Ricky Martin has a lot riding on the success of “MTV Unplugged,” his first Spanish album in three years. Fortunately, he sounds blissfully in the moment and inspired by the euphoric live arrangements. You can almost hear him smile as he sings his way through pre-crossover favorites like “Maria,” “Vuelve” and “La Bomba.” Martin […]
K-Fed spends the first half of his debut album defending himself, claiming he’s “America’s Most Hated,” which rhymes with “you’re mad that I made it.” Playing the victim allows him a tried-and-true hip-hop window to “keep it real,” as he says, and to shout out (twice) to Benjamin Franklin. Amid hints of rock guitar […]
Sugarland set the bar high with its first album, “Twice the Speed of Life,” which spawned two top five singles and won numerous awards. No worries about a sophomore slump here. From the frenetic small-town anthem “County Line” to the Springsteen-esque blue-collar country rock of “These Are the Days” and “One Blue Sky,” Sugarland’s […]
She may not have taken home top prize on last season’s “American Idol,” but this impressive debut CD proves Pickler is a winner. The sassy spirit she demonstrated on TV permeates these 11 tracks, particularly on the feisty “Gotta Keep Moving” and the cheeky fun of “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind.” But […]
With this debut, the easily agitated Kings forward quickly joins the fraternity of All-Star hoopsters who couldn’t be talked out of the rap thing (charter members: Allen “Jewels” Iverson, K.O.B.E. and Shaq-Fu). Artest wouldn’t know a cliche-free lyric if it threw a cup of beer at him. Over an unconscionable 72 minutes, the Tru […]
Gal Costa is one of the true icons of Brazilian music. Her career spans bossa nova, tropicalismo and, as the title of her new studio album states, today. Her latest project is awash in the sort of Brazilian cool she helped create. Costa has always had her way with a samba, and she performs […]
Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records, is recovering after hitting his head in a fall at a recent Rolling Stones concert.
Ertegun, an integral figure in the careers of artists including
Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, was attending a Stones concert at the Beacon Theatre on Oct. 29 when he slipped […]
Britney Spears appeared upbeat, if a little off balance, as she took to the ice skating rink Tuesday night at New York’s Rockefeller Center just hours after filing for divorce in Los Angeles.
The 24-year-old pop star cited “irreconcilable differences” in court papers seeking dissolution of her marriage to aspiring rapper Kevin Federline.
Bundled up in […]
Paul McCartney says he wants to maintain a “certain dignity” over his divorce from Heather Mills, in his first public comments on their acrimonious split.
Speaking at the premiere of his classical composition “Ecce Cor Meum” (Behold My Heart) in London late on Friday, the former Beatle told BBC radio he was not the type of […]
Taylor was one of the original Duran Duran members and this is not the first time that he parts ways with his four mates, Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor. He left
the band in 1986 to form The Power Station and to pursue a solo career and then returned to […]
Subtitled “Jones Sings Haggard, Haggard Sings Jones,” this set features just that: George Jones performing five Merle Haggard songs and Haggard returning the favor, plus four duets. A long overdue follow-up to 1982’s “A Taste of Yesterday’s Wine,” the new project shows the deep respect the two legends have for each other’s work. Jones’ […]
Few pop stars are as universally adored as Dave Grohl — girls want to sleep with him and guys want to drink with him. Because he’s so damn likable and because his previous band was one of rock’s most important, we cut him a little more slack than we would others. If we’re being […]
Given Clapton’s history with J.J. Cale songs (”After Midnight,” “Cocaine”), this full-scale collaboration was probably inevitable. It’s just too bad it took them so long. Clapton’s affinity for Cale’s writing makes “Escondido” sound particularly natural and genuine, not unlike 2000’s “Riding With the King” set with B.B. King. Cale wrote 11 of the 14 […]
Largely free of the often impenetrable shtick that defines crunk brethren like the Ying Yang Twins, Pitbull’s “El Mariel” dials back the more obnoxious ingredients of the low-end-heavy genre for a more focused and wide-reaching club experience. “El Mariel” would be more accurately billed as Pitbull featuring Miami, as the 305 figures prominently in […]
