Four years after his last record, singer-songwriter-producer Joe Henry cut his new album Civilians in just three days. Although he hasn't abandoned the feel of romantic, jazzy elegance that pervades his last few albums, he's peeled away layers of sound for a more nakedly emotional tone this time out....

I went to the record store this week to buy Boxer, the radiant and brooding new album from Brooklyn-based band The National. While I might've been happy to take home a CD of the record, I found myself enticed by a sticker on the LP version indicating that inside...

May I re-introduce to you the act you've known for all these years? The 40th anniversary of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band passed a few days ago with moderate fanfare, a bit of historical revisionism and a fair amount of iconoclasm. But the Pepper you're...

Sometimes you feel real old, older than you are. Nothing makes you feel older than seeing the records you loved as a teenager reappear as two-disc 20th anniversary special editions, with lavish booklets featuring photos of unfortunate hair and liner notes that discuss outdated recording technology.

It used to...