The star-studded soundtrack to the Billy Graham biopic Billy: The Early Years (Arista Nashville/Essential Records/Provident-Integrity Distribution) was released Oct. 7, just days before the film hit theaters. Most of the album’s 13 tracks are previously unreleased, including tunes by mainstream artists Patty Griffin, Sara Evans and Alan Jackson. Christian artists Brandon Heath and Mac Powell are also featured.

Autumn Records released The Heart of Christmas (CNI Distribution), the first album by husband-and-wife duo Michael and Carrie Hodge, on Oct. 1. The album features mostly traditional carols with big orchestral arrangements. Michael Hodge leads the worship band at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston.    

Indie rock band Ruth released its sophomore album, Anorak (Tooth & Nail Records/EMI CMG Distribution), on Oct. 28. “Anorak” is British slang for an obsessive enthusiast, and the record is a melding of Brit pop and indie rock with 1980s influences. Ruth—not only the surname of its founder, but also an acronym (Return Us To Him)—spent part of 2007 touring with Relient K and Switchfoot and plans to tour with DecembeRadio in the coming months.    

Phillip LaRue, formerly of the brother-sister duo LaRue, which scored several pop hits in the late ’90s and early part of this decade, has signed with Seattle-based BEC Recordings. He has spent the last several years producing albums for acts like Over the Rhine and Tenth Avenue North, and plans to make his solo debut in early 2009.    

A single from Francesca Battistelli’s major label debut, My Paper Heart (Fervent Records/Word Distribution), which released in July, is making the rounds. “It’s Your Life” appeared on a September episode of the popular MTV docudrama The Hills and has also been featured for several months at www.newvotersproject.org, a nonpartisan Web site that encourages young people to vote.

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