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Inspired by Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man soundtrack, sampled during the intro, T.I.'s eighth album is almost as pieced together as 2010's No Mercy -- a quality somewhat smoothened by a handful of dramatic street-scene skits. No producer handles more than ...

This generous two-disc compilation does an excellent job oftracing soul legend Marvin Gaye's career. It moves from hisearliest, most pop-oriented recordings ("How Sweet It Is", "I'll Be Doggone") to his famed duets with Tammi Terrell ("Ain't Nothing Like the Real ...

In 2012, right on schedule, Rihanna delivered her fourth annual November album. The singer took a different route with the lead single. She didn't go with a dramatic ballad like "Russian Roulette" or a big dance number like "Only Girl ...

He'll never be the new Stevie Ray Vaughan, but at the rate blues-rock (emphasis on the latter) guitarist Joe Bonamassa is going, he can take a stab at being the next Gary Moore. Like the Irish guitarist, Bonamassa is influenced ...

Audio Mixer: Enda Walsh. Liner Note Authors: Gavin Martin; Alan Light; Solly Lipsitz. Born to Sing: No Plan B marks Van Morrison's 35th album and his return to Blue Note Records. Morrison released What's Wrong with This Picture? for Blue Note back ...

This CD commemorates Willie Nelson's 70th Birthday (April 30, 2003). The catalog of Willie Nelson is so vast and rich that assembling an "essential" collection of only one or two discs seems nearly impossible. RCA's single-disc 1995 attempt was admirable and ...

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 ...

Nu-metal stalwarts Linkin Park return with their fifth album, Living Things, a more personal effort than their previous releases. Teaming again with Rick Rubin, who's worked on all of their albums since Minutes to Midnight, they continue to refine their ...

The first in a two-part concept album, House of Gold & Bones finds Stone Sour returning from the relatively subdued sound of their last outing with fire in their belly, bringing some of the aggression back into their sound while ...

"Instrumental Illness" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. 34 years down the line, the Allman Brothers Band shows why they've managed to remain a top concert draw and a vital musical presence. Even a cursory ...

Missing in action for much of the 1990s, Stevie Wonder is a living legend whose consistent creative output is sorely missed. THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION provides a snapshot overview of Wonder's stellar legacy starting back in 1963 as a teen musical ...

Includes liner notes by Tom McGuane. Digitally remastered by Glenn Meadows (Mastersonics). Personnel includes: Jimmy Buffett (vocals). Personnel: Jimmy Buffett (vocals, guitar). Liner Note Author: Tom McGuane. Photographer: Jim Shea.

Following his group sojourns with major-label projects Home Town Hero (on Maverick) and Under the Influence of Giants (on Island), Aaron Bruno resurfaces as a one-man band (albeit with a lot of help, including longtime partner Drew Stewart) under the ...

There aren't many full-effort, front-to-back brilliant Christmas albums, but CeeLo's Magic Moment is one of them. Released ahead of a televised holiday special -- what Mr. Green hoped would be the first of an annual occurrence -- it covers all ...

The smooth jazz genre in the 2000s and 2010s has had two very vocal apostles in Kirk Whalum and Jonathan Butler, who made gospel albums to complement their more mainstream output, and have spoken freely on-stage about their faith. One ...

Recorded from 1976-1985. Includes liner notes by Harry Weinger. Con Funk Shun's brand of funk was polished with spirited horns, titillating guitar rhythms, and ear-pleasing vocals. These 17 tracks encompass the group's tenure at Mercury beginning with their first charted single, ...

There are a lot of homogenous albums out there, but every so often an album drops that feels as though the band wanted to make a mixtape, and just figured it'd be easier to write the songs rather than dig ...

The eponymous third studio album from the Little Rock, Arkansas-based goth rock outfit, was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters, Marilyn Manson) and preceded by the soaring first single "What You Want." The 12-track Evanescence is set to drop ...

Hank Williams III and Curb Records had a contentious relationship through most of the 14 years he was signed to the label, and Curb hasn't exactly been going out of its way to get in his good graces since he's ...

There are 21 cuts on this Hip-O collection of Van Morrison's Greatest Hits. The interesting thing is that of these 21 cuts, only about half of them will be recognizable to the casual Van Morrison fan, as they come from ...

The first couple of albums by saxophonist Euge Groove (aka Steven Eugene Grove) made Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. His sixth album, Sunday Morning, was listed in the magazine's Jazz Albums chart, and that shift in category doesn't only ...

Recorded between 1956 & 1967. Includes liner notes by Fred Bronson. This is a superb single-disc distillation of the Platters' biggest hits, with all 15 of their first Top Forty hits, an astonishing run that went from 1955's "Only You (And ...

THE LOW SPARK OF HIGH HEELED BOYS was a big change from the quiet, largely acoustic flavor of Traffic's reunion album JOHN BARLEYCORN MUST DIE. Although the gentle opening track, "Hidden Treasure," and the meandering, mellow closer, "Rainmaker," were in ...

One of the gospel-blues scene's best-kept secrets for over a decade, Texan singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster finally achieved some long-overdue mainstream recognition when her 2009 sixth studio effort, The Truth According to Ruthie Foster, picked up a Grammy nomination. By putting ...

Walsh is flanked here by Kenny Pasarelli on bass and Joe Vitale on drums, keyboards, and flute. Production help from Bill Szymczyk helps give the record its signature sound--simultaneously chunky and slick--and brings the effects-heavy sound of Walsh's guitar to ...