Ken Tucker

Ken Tucker appears in the following:

Folk Musician Peter Stampfel Pays Homage To 100 Favorite Songs On '20th Century'

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

A new five-CD set features Stampfel's recording of a favorite song for each year of the last century. The resulting collection is a wonderful survey of popular music — as well as lots of great fun.

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Bee Gees Documentary Traces The Gibb Brothers' Pathway To Stardom

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Of the three Bee Gees, only Barry Gibb is still alive. His new album is Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Volume 1. The HBO documentary, The Bee Gees, tells the story of the group's rise.

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3 New Holiday Songs Tap Into The Cheer — And Despair — Of The Season

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

The holidays have never felt more ambivalent — a feeling captured by Phoebe Bridgers' "Christmas Song"; The Bird and the Bee's "You and I at Christmas Time"; and Nick Lowe's "Winter Wonderland."

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A Year Like No Other: Ken Tucker Picks 10 Albums That Made An Art Of Escapism

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

The pandemic, along with unprecedented political and social upheaval, created a year in which listeners sought to be transported. Enter these 10 albums. At the top of the list: X's Alphabetland.

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From Springsteen To Stevie Wonder, Veteran Musicians Capture The Moment

Friday, October 30, 2020

Three new songs from established acts speak to the times: "Ghosts," by Bruce Springsteen; "Can't Put It in the Hands of Fate," by Stevie Wonder; and "Didn't Want to Be This Lonely," by The Pretenders.

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Low Cut Connie Showcases A New Ambition On 'Private Lives'

Monday, October 12, 2020

Once known as a loud bar band, Low Cut Connie bends classic rock to meet ever-more complex emotionalism. The resulting album is filled with songs about lovers, losers and beautiful dreamers.

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Super Deluxe Release Of Prince's 'Sign O' The Times' Holds Up As A Masterpiece

Wednesday, October 07, 2020

Prince's creativity is more impressive than ever on a new version of his highly praised 1987 album — now with three discs of previously unreleased material.

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Country Singer Mickey Guyton Opens Up About Race And Gender In 'Black Like Me'

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Guyton's hit song, off her EP Bridges, is about feeling like a stranger in one's own land. The issues Guyton raises pose new challenges — not just to country music, but to our country itself.

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The Happy Fits Deliver Fresh And Snappy Pop On 'What Could Be Better'

Monday, September 14, 2020

The musical trio met in college and are now making some of the catchiest tunes around. Their sound features a guitarist, a drummer and one lead singer — who's also a classically trained cellist.

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3 Beautiful Songs Offer Comfort In The Face Of Cruelty

Thursday, September 03, 2020

Looking for music that's soothing without being sentimental? Listen to "Guilty," by Courtney Marie Andrews; "Sleeping Without You Is a Dragg," by Swamp Dogg; and "End of My Rope," by Pokey LaFarge.

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With 'Folklore,' Taylor Swift Marks Off Her Past And Enters A New Phase

Friday, July 31, 2020

Swift's eighth studio album came as a surprise. In the isolation of the past months, she's cooked up a yeasty kind of sugar-free pop that rises above much recent music-making.

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HAIM Radiates Sunniness In 'Women In Music Pt. III'

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

The new album by three Los Angeles sisters feels like it was meant to be blasted loud in your car as you try to time all the green lights along Sunset Boulevard.

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Bob Dylan's 'Rough And Rowdy Ways' Breathes, Expands And Contracts

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

The good songs on Dylan's latest record inflate with interest; the mediocre songs start to shrink and slink away. And there's a striking amount of upbeat rhythm & blues on the album.

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Lady Gaga And Carly Rae Jepsen, Both With Bold Albums, Make Isolation Less Lonely

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

The electric instrumentation of Lady Gaga's flashy disco record Chromatica and Carly Rae Jepsen's Dedicated Side B provide a much-needed jolt for the COVID era.

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LA Punk Band X Returns With Go-For-Broke Urgency In 'Alphabetland'

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

X's first album 35 years takes its place alongside the best work they've ever done. The music on Alphabetland is the sound of X snatching back its past in order to fuel the music of its future.

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With 'Future Nostalgia,' Dua Lipa Reminds Us How To Feel Care-Free

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

The pop singer's smart and snappy second album is a '70s and '80s disco throwback. The record immediately stands out from nearly all current popular music for its sheer, bursting joyfulness.

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A Salute To John Prine, A Meticulous Craftsman With A Gift For Detail

Friday, April 10, 2020

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, who died April 7, took a journeyman's pride in unifying metaphor and metrical precision. Prine's eccentric music served him — and us — well for five decades.

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K-Pop Band BTS Proves Its Skill And Influence On 'Map Of The Soul: 7'

Monday, March 16, 2020

BTS' new record features songs that vary from grandly dramatic to impishly playful. The album's been a near-instant hit, selling over 2 million copies in its first two hours of release in South Korea.

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Best Coast Achieves A New, More Poignant Power On 'Almost Tomorrow'

Monday, March 09, 2020

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Bethany Cosentino opens up about sobriety on a propulsive new album with musical partner Bobb Bruno. Almost Tomorrow is Best Coast's first record in five years.

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'Royal Albert Hall' Album Captures Bryan Ferry In All His Contradictory Glory

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Best known as the lead singer for Roxy Music, Ferry released two solo albums in the '70s filled with covers. A marvelous new concert album features Ferry performing many of these songs live.

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