Chris Willman

Review: Latest Buddy Holly Tribute Could Use More Creative Spark

September 6, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Holly's music is ripe for rediscovery, but younger rockers aren't likely to connect with a boomer-friendly tribute that wastes everyone from Brian Wilson to Zooey Deschanel

  

Review: George Strait's 'Good Time' Could Use More Heartbreak

September 6, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

The country superstar co-wrote most of his own material for the first time on his 39th album, which suffers for shutting out the great tunesmiths Strait's leaned on in the past

  

Review: Hugh Laurie Delivers Enjoyable -- If Limited -- Debut Album

September 6, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

The "House" actor is hardly a Dr. John or Irma Thomas, as a jazzy-blues singer -- but bringing them on for prominent guest spots ups the good will on an enjoyable vanity project

  

Telluride Loves Tilda Swinton, But Needs to Talk About 'Kevin'

September 6, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

As the festival drew to a close, Swinton, Michael Fassbender, and Glenn Close all soared in dark fare it may be hard to get the public (or Academy) to see

  

From Clooney's 'Descendants' to Pixar's 'La Luna': 10 Buzziest Films at Telluride

September 4, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Telluride may have peaked with its very first premiere, of "The Descendants," but Glenn Close's gender-bending performance has also drawn heat

  

George Clooney's 'Descendants' Sucks Up All the Air at Telluride Fest

September 3, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" started the festival on a Rocky Mountain high, while Glenn Close in drag and Martin Scorsese's tribute to a Beatle drew more muted praise

  

Charts: Streisand, The Game Are Both Off Their Sales Game

August 31, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Game was off his game with a still-charttopping 98,000 in album sales, while Streisand's Bergman-esque tribute sold 66,000 to bow at No. 4

  

Review: Lil Wayne Still Crazy After All These Jail Sentences on 'Tha Carter IV'

August 30, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

On what's expected to be the year's biggest hip-hop blockbuster, the self-admittedly crazed rapper threatens women, other rappers and, um, ibuprofen

  

Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers Leave Hot New Guitarist Stewing in 'I'm With You'

August 30, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

New guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has no problem fitting in, but isn’t featured nearly enough in the band's 10th album

  

Review: Glen Campbell's 'Ghost' a Moving -- But Not Entirely Satisfying -- Farewell

August 29, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

The Alzheimer's-diagnosed star remembers the arrangements that made "Wichita Lineman" soar but falls a bit short lyrically

  

Review: Jake Owen's 'Blue Jean Night' Revels in Ordinary -- and Not in a Good Way

August 29, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

The country hunk can't rise above the idealized clichés of backroads romance on his determinedly upbeat third album

  

Charts: Jay-Z & Kanye Unbowed; Lil Wayne Can and 'Will' Sell Singles

August 24, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Modestly debuting releases from the Eli Young Band and Jeff Bridges posed no threat to week 2 of the Kanye/Jay-Z dynasty ... or to Adele, whose album passed the 3 million mark

  

Review: Pavement Hasn't Run Out for Stephen Malkmus on Nostalgia-Defying 'Mirror'

August 23, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

With fellow '90s indie-rock icon Beck producing, Malkmus has an album captivating enough to make you forget about his old band ... again

  

Review: Miranda Lambert's Side Project, Pistol Annies, Pull Trigger on 2011's Best Country Album

August 22, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Sly country comedy competes with stark economic realism in the rude, charming debut from Lambert's off-hours female trio

  

Review: Barbra Streisand's Gracefully Aging Voice Is 'What Matters Most'

August 22, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

The songs of Alan and Marilyn Bergman alternate schmaltz and profundity, but Barbra's unerring phrasing makes every line sound like buttery holy writ

  

Review: O Brother, There Are Lots of Alternate Takes in the Revised Soundtrack

August 22, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

The real reason to say "oh, boy" is remembering original performances by Allison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and Ralph Stanley

  

Music Charts: Jay-Z & Kanye Fall Short; Katy Perry Ties Jackson's Singles Record

August 17, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Meanwhile, “Glee 3D” entered the album chart at No. 16 with a shockingly modest 20,000 copies

  

Review: After 29 Years, Sly Stone Is 'Back' -- Well, in Name at Least

August 16, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Eternally troubled soul star is a token, croaky presence on the re-recordings that dominate “I’m Back!”

  

Review: The Motels' Great Lost 'Apocalypso' Worth the 3-Decade Wait

August 15, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

The album offers a case study in what can go right and wrong when dark work is shelved for commerciality

  

Review: Jeff Bridges' Cowboy Zen Is Cooler Than Costner, Safer Than Tim Robbins

August 15, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

“Jeff Bridges,” the album -- possibly much like Jeff Bridges, the person -- is all about the cowboy Zen

  

Review: 'Voice' Highlights Album a Cure for the Cover-Tune Blues

August 8, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

If you're burned out on "Glee" and "American Idol" soundtracks, the less predictable choices on the first "Voice" album could cure your aversion to TV-bred cover songs

  

Review: Country's Hunk of the Week, Luke Bryan, Confined by 'Tailgates'

August 8, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Other than those super-white teeth, Bryan can't quite set himself apart from the rest of the overcrowded young-country-male pack with his third album

  

Review: Jay-Z & Kanye West Earn Their Egos With 'Watch the Throne'

August 8, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

They'd be the first to tell you how great (even Grammy-deserving) their new collaboration is -- and it's a pretty reasonable claim

  

Review: 'Glee 3D' Soundtrack Closes the Generation Gap Between Stars on 45 & Kidz Bop

August 8, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

If you've been waiting 35 years for a version of "Silly Love Songs" that isn't quite so edgy, the "Glee 3D" soundtrack is for you

  

Katy Perry Breaks Record Set by Gaga, Timberlake -- But Can't Yet Tell Jacko to Beat It

August 3, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Country star Eric Church debuted at No. 1 on the album sales chart, while Perry is poised to tie Michael Jackson's record for most chart-topping singles from a single LP

  

Review: Fountains of Wayne Sounds Rueful Note in 'Sky Full of Holes'

August 1, 2011 By Chris Willman 1 year ago

Fountains of Wayne remain rock's cleverest, hookiest group, so let's hope the spirit of resignation that permeates "Sky Full of Holes" is unique to the songs' characters, not the band itself

  
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