Rascal Flatts’ “Hot Mix” for previous “What Hurts the Most” catapulted the country group to the adult contemporary summit with one of the most endearing recorded performances of the year. New pop rerub of Flatts’ No. 1 country single “My Wish” again strips away steel guitar and amps guitars and percussion for a composition with […]
With the forecast for male solo pop a veritable arid wasteland for the past several years, the return of Enrique Iglesias — whose last top 20 entry was in 2003 –is cause for three cheers. “Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)” is such a consummate midtempo carousel of hooks that it takes only one […]
With 10 No. 1 hits and four Grammy Award nominations under his belt, smooth-jazz main man Dave Koz serves up his first official adult contemporary release — “Somewhere,” from “West Side Story,” one of many scene stealers from his classy new “At the Movies” set. Featuring silken vocals from the incomparable Anita Baker and plush […]
The fifth (and final) single from Nickelback’s “All the Right Reasons” recalls when the group flirted with metal on debut album “The State.” On “Side of a Bullet,” a chugging Metallica-esque guitar is an abrupt jolt down memory lane in more ways than one. “Bullet” recalls the murder of “Dimebag” Darryl Abbott, who was killed […]
Already charting on modern rock radio, the Plain White T’s’ revamped single “Hey There Delilah” offers a fresh bounce to the often cliched boy-band ballad that’s irresistibly lighthearted and sweet. Singing tenderly of long-distance love and earnest teen longing, lead singer Tom Higgenson delivers an endearing acoustic single complete with an audience-enthralled live version. First […]
Easily a standout from the album “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank,” “Dashboard” packs in all of Modest Mouse’s charms: frontman Isaac Brock’s clipped vocals, steady drum thumps and fiery, raw guitars. It’s the follow-up to “Float On,” which triumphed on rock and top 40 radio — but unlike that optimistic track, “Dashboard” […]
Multilingual Italian singer/songwriter/film composer/bassist Tony Amodio, whose stateside success includes recordings by Al Jarreau and James Ingram, has recorded ambitious album “Deja Vu,” which includes compositions in English, Spanish, Turkish and Italian. Single “Ne Olur,” sung in the latter two languages, is so hooky that hunky Amodio has the potential to become a new-day Ricky […]
Arctic Monkeys’ 2006 debut album, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not,” was a genuine U.K. phenomenon — the fastest-selling debut record ever, winner of major awards and one of those rare albums with enormous impact culturally and commercially. Following up such an album has been the undoing of older heads than […]
This is the late Ibrahim Ferrer’s final album, and he certainly departed with a flourish. With “Mi Sueno” (My Dream), is Ferrer realize his dream of doing a bolero album. The brainstorm that resulted in the “Buena Vista Social Club” album, released in 1997, resurrected Ferrer’s career, and he made the most of the […]
R&B singer Joe released his debut album, “Everything,” more than a decade ago, but with his latest project, the 33-year-old preacher’s son delivers a timeless set that clearly demonstrates his relevancy among the swaggering teen crooners. On the Nas-assisted “Get to Know Me,” Joe smoothly invites a females to get to know him and […]
Pollard is back yet again with another album, probably the 100th of his haphazard and voluminous career. But “Silverfish Trivia,” a mini-LP at seven songs and 22 minutes, does mark a change in path for the former Guided by Voices frontman as the first release on his new label, Prom Is Coming. Since 1999, Pollard […]
Season-five “American Idol” finalist Covington convincingly mixes a large helping of Southern-fried rock with a dash of country on his Lyric Street debut. Opener “American Friday Night” is an energized look at Smalltown USA, while the first single, “Different World,” currently No. 24 on Hot Country Songs, continues the theme with a nostalgic look […]
Dance bad boy Armand Van Helden is known for flipping off stylistic expectations and doing his own thing. During his 15-year career he’s made everything from pure house to hip-hop to hybrid dance-rock — some lingering hits, some utterly forgotten. But the 12 tracks on “Ghettoblaster” finally unify his multiple personalities, through the lens […]
Patti Smith has been reinterpreting other artists’ work since the genesis of her career, famously launching her debut album with a subversive reclamation of Them’s “Gloria.” More than 30 years later, at 60, Smith releases her first all-covers disc, and while the emphasis is on rough-hewn punk deconstructions, bold statements abound. Smith and her […]
