Folk-rock favorite Dar Williams’ new disc features several high profile guests, among them Marshall Crenshaw, Suzanne Vega and the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris. Titled “Promised Land,” the CD includes a cover version of Fountains of Wayne’s “Troubled Times.”

Thrash rockers Metallica have a new one titled “Death Magnetic.” Blogs have been abuzz with complaints about the audio quality of the disc. Many describe the music as sounding “muddy.”

Jessica Simpson’s much-anticipated country album, “Do You Know,” is drawing early praise. Nashville icon Dolly Parton lends vocals to the title track, a song she wrote specifically for Simpson.

Rapper LL Cool J’s new one is titled “Exit 13.” The disc (his 13th studio release, hence the title) is said to show the rapper’s “duality” by veering between “aggressive and explosive” and “suave, smooth and sensual.”

Other noteworthy releases include Joan Baez’s “Day After Tomorrow” (produced by Steve Earle, it’s her first studio album in five years), Joan Osborne’s “Little Wild One,” and a new release titled “Carried To Dust” by desert-music specialists Calexico.

Russell Hall, special to the Independent-Mail