Owing to her Raising Sand collaboration with Robert Plant becoming something of a cultural phenomenon, that Alison Krauss and her superb Union Station band haven’t released a new album together in seven years seems, well, ...

Nineteen-year-old Sierra Hull has been turning heads in the bluegrass world since she joined Alison Krauss on the Opry stage as a sixth-grade mandolin prodigy. Mentored by Krauss and now championed by Chris Thile, Hull ...

Patti Smith came up with the title Collapse Into Now for R.E.M.’s 15th album, and that’s exactly what happened—the band merged choice instrumental elements from their past with lyrics about today. Everything die-hard fans love ...

Paul Simon has been criticized for sounding on his new album like, well, Paul Simon, most notably Graceland-era Paul Simon. But so what? Sure, Simon has prided himself since the release of that 1986 masterwork ...

You know the 80s revival is revved up when The Cars cruise back onto the pop-music scene. It’s been 25 years since the hit band’s career stalled with the sputtering Door to Door. This high-octane ...

The follow-up to 2007’s excellent acoustic folk and blues album Try Me One More Time finds singer and guitarist David Bromberg strapping on his vintage Telecaster and plugging into a pack of big-name buddies who ...

The first Feelies album in twenty years, Here Before reaffirms what their debut LP, Crazy Rhythms, made clear in 1980: although The Feelies have various influences (the Velvet Underground in particular), they’ve forged a unique ...

Keren Ann’s 101 evokes noirish vignettes of loss, heartbreak, and longing, skillfully mixing ethereal sound with sophisticated and sometimes twisted storylines. Her music incorporates many influences, including Leonard Cohen and Jacques Brel for songwriting, and ...

From the first electric slide howl of the opening title track—one of several original numbers dissecting obsessive- compulsive love affairs—to the closing “Superman,” a herky-jerky stomp on recent socio-political fiascos, Dana Fuchs offers a virtuoso ...

Following up his 2009 Grammy-winning outing The Crow, Steve Martin, no dilettante he but rather a serious bluegrass picker in his own right, surpasses his previous achievement in teaming with North Carolina’s burgeoning bluegrass giants ...

Fado (pronounced FAH-doo, with a very soft “d”) is Portuguese urban folk music. Ana Moura sings these songs, new and old, in a traditional style, clearly influenced by one of the Fado greats, Amalia Rodrigues ...

One hazard of being on the retail side of the audio biz is that you end up hearing a lot of the same music—ad nauseam. And while I haven’t sold high-end gear for 16 years ...

Asked why he had written the songs on the 1971 concept album What’s Going On, soul singer and composer Marvin Gaye told labelmate Smokey Robinson that the inspiration had come from a higher power. “I ...

After a series of ambitious, atmospheric concept albums over the years, Robbie Robertson delivers his fifth album, the bluesy How To Become Clairvoyant, his most personal and appealing. Finally comfortable writing about his past, Robertson ...

Philosophical and musical differences created such a volatile atmosphere around the time Santana recorded Caravanserai that lineup changes seemed nonstop. Musically the chemistry among band members remained, however, as did the Latin fire, the rhythm ...