Chris Willman
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Review: Induct Miranda Lambert in the Hall of Fame Right Now!
On her great new “Four the Record,” the Texas firebrand shows off a softer side — but she’s hardly forsaken hell-raising
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Review: Justin Bieber Now a Baritone, Begging for Pecks ‘Under the Mistletoe’
A mistletoe-driven pastiche of now and old holiday songs — unfortunately, the new ones mostly consist of tangled combinations of Christmas clichés
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Review: Susan Boyle Mines Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode for Middle-Aged Melancholia
The frump-pop superstar’s third album, ‘”Someone to Watch Over Me,” is a surprisingly tasteful downer
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Review: Tom Waits’ ‘Bad as Me’ Couldn’t Be Better
Keith Richards shows up to help the legendary eccentric rock out on his first new recording in eight years, an album-of-the-year contender
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Review: Coldplay Retreats to a Lofty Comfort Zone With ‘Mylo Xyloto’
Chris Martin and company promised more electronic touches — not to mention a heady narrative concept — but this just feels like “Viva la Vida” lite
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Review: Kelly Clarkson Provides a Master Class in Pop Singing in ‘Stronger’
Vivid, angry emotions and pure pop fun happily co-exist in the enduring Idol’s fifth and best album
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Review: Jane’s Addiction Sounds Like Second-Tier U2 in ‘Escape Artist’
The pioneering alt-rock band’s first album in eight years sounds more like mid-level U2 (or Muse) than their own trailblazing ’90s explosiveness
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Review: Shelby Lynne Addresses Family Demons in Surprising ‘Revelation Road’
On her 12th album, the acclaimed ex-country singer finally writes about the famous tragedy in her family background … and, as always, lifts melancholia to exhilarating new levels
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Review: Chris Isaak Reaches for the Memphis Sun on Elvis-Emulating Tribute Album
It’s a wonder a Sun Records worshipper like Isaak didn’t get around to covering Presley, Lewis, Orbison and Cash a couple of decades ago Better timelessly late than never
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Review: Martina McBride Makes a Nicely Restrained Fresh Start With ‘Eleven’
The diva’s first album for a new label flirts with contemporary pop and Nashville-style R&B before settling into being a honest-to-gosh country album
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Review: Joe Jonas Can’t Quite Get Into the Club With Disco-fied Solo Debut
Shorn of both locks and rock, the swarthiest JoBro leaves his siblings and their power-pop behind for an underwhelming set of club bangers
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Review: Evanescence Runs Gloom Into the Ground on ‘Evanescence’
That more adventurous project Amy Lee kept promising over the last five years? It got put in the vault!
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Charts: Freshman Rapper J. Cole Routs Blink-182’s Comeback
Jay-Z’s protégé bowed with an impressive 218,000, well ahead of debuting rockers Blink-182 and Wilco
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Review: Feist Counts Down to Heartache in Gorgeous ‘Metals’
The Canuck who broke through with an iTunes spot doesn’t have anything half as peppy as ‘1234’ this time around. But that’s no detriment to the year’s most haunting album
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Review: Bob Dylan, Jack White, Sheryl Crow Hook Up With Hank Williams’ Ghost
The Dylan-shepherded “Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams” lets a well-chosen cast of contemporary rockers and country stars rifle through the legend’s unused lyric scraps. It’s great — but hope you like steel guitar and suicidal waltzes