The producer behind the West Coast gangsta rap sound looks back over his career on a long-awaited album that sounds less like one man's vanity project than a grand group effort.
Canadian musician Daniel Romano specializes in country music that's a throwback to a bygone era. Rock critic Ken Tucker calls his new album, If I've Only One Time Askin',a "moving collection."
Rock critic Ken Tucker says the third studio album from country star Ashley Monroe "is a collection of deceptively pretty songs that cohere as a strong, serious piece of work."
From the Attic of My Mind is a batch of reissues drawn from the old Xanadu catalog of Sam Most recordings. Critic Kevin Whitehead says the late flutist makes "every note in a fast phrase pop out."
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a reissue of The Complete Riverside Recordings of pianist Thelonious Monk. He says it's really the story of two men: Monk and late record producer Orrin Keepnews.
Singer-songwriter Miguel mixes rock, pop, hip-hop, reggae and funk on his new album. Critic Ken Tucker says the musical slight-of-hand that results is "excitingly diverse and vivid."
The former member of the Drive-by Truckers unleashes his storytelling skills in his new album, Something More Than Free. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Isbell's lyrics reward a close listen.
In July 1970, Duke Ellington recorded two tunes engineered by Conny Plank. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says The Conny Plank Session, which is now on CD, is a window onto Ellington's working method.
The 26-year-old singer focuses on cleverly constructed lyrics — instead of rebellion — in her new record. Critic Ken Tucker says the singer falls short of creating a "sustained great album."