Chris Willman
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Train CD Review: ‘California 37’ Derails With Wacked-Out Wordplay
Pat Monahan has gone off the rails since writing 2001’s “Drops of Jupiter”
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Bonnie Raitt Review: For World-Weary Fans, ‘Slipstream’ Arrives in the Nick of Time
On her first album in seven years, Raitt splits the difference between quiet covers of Dylan’s most depressing ballads and reviving that greasy, slide-guitar-fueled, “Thing Called Love” spirit
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Monica Review: ‘New Life’ Makes the Ex-’90s Teen Queen Sound Sleepy Before Her Time
It’s admirable that Monica wants to act her age (31) and eschew hip-hop for R&B. But just one up-tempo club banger wouldn’t have killed this collection of droopy ballads
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‘Locked Down’ Review: A Giddy, Vintage Sound From the Good Doc
Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach produced Dr. John’s “Locked Down,” an album rife with late ’60s flourishes and a Big Easy vibe
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Nicki Minaj Review: ‘Roman Reloaded’ Is a Hot-Pink Mess
Nicki Minaj’s second album is full of adventurous hip-hop for its first third. Then it turns into the season’s least interesting, most bloated dance-pop record
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All-American Rejects Experience Growing Pains on ‘Kids in the Street’
Reaching for maturity on an uneven fourth album, the former pop-punk band All-American Rejects sacrifices too much spunk
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Lionel Richie Goes Barely Country for ‘Tuskegee’
Only Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles cuts through the smooth-pop clutter in their duet on “Hello”
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Madonna Review: ‘MDNA’ Has a Great Beat and You Can Pay Alimony To It
Madonna becomes the Material Matron on her latest album “MDNA.” It’s two-thirds disco thumper, one-third divorce diary
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Shins Review: ‘Port of Morrow’ Bogs Down in Studio Splendor
The first Shins album in 5 years ditches the group’s former propulsion for luscious, listless production. It’s not a terrible tradeoff, but what would Natalie Portman say?
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Esperanza Spalding Review: ‘Radio’ Heralds Jazz’s First Music-Video Star
New album establishes Spalding as that rarest of things, a jazz singer capable of crossing over with self-penned tunes
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‘Hunger Games’ Album Review: NPR-ish Teen Angst From Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Arcade Fire
T Bone Burnett’s quietly wily companion album for the movie eschews pulse-pounding tension for acoustic angst
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‘Once’ Review: Cast Album Not the Real Swell Season, But An Incredible Simulation
The bitter edge of Glen Hansard’s voice is missing in otherwise lovely Broadway cast covers of tunes from the indie film hit “Once”
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Magnetic Fields Review: Anything Comedic Goes on Hilarious ‘Love at the Bottom of the Sea’
If you love both Stephen Sondheim and Soft Cell, you’re the target audience for Stephen Merrit’s latest marriage of ’80s-style synth-pop and arch, theatrical wit-eracy
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Brad Pitt, George Clooney in All-Star Gay Marriage Play ‘8’ (Video)
As a pro-gay-rights lawyer, Martin Sheen was the effortlessly passionate standout in a streamed reading of "8" that also featured Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Kevin Bacon, John C. Reilly, and Jane Lynch
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Davy Jones Appreciation: ‘Monkees’ Star Wore the Mantle of Teen Idol Effortlessly
Davy Jones’ death leaves the 16 Magazine generation crying at the loss of a teen idol that never chafed at the restraints placed upon him