Ken Tucker
Stories
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Revisiting the hard-rock swagger of the New York Dolls' 1974 album, 50 years later
Though sales were lackluster, Too Much Too Soon captured the band's spirit. Less than a year after its release, the Dolls broke up in a combination of commercial failure and personal misbehavior.
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50 years later, Neil Young's 'On the Beach' remains bleak -- and beautiful
The recording sessions for Young's 1974 album were gloomy, drug-fueled affairs, but the end result proves that artists can make good work no matter how hemmed-in, churlish or depressed they may be.
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Some of Bob Dylan's most raucous rock comes to life on 'The 1974 Live Recordings'
Dylan's 40-show 1974 tour with The Band produced a live double-album later that year. Now, the music available from that tour has increased dramatically with the release of a new 27-CD set.
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Singer/songwriter Randy Newman looks back on his decades-long music career
Ken Tucker reviews Robert Hilburn's biography of Newman, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country. Plus, we listen back to a 1998 archival interview with the Grammy Award-winning artist.
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Country songs by Dwight Yoakam, Maren Morris and Shawna Thompson blend old and new
Yoakam has recorded a harmonious new duet with Post Malone. Morris is stretching beyond country's borders. And Thompson — half of the duo Thompson Square — looks back to the roots of honky-tonk.
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Holiday offerings by Ben Folds and others offer devout takes on the season
Rock critic Ken Tucker picks his favorite new Christmas songs, including "Christmas Time Rhyme," by Ben Folds; "Glow," by Little Big Town; and "Maybe this Christmas," by Jason Kelce and Stevie Nicks.
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Women hit-makers brought aggression and vulnerability to pop music in 2024
The year in pop pivoted around a trio of artists — Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan — whose music hinged upon assertions of creative ambition and admissions of romantic weakness.
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Ringo Starr radiates confidence and ease on the country album 'Look Up'
The rhythmic sense that made Ringo a great rock drummer guides his vocals here. The result is relaxed authority that usually only a genius like Willie Nelson or Ray Charles can make sound so easy.
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New songs by Teddy Swims, Benjamin Booker and Neil Young let loose with big emotions
Rock critic Ken Tucker recommends three songs that are recent additions to his playlist: "Are You Even Real," by Swims; "Same Kind of Lonely," by Booker; and "big change," by Young.
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Albums by Lucy Dacus and Jeffrey Lewis show the range of confessional songwriting
Dacus mixes confession and intimacy on Forever is a Feeling. The EVEN MORE Freewheelin' Jeffrey Lewis nods to Dylan's early New York City folkie days, with a great song about the pain of existence.
