plus: Lit [ tickets ], Fugazi [ tickets ], New Order, Sloan, The Grateful Dead, Pete Townshend and Raphael Rudd, more.

Ozzy Osbourne [ tickets ]
"Down to Earth" (Epic)

Taking a break from his day job as lead singer for Black Sabbath, heavy metal's founding father produces his 13th solo record. The band on the album features Ozzy's longtime guitarist, Zakk Wylde, plus Robert Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies) on bass and Mike Bordin (Faith No More) on drums. Samples of all 11 tracks are streaming on the album's official website.

Ozzy's own official website reports that the first pressing of the CD will include a 13-minute documentary, with footage of him performing with guitarist Randy Rhoads just prior to Rhoads' death in 1982.

The night of the album's release, Osbourne will be at the Tower Records store on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Calif., part of an in-store promotional tour. At the in-store stops, in addition to signing copies of "Down to Earth," the singer will be posing for Polaroid pictures with fans.

Halloween marks the first date of Osbourne's Merry Mayhem tour, a two-month run featuring Rob Zombie and others.

John Mellencamp [ tickets ]
"Cuttin' Heads (Columbia)

The 15th album from this Indiana native features guest appearances from R&B artist India.Arie (on the album's first single, "Peaceful World") and rapper Chuck D, as well as a duet with Trisha Yearwood. Mellencamp produced the album, which has drawn comparisons to his critically lauded 1997 release "The Lonesome Jubilee."

The album, on which he is backed by his touring band, features 10 new songs recorded during a series of sessions in 2000 and 2001. Various samples and downloads are available on Mellencamp's official website.

To back the album's release, Mellencamp will be a fixture on television during the week of Oct. 15. He will perform "Peaceful World" with India.Arie on "The Late Show with David Letterman" on Monday (10/15), on CBS's "The Early Show" on Tuesday (10/16) and on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" on Wednesday (10/17).

Mellencamp will also be among the performers on the Oct. 20 Concert for New York at Madison Square Garden. He will also be a guest artist at the VH1 Fashion Awards, scheduled to air on Oct. 23.

Andrea Bocelli [ tickets ]
"Cieli di Toscana" (Polydor/Sugar)

The man who has been called "the fourth tenor" returns with this new pop collection. The world-renowned Italian singer spent two years making "Cieli di Toscana," a title that translates to "Tuscan Skies."

Brian Rawling Productions--comprising Brian Rawling, Mark Taylor and Robin Smith, a trio known for its work on recent hits from Cher, Tina Turner and Enrique Iglesias--produced several songs on the album, including "Someone Like You," "L'Incontro" and "L'Ultimo Re."

The album's first single, "Melodramma," is a track that Bocelli described in a recent statement as "a song about a character that could nearly be the story of my life. It possesses one of the most typically Italian melodies you could find." A streaming version of the track is available at the official "Cieli di Toscana" website.

Bocelli will kick off a U.S. tour behind the album next month.

Lit
“Atomic” (Dirty Martini/RCA Records)

Lit’s latest is the follow-up to the rock band’s platinum-plus major-label debut, “A Place in the Sun,” which features the hits “My Own Worst Enemy,” “Zip-Lock,” “Four” and “Miserable.”

"Atomic" features songwriting collaborations with Danny Walker of Lit’s labelmates Handsome Devil, and Butch Walker of Marvelous 3. One of the tracks, “The Last Time Again,” was featured in the movie “American Pie 2.”

In addition to the regular version of "Atomic," a limited-edition version that includes a bonus CD sampler will also hit stores on Tuesday (10/16).

Fugazi
"The Argument" (Dischord)

The long-running punk quartet releases its first studio album since 1998's "End Hits." Recorded during the first two months of 2001, the album contains 11 songs, the first of which--according to the label's website--has no title. Characteristic of Fugazi's longstanding commercial activism, the record is priced at $9 for vinyl and $10 for CD.

Released simultaneously is a three-song single, "Furniture," that was recorded during the same time frame as "The Argument," though none of the three songs appear on the album.

The band features its founding lineup, Ian MacKaye (vocals, guitar), Guy Picciotto (vocals, guitar), Joe Lally (vocals, bass) and Brendan Canty (drums). A single guest musician, Jerry Busher, performs additional drumming and percussion duties.

The label reports that the band won't tour until at least the start of 2002, because Lally and his wife have a newborn child.

New Order
"Get Ready" (Reprise)

British electro-rock quartet New Order's latest marks its first album of new material in eight years. "Get Ready" was produced by Steve Osborne, and mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent (who mixed and produced Madonna's "Music") and Flood (who has worked with U2 and Depeche Mode). Ex-Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan plays guitar on the album, and British rock band Primal Scream also lends support.

Streaming audio and video of "Crystal," the first single from "Get Ready," is available on the band's official website.

New Order played the West Coast dates of Moby's summer 2001 Area One festival. The band is touring Britain through mid-October.

Sloan
"Pretty Together" (Murder)

Toronto-based Sloan’s latest record is the group’s sixth in its 10-year career, and is the follow-up to 1999’s “Between the Bridges.” The album--whose title comes from a Sterling Morrison line on the Velvet Underground’s 1969 album “Temptation Inside Your Heart"--harks back to the “collaborative spirit” of the band’s 1992 debut “Smeared” (Murderecords), according to Sloan’s official website.

"Pretty Together" was produced by Brenndan McGuire, who worked on “Between the Bridges,” and mixed by Dave Ogilvie (Skinny Puppy), who also mixed “Smeared."

Sloan will kick off a North American tour on Oct. 15 in Peterborough, Ontario. The itinerary currently includes three U.S. dates: Nov. 15 at Buffalo’s Tralf, Nov. 19 at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom, and Nov. 20 at Boston’s Middle East.

The Grateful Dead
"The Golden Road 1965-1973" (Rhino)

Deadheads will rejoice over this 12-disc box set, which contains the Dead's entire Warner Brothers output, plus extras. Each of the Dead's nine albums for Warner Brothers have been remastered and expanded with bonus tracks and liner notes.

Rhino has set up a special website for the release that features streaming audio samples of album tracks and an interview with Dead guitarist Bob Weir.

Also released this week is a new two-disc collection, "Birth of the Dead," which contains unreleased recordings from the band's pre-Warner days, and includes an 80-page booklet chronicling the early history of band.

Pete Townshend and Raphael Rudd
"The Oceanic Concerts" (Rhino)

Who guitarist Townshend and pianist-harpist Rudd collaborated on two benefit concerts in 1979 and 1980. The recordings remained unreleased until now.

The album features acoustic performances of Townshend-penned songs including "The Seeker" and "Bargain."

Other new releases:

40 Below Summer - "Invitation to the Dance" (Sire)
AM/FM - "Getting into Sinking" (Polyvinyl)
Tony Bennet, Charlotte Church, Placido Domingo, Vanessa Williams - "Our Favorite Things" (Sony Classics)
John Berry - "All the Way to There" (Ark 21)
Bionic Jive - "Armageddon Through Your Speakers" (Interscope)
Black Lipstick - "The Four Kingdoms of Black Lipstick" (Peek-a-Boo)
Bullfrog & Kid Koala - "Bullfrog" (Atlantic)
The Celtic Fiddle Festival - "Rendezvous" (Green Linnet)
Cyrus Chestnut - "Soul Food" (Atlantic)
Sarah Jane Cion - "Summer Night" (Naxos Jazz)
The Court and Spark - "Bless You" (Absolutely Kosher)
Chaka Demus & Pliers - "Dangerous" (Fuel 2000)
Pat Green - "Three Days" (Universal)
Hakim - "The Lion Roars - Live in America" (Ark 21)
Femi Kuti - "Fight to Win" (MCA)
James Mathus and His Knock-Down Society - "National Antiseptic" (Mammoth)
Michael McDonald - "In the Spirit - A Christmas Album" (MCA Nashville)
Mr. Capone-E - "Last Man Standing" (Thump)
Mr. Cheeks - "John P. Kelly" (Universal)
Christiane Noll - "The Ira Gershwin Album" (Varese Sarabande)
Parks and Wilson - "Painting on Silence" (Bliss)
The Prima Donnas - "Drugs, Sex, Discotheques" (Peek-a-Boo)
Pekka Tube Factory Pylkkanen - "Opaque" (Naxos Jazz)
Schatzi - "Death of the Alphabet (EP)" (Hollywood)
David Sills - "Bigs" (Naxos Jazz)
Greg Street - "Six O’Clock Vol. 1" (Atlantic)
Kenny Vance & The Planotones - "Out of This World: Live at the Bitter End" (Varèse Vintage)
Various artists - "Chill Out Lounge, Vol. 2" (Water Music)
Various artists - "Christmas Cookies" (MCA Nashville)
Various artists - "Country Goes Raffi" (Rounder)
Various artists - "The Frogs/Evening Primrose" (Nonesuch/Atlantic)
Various artists - "Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3" (Maverick)
Andrew Lloyd Webber & Alan Ayckbourn - "By Jeeves" (Universal Classics)

Soundtracks and scores:
"From Hell" (Varèse Sarabande)
Jerry Goldsmith - "The Last Castle" motion-picture score (Universal Classics)
Mark Isham - "Don’t Say a Word" motion-picture score (Varèse Sarabande)
"On the Line" (Jive Electro)
"Prancer Returns" (MCA Nashville)
"Riding in Cars with Boys" (Columbia)

Compiled by Jon Zahlaway with Rob Evans, Christina Fuoco, Scott Henkemeyer, Marc Weidenbaum and James Woster.