That Ritter has made what is arguably a better record song-for-song than any that Bob Dylan has released this decade isn’t a backhanded compliment.
It’s a smart move for the Eagles to market their latest album directly to the country market.
There hasn’t been a more consistent singles artist in mainstream country music over the last decade than Keith Urban.
The album places Turner in the company of mainstream country acts like Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, and Dierks Bentley
The album suggests that Little Big Town is perhaps the only currently popular band in mainstream country worth following.
Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love is an album characterized by significant departures for Trisha Yearwood.
Black and White finds the Hives making their first real effort toward diversifying their sound.
Carrie Underwood can take consolation in being all but certain to win Female Vocalist of the Year for the second year in a row.
The album is another strong effort from one of country’s greatest and under-appreciated talents.
Shooter Jennings’s The Wolf is derivative as hell and a long way from good.
Willis has four kids at home, and with Translated from Love, she was ready to put on her dancing shoes and have a little fun.
Carnival Ride simply doesn’t offer anything for the unconverted in terms of Underwood’s growth either as a vocalist or as an artist.
The album gives plenty of reasons to expect that the second decade of Rimes’s career will have even greater impact than the first.
It would be easy for someone like Bettye LaVette to allow her backstory to do most of the heavy lifting in the current phase of her career.
Chase This Light is also a return to form for the band in terms of their ingratiating power-pop.
Jones is never less than a powerhouse, and the Dap Kings match her infectious energy every step of the way.
The Chain at least has a greater thematic purpose than recent offerings by Joan Osborne, Raul Malo, and Martina McBride.
Harvey’s eighth studio album is a triumph of both micro- and macro-level structure.
These songs are never less than lovely, but they’re never really more than lovely either.
Throughout, Banhart’s mannered, look-what-I-can-do kook act overshadows his actual talent.