NPR Music Streams Entire Albums From Gang Of Four, Wanda Jackson And Joyce DiDonato

“First Listens” Available At npr.org/music

NPR Music is now offering advance streams of new albums from Gang of Four, Wanda Jackson and Joyce DiDonato, as part of the site’s “First Listen” series. All of the recordings are available at least a week before their release, for free on-demand listening at www.npr.org/music

Gang of Four: The legendary post-punk band returns with its first album of new material in 16 years. Though the group named the album Content because, they say, “every creative form has been reduced to just that: content,” the aggressive and angular 12 tracks belie the blandness of the title. Hear the full album a week before its January 25 release at NPR Music: www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132869339/first-listen-gang-of-four-content

Wanda Jackson: With her new album, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer unsurprisingly announces that The Party Ain’t Over. Jackson rips through 11 songs handpicked by producer Jack White to show that, in her seventh decade, she’s still “The Queen of Rock.” Join her party at NPR Music: www.npr.org/2011/01/16/132289971/first-listen-wanda-jackson-the-party-aint-over

Joyce DiDonato: On her new release, the 2010 Gramophone magazine “Artist of the Year” explores her inner Diva, Divo. The playful album finds DiDonato transforming her mezzo-soprano voice to sing 16 opera arias that tell the dramatic tales of male and female characters alike. Experience the full range of her repertoire at NPR Music: www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132908108/first-listen-joyce-didonato-diva-divo

Complete track listings and album information will be available at NPR Music, where there are also extensive archives of concerts, interviews and reviews of artists of all genres. NPR Music’s “First Listen” series is one of the site’s most popular features, and is currently offering Gregg Allman’s new solo record Low Country Blues. The free, multimedia website at www.npr.org/music offers more than 300 new features monthly and an extensive archive, in collaboration with NPR’s newsmagazines, 12 public radio member stations and the passionate NPR community. Many of the site’s features are also available to mobile audiences with the NPR Music App for the iPhone and iPod Touch.