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JEFF TAMARKIN
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429 (2011)
The new New York Dolls have now been around longer - and released more albums (three) - than the old New York Dolls, and they're commemorating that new longevity by letting go of any compulsion they may have still harbored to honor their designation as "punk-rock progenitors."
Lost Highway (2011)
The soul revival has been going on long enough now that maybe it's a not a bad idea to stop calling it a revival at all.
Astralwerks (2010)
From the Kate Moss cover pic to the A-list of guest stars to the reunion with original Roxy Music members Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, and Andy Mackay, Olympia screams, "EVENT!"
New West (2010)
When Old 97's are on — which they are most of the time on their eighth studio album — they're very, very on.
Razor & Tie (2010)
The companions of the title are Dar Williams's songs, which the singer-songwriter revisits here two different ways.
Virgin (2010)
The KT Tunstall of Tiger Suit is tougher, louder, and more electronically endowed than the KT Tunstall of its poppy predecessor, 2007's Drastic Fantastic , and Eye to the Telescope three years before that.
Bloodshot (2010)
On this his third album, Justin Townes Earle is determined to shoo away any lingering apple-doesn't-fall-far-from-tree comparisons.
Capitol (2010)
There's some irony in the generic title of this 15-track retrospective, given that the Dandy Warhols' relationship with the label got off to a rocky start, Capitol rejecting what would have been the band's first release for the major and sending them back to the studio.
Lost Highway (2010)
Is it possible that Tom Jones, at age 70, is only now using everything he's got to his best advantage?
Nozzle/Vanguard (2010)
Thirty years into his recording career, the biggest question surrounding Robert Cray is no longer whether he's an honest-to-goodness bluesman or a slick interloper but whether he's got anything new to offer.
Redstar (2010)
Blues musicians have been recycling the same ol' same for so long that it's easy to forget just how exciting blues can be. Guitarslinger/singer Peter Parcek's thrill-a-minute The Mathematics of Love is a reminder of that.
Daptone (2010)
Just to prove how serious they are about their commitment to retro soul, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings recorded I Learned the Hard Way using an eight-track Ampex tape machine, the kind their heroes and heroines in Memphis and Muscle Shoals might have employed back in the day.
429 (2010)
Joan Armatrading’s previous album just didn’t feel right. This Charming Life is more like it.
Cumbancha (2010)
Although their music stands on its own, the backstory can't help but give it a deeper perspective.
Columbia/Legacy (2009)
Given the consensus that the CD era is drawing to a close, labels have begun to look increasingly toward the well-heeled — those who not only still buy their music on something they can hold but aren't averse to buying it in supersized, extravagant configurations they can show off and savor.
Anti- (2009)
Arriving five years after his last release of new material, and two after the three-disc Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards box of outtakes and oddities, this live set culled from assorted 2008 gigs could be seen as a time marker.
Manhattan (2009)
In 1973, when she was an 18-year-old rock fan, Rosanne Cash's dad gave her a list of songs he felt she should know — mostly country, all falling under the current banner Americana. She held onto that list, and now she's recorded a dozen tunes from it.
Verve (2009)
There couldn’t be a more apropos title than the one Bebel Gilberto has given her fourth album.
Capitol (2009)
Before you press PLAY, you know what you're going to get on The Dirty Dozen : music to drink lots of beer by.
Rounder (2009)
With American Central Dust , Jay Farrar has now accomplished something he was unable to do either during Son Volt's initial run (1995-99) or his evidently aborted solo career (2001-04): released three consecutive albums of undeniable quality.
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