Although they first broke into the limelight marketed as a country act in the 1990s, Miami's Mavericks, led by the soaring, Roy Orbison-like vocals of singer Raul Malo, and with a sound that blended country elements with Tex-Mex, Latin, and ...

A surprise best-seller when it was first released, this mostly improvised pairing of singer/keyboardist/producer Al Kooper with two major guitar heroes of the day sounds fascinating all these years later precisely because of the distance of time--nobody makes records like ...

As the electric guitar ace Joe Bonamassa was so strongly inspired by blues and blues-oriented six-stringers (i.e., Clapton, Johnny Winter), many of his fans would politely pester him about doing a disc of blues standards. Originally done as a lark, ...

Take note that this 2011 double-disc collection is billed not as the best of Bob Seger, it's the best of Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band -- a rule the compilers immediately bend in two directions by including the ...

Rod Stewart returns to rock & roll with Time, his first collection of original songs in over a decade. Inspired by authoring his 2012 memoir Rod: The Autobiography, Stewart returned to songwriting and also returned to his guitar-heavy roots, sometimes ...

The Lumineers, a folk-rock trio out of Denver, Colorado, have a pretty interesting sound, an Americana mesh of folk, rock, and gospel that is similar in tone to the Waterboys, say, or an alt-folk version of Bob Dylan circa Desire, ...

This compilation is just what it says: number one hits on the American charts from the 1960s. It has a leg up on some similar anthologies, though, by virtue of its sheer quantity: 26 songs spanning the entire decade, which ...

On Dreams, Brian Culbertson attempts to dig further into the vein he opened on 2010's XII, where he seamlessly married adult-oriented R&B to contemporary jazz. In fact, Dreams feels like a bookend of sorts. He employs an alternating cast of ...

Don't let the title fool you; after listening to The Only Doo-Wop Collection You'll Ever Need, you'll definitely want more. This is a good starting point for the curious, since all the basics are here in the original hit versions: ...

Produced by Myron Butler and Kirk Franklin, the 12-song CD showcases Tamela's powerful vocals and meaningful lyrics. The title track, penned by Butler, is a jubilant celebration of God's promises. "It's a very encouraging song and gives a lot of ...

English folk outfit Mumford & Sons' full-length debut owes more than a cursory nod to bands like the Waterboys, the Pogues, and the Men They Couldn't Hang. The group's heady blend of biblical imagery, pastoral introspection, and raucous, pub-soaked heartache ...

There was a year's delay before this film, which concerns the mysterious death of a fictional '60s rock star, took off via video and cable TV, but when it did, the soundtrack album, featuring such songs as "On the Dark ...

Atlanta, Georgia's Blackberry Smoke does upward of 250 shows a year, relentlessly crossing and re-crossing the various club, bar, and festival circuits, and the group's classic Southern rock sound, which recalls bands like the Black Crowes and Lynyrd Skynyrd, has ...

George Strait decided he'd retire from the road once he turned 60, so he launched a farewell tour in 2013 that is scheduled to run into 2014. Hanging up his concert hat doesn't necessarily indicate that he's taking a break ...

The difference between Alan Jackson's 2006 album Precious Memories and its 2013 sequel Precious Memories, Vol. 2 can be seen in the cover art as well as heard in its grooves. On the cover of the 2006 album is a ...

Audio Mixer: Eric Corne. Recording information: Entourage Studios, North Hollywood, CA (10/2011). Photographer: Austin Hargrave.

The Zac Brown Band's third major-label studio album, Uncaged, is the first with new member percussionist Daniel de los Reyes, and features guest spots from Amos Lee and Trombone Shorty, as well as songs co-written with Jason Mraz and fellow ...

This one was a long time coming, and given its nearly effortless execution, one wonders what took so long. Old Yellow Moon is an album of duets between Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell. He was a rhythm guitarist and backing ...

Folks who think Kid Rock has gone too commercial and that the big country and rap stars who have done country-rap tracks haven't built any true momentum for the hybrid genre should love these Jawga Boyz, whose 17-track trip to ...

The finest example of perfect disco pop, and a record that should be prescribed to musical snobs and manic depressives. The album is a true ambassador of what pop music can be. Jackson whoops and dances through a suite of ...

While the two-disc 35 BIGGEST HITS is far from the first Toby Keith hits collection, it's easily his most comprehensive to date, including the biggest songs from every stage of the country superstar's first 15 years. It moves from early ...

By this point in the Darius Rucker discography, it's no longer a talking point that the former Hootie & the Blowfish singer is attempting a country career. True Believers is the singer's third album exploring contemporary country styles, following a ...

Just prior to his death in 2002, Waylon Jennings headed over with some regularity to the home studio of his longtime friend and producer Robby Turner. Featuring nothing more than Waylon's own guitar and Turner's bass, these recordings were spare ...

For only the second time in her career, jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall deviates from her tried, true m.o. of covering easily identifiable jazz standards. On Glad Rag Doll she teams with producer T-Bone Burnett and his stable of ...

Track Listing: Shining Star; That's the Way of the World; September; Can't Hide Love; Got to Get You into My Life; Sing a Song; Gratitude; Serpentine Fire; Fantasy; Kalimba Story; Mighty Mighty; Reasons; Saturday Nite; Let's Groove; Boogie Wonderland; After ...