The Black Sabbath boys are back, as the new band Heaven and Hell. Guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward and singer Ronnie James Dio — former members of British metal supergroup Black Sabbath — are forming the band named after their 1980 hit, according to their publicist. They plan to launch […]
Duran Duran announced Thursday that guitarist Andy Taylor has quit the veteran rock group. Duran Duran said Taylor quit last weekend but that its remaining four members — Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John and Roger Taylor — plan to carry on recording and performing as a group.
“We have reached a point in our […]
Atlanta rapper Ludacris’ “Money Maker” featuring Pharrell held for a second week atop the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart Thursday, while fellow hip-hop star Akon’s “Smack That” jumped two places to No. 2.
The latter cut, which features Eminem, jumped one place to take the lead on the Hot Digital Songs tally, swapping places with Oklahoma […]
George Benson and Al Jarreau together on record for the first time is enough to make “Givin’ It Up” a bona fide event. But they make it even better with a cast that includes Herbie Hancock, Paul McCartney (on a gospel-flavored arrangement of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home to Me”) and Jill Scott.
The […]
Robbie Williams — a No. 1 artist everywhere except the United States — usually delivers exactly what his fans (and record company) expect, but on his seventh solo album he was supposed to abandon his pop heartland in favor of edgy electronica. A barrage of hip producers (Mark Ronson, William Orbit) and collaborators (Lily […]
The reign of the teenage pop princess — grinding, posing and speak-singing her way onto the charts — has stretched an unimaginable eight years, if you start counting at Britney Spears’ ” … Baby One More Time.” Brooke Hogan’s debut confirms that producers are definitely out of ideas. Scott Storch dresses up her chirpy, […]
A decade on from the orchestral pop of his cult classic solo debut, “Return of the Frog Queen,” Sunny Day Real Estate/Fire Theft frontman Jeremy Enigk returns with a more rock-driven, painstakingly produced follow-up in “World Waits.” Enigk’s vocals here are as translucent as ever. His voice shines on the choruses of such songs […]
A model of consistency amid electronica’s undulating waves, Squarepusher’s Tom Jenkinson is back with his eighth album in a decade that has seen him become one of Warp’s flagship artists. Although there’s nothing quite as beautiful as “Iambic 9 Poetry” from 2004’s “Ultravisitor” or as subversively catchy as “My Red Hot Car” from 2001’s […]
Many world music fans are familiar with the Tuareg (also called Kel Tamashek) group Tinariwen, which blew in from the Malian Sahara in 2001. The Tuareg — a nomadic people with a history of conflict with the Malian government — also generated Tartit, debuting here with “Abacabok.” Its music, dubbed Tishoumaren (music of the […]
Put together by Abba’s own Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! manages to cram over 20 of the Swedish supergroup’s songs into a threadbare plot. It goes a little like this: Young Sophie is getting married and she’s trying to identify which of three men is her father. That’s about it. Wisely, the […]
John Legend cranks the classic dial way up on sophomore effort “Once Again,” a timeless, feel-good album that could easily slide into your papa’s Sam Cooke and Percy Sledge collections, yet still sounds contemporary. This time around, the singer blends sandy vocals with dreamy background “oohs” and blissful keys, trumpets and flutes that enhance […]
Vince Gill has added his golden guitar and tenor voice to innumerable country projects, and noncountry acts ranging from Barbra Streisand to the Chieftains frequently come calling. So it’s no surprise that when Gill approached some of his favorites to appear on this remarkable four-disc set, everyone from Sheryl Crow, Del McCoury and Bonnie […]
Probably the only question surrounding Alabama’s first album in more than five years is how many multiples of platinum it will move. Randy Owen and the band’s trademark vocal sound is intact and tight as ever, and a consummately conceived production, both sweet and spirited, yields a perfect balance of classic and contemporary. Owen’s […]
On the melodramatic, mildly hippie-drippy intro to “Born in the U.K.,” Badly Drawn Boy flashes the two emotional and musical personalities we’ll encounter throughout the album — one’s a dreary bloke who doesn’t know who he is and is sort of lost, but can still see light and hope. The other is a little […]
