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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The pop star's latest release extols the potency of black womanhood in the roles of mother, wife, lover and artist. Rock critic Ken Tucker calls Lemonade a feat of "invention and imagination."
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Rock critic Ken Tucker says Simpson deepens his range and reconnects country to R&B on his new record, a concept album about becoming a father.
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Rock critic Ken Tucker says Prince, the singer, songwriter and instrumentalist who died yesterday at his home in Minnesota, was "the most inventive and prolific pop musician of his generation."
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The former lead singer for the J. Geils Band has been making albums on his own since the mid-1980s. Reviewer Ken Tucker says his latest is one of the most varied collections Wolf has ever recorded.
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The raucous singer turns thoughtful on his new album. Critic Ken Tucker calls Upland Stories a "marvelous mongrel mixture" of bluegrass banjo-picking, honky-tonk pedal steel and stark folk phrasings.
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The country music legend's new album mixes original material with interpretations of country classics. Reviewer Ken Tucker says the record shows a vulnerability that is somewhat new to Lynn's music.
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The surging voices of two female lead singers create the signature sound of the five-piece band Lucius. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the band's new album, Good Grief, is often lovely and well-crafted.
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The Waco Brothers recently released their first album of original material in more than a decade. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the music on Going Down in History is "urgent, precise and pointed."
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Raitt's new album is dominated by uptempo songs, R&B sounds and complex emotions. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the singer's distinctive style gives Dig In Deep a "vital glow."
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The debut album by the I Don't Cares features two familiar voices — Paul Westerberg and the singer-songwriter Juliana Hatfield. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the songs on Wild Stab "will grab you."