Album Reviews

It's a week of reunions. Everyone wants to sing with Tony Bennett, the Jayhawks want one more shot at the Americana brass ring, and the superstars in SuperHeavy want nothing less than global domination.

Let's step into the fall musical rush, along with Lindsey Buckingham and John Doe -- a bunch of dudes well past 40, all proving that rock (and country and folk) can age gracefully.

Beyonce's baby bump is speaking louder than any of the new releases this month. So while we wait for the flood of fall albums to descend next week, I want to spend this week playing five records that got by me earlier in the year.

This week, the Muppets get some indie cred, Stephen Malkmus gets reined in, Barbra gets sentimental, Game gets vulnerable, and Beirut strips down. It's a perfect "Play" week. Thank God. I was starting to lose hope.

This week is full of funky flashbacks, false steps, and bad musical jokes. Sly Stone is still missing and Blue October can't get beyond the rage. Leave it to Jeff Bridges and his country heart to keep the week from being a total blow-out.

It's tough to crack down on an album that's guaranteed from its conception to get vast amounts of unmitigated praise and hype, but this time the self-proclaimed royalty is just getting lazy.

It's dudes only this week -- that is, if you consider 13-year-old Greyson Chance a dude. John Hiatt, Mat Kearney, Trace Adkins, and Richard Buckner are digging deep into American music roots and pulling out gold. Or at least shiny objects.

It's a week of musical fresh starts. Joss Stone flies as a free agent, alt-metal singer Ronnie Radke is free from prison, and Vanessa Carlton is the ultimate free spirit. Play 'em all after you give your favorite Amy Winehouse record one more spin.

Ponder this musical deep thought as you look for beats to escape the heat: what if the Brooklyn Godfathers of Geek, They Might Be Giants, threw a house party next door to DJ Khaled and his T&A posse?

"Sweetest High" is a very canny new direction; the single is palatable to American listeners in a way that Girls Aloud, with its distinctly English everything-but-the-kitchen-sink madness, never was.

This week Incubus reinvents itself, the Cool Kids rewind some classic hip-hop beats, Colbie Caillat reclaims pop music from the teases, and Blake Shelton wants to turn some of that "Voice" attention into country cash.

You've shaken off the sulfur from your 4th of July hangover; now witness the fireworks by a group of musicians rallying around a common cause.

Women rule this week. Gillian Welch, ‪Beyoncé‬, and Dolly Parton dig for Americana, country, and pop gold, while Selena Gomez gives the tweens another dose of Disney. Poor American Idol David Cook doesn't have a fighting chance.

Raise your lighter for Jill Scott, Bon Iver, and Jim Lauderdale -- three unlucky musical traveling companions who play well together. As for "Weird Al" and Night Ranger? Aren't you suffering enough?

Beat the heat with a blast of Brit-rock cool, reggae rhythms, and air-conditioned vocal bliss. This week's releases cover the four corners of the musical world, traveling from heavy metal blues-rock to serious blue-haired schmaltz.

Do me a favor, people. Step away from the World of Weiner for a moment and find safety in some old-fashioned '80s music, African rhythms, and Southern rock.

Witness five artists stare down the midlife of their musical careers armed with ukuleles, epic productions, and carefully chosen cover songs.

This week, Lady Gaga births her album her way and sucks nearly all of the musical oxygen out of the room. But if you can escape the Gaga takeover, check out Joseph Arthur's transcendence and Boris' Tokyo noise.

This week, Moby loses sleep on the road, Ben Harper meets his heroes, Danger Mouse reinvents the Spaghetti Western, while Kate Bush reinvents her past.