she's going to Third Man Studios to record a single, which I imagine will be publically available (as opposed to being a Third Man V.I.P. club exlcusive). Hopefully that will go well, and they'll do an album together. I guess Jack's latest tour with The Dead Weather is winding down; I know his next project is The White Stripes film and supposedly a new album.

THE STOOGES, RUN-D.M.C., METALLICA AND JEFF BECK ON THE ROCK HALL BALLOT

Today, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the artists on this year's ballot, and it looks like the next induction ceremony will really rock. The Stooges are nominated for the 15th

 (or so) time. If they don't deserve to be in, no one does. 

Run-D.M.C. is on the ballot in their first year of eligibility, and they're a shoo-in, in my opinion. They are to hip-hop as The Stooges are to punk. 

Metallica are eligible for the second time: they should have gotten in last year, but I'm sure they'll get in this year. It's cool that they're getting in right as they're releasing a great album (which I still need to write about). 

And I've been complaining about Jeff Beck not being in for about as long as I've been complaining about The Stooges. Yes, he's a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer as a member of The Yardbirds, but he deserves to be recognized for his solo career, especially the first two albums by The Jeff Beck Group. But hell, if Clapton is in for his solo career, Jeff Beck definitely deserves to be inducted. 

Also on the ballot: Chic, War, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Wanda Jackson and Bobby Womack. All great artists, but I think it is all about The Stooges, Run-D.M.C., Metallica and Jeff Beck.