Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.
Tucker is the author of Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate About Television.
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Tennessee Ernie Ford was a hugely popular singer in the 1950s and 60s. Now, a new 5-disc boxed set attempts to reintroduce Ford to a new audience. Rock critic Ken Tucker has a review.
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Veteran songwriter Donnie Fritts has mixed blues, rock, soul and country throughout his long and winding career. Ken Tucker says Fritts' new solo album showcases the musician's "shrewd ruminations."
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Now in its fourth decade of music-making, Los Lobos just released its first studio album since 2010. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Gates of Gold is "full of thick, mysterious music."
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In her first solo album, Potter moves away from the hard-rock groove for which she's known and explores new genres. Critic Ken Tucker says Midnight "sounds like the breakaway from formula that it is."
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The "Call Me Maybe" singer proves she's not just a one-hit wonder with her new album. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Jepsen's record is "adventurously diverse in both its sounds and its sentiments."
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Poems by the Russian writer Anna Akhmatova form the basis of singer Iris DeMent's new album. Critic Ken Tucker says Akhmatova and DeMent share an urge to articulate "sorrow, sacrifice and gratitude."
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Canadian musician Daniel Romano specializes in country music that's a throwback to a bygone era. Rock critic Ken Tucker calls his new album, If I've Only One Time Askin', a "moving collection."
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Rock critic Ken Tucker says the third studio album from country star Ashley Monroe "is a collection of deceptively pretty songs that cohere as a strong, serious piece of work."
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Singer-songwriter Miguel mixes rock, pop, hip-hop, reggae and funk on his new album. Critic Ken Tucker says the musical slight-of-hand that results is "excitingly diverse and vivid."
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The former member of the Drive-by Truckers unleashes his storytelling skills in his new album, Something More Than Free. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Isbell's lyrics reward a close listen.