Review: Pavement Hasn't Run Out for Stephen Malkmus on Nostalgia-Defying 'Mirror'
August, 23, 2011 12:33 pm | Comments On #alt-rock, Beck, Chris Willman, indie-rock, music, Pavement, reviews, Stephen MalkmusWhen Pavement reunited for a series of major shows in 2010 after splitting a decade earlier, frontman Stephen Malkmus indicated that it was a one-time affair, and nothing he’s said since has afforded any more hope to the indie nation that continues to venerate the ‘90s band. End of the asphalt -- for real? Apparently.
As consolation prizes go, though, Malkmus’ new album, “Mirror Traffic,” is a corker.
His fifth post-Pavement album unites him for the first time with another alt-rock golden-age icon, Beck, whose sharp production instincts result in the crispest, coolest, most user-friendly...
Read MoreReview: Miranda Lambert's Side Project, Pistol Annies, Pull Trigger on 2011's Best Country Album
August, 22, 2011 5:41 pm | Comments On #Chris Willman, country music, miranda lambert, music, Pistol Annies, reviewsMiranda Lambert’s fourth solo album is due in October, and, if experience is any guide, it’ll be a strong contender for the year’s best country album. Suddenly, though, she’s facing some strong competition for that title from … herself.
Just two months before she jumps back into the fray on her own, Lambert has released “Hell on Heels,” the debut album from her side-project trio, Pistol Annies, which features Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley as fellow gunslingers.
Far from the goofy throwaway you might imagine, it’s the closest thing to an instant country classic to come out so far this year...
Read MoreReview: Barbra Streisand's Gracefully Aging Voice Is 'What Matters Most'
August, 22, 2011 1:27 pm | Comments On #Alan and Marilyn Bergman, barbra streisand, Chris Botti, Chris Willman, Frank Sinatra, music, Patrick Williams, reviewsIs it possible Barbra Streisand’s voice could actually get better with age?
That seems like an iffy proposition, with 70 around the corner next year and an upper range that can’t last forever. Yet she’s never sounded more appealing than she does on her 33rd studio album, “What Matters Most: Barbra Streisand Sings the Lyrics of Alan and Marilyn Bergman.”
The occasional slight rasp in her voice -- we’re talking very slight -- makes her sound almost human. The intersection of near-perfection and near-mortal turns out to be a sweet spot.
The new album hasn’t been as...
Read MoreReview: O Brother, There Are Lots of Alternate Takes in the Revised Soundtrack
August, 22, 2011 12:17 pm | Comments On #Allison Krauss, Chris Willman, Coen Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Grammys, music, O Brother, Ralph Stanley, reviews, T Bone BurnettIf the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack had merely gone platinum, it would have been the unlikeliest million-seller of all time. But, having actually sold a staggering 8 million copies, the salute to vintage hillbilly music represented something more like a tear in the space-time continuum -- an inexplicable trip to an alternate America where, for a few wonderful minutes, the Stanley Brothers were even bigger than the Backstreet Boys.
If you’re feeling nostalgic for the 1930s nostalgia of the early 2000s, consider yourself in luck. The “O Brother” phenomenon is revisited in a new 10th...
Read MoreMusic Charts: Jay-Z & Kanye Fall Short; Katy Perry Ties Jackson's Singles Record
August, 17, 2011 12:02 pm | Comments On #album sales, Billboard, blake shelton, Chris Willman, christina aguilera, Eric Church, Glee, Glee 3D, jason aldean, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Katy Perry, lfmao, Luke Bryan, Maroon 5, Michael Jackson, missy elliott, music, soundScan, Trace Adkins, Zac Brown BandDoes nearly a half-million copies sold constitute the glass being half-full or half-empty? That’s the question with Jay-Z and Kanye West’s enormously ballyhooed joint project, ”Watch the Throne,” which debuted with first-week sales of 436,000, a strong but less-kingly-than-expected tally.
But the news was much better for Katy Perry: She finally assumed a throne she’s had her eye on for a while
The take for “Watch the Throne” will be spun in different ways, taking into account the peculiarities of its release. For the first four days of the week, the Jay-Z/West album was an iTunes exclusive...
Read MoreReview: After 29 Years, Sly Stone Is 'Back' -- Well, in Name at Least
August, 16, 2011 9:34 am | Comments On #album review, Ann Wilson, Bootsy Collins, Chris Willman, funk, music, Sly & the Family Stone, Sly Stone, SoulContrary to expectations, Sly Stone actually manages to show up for his first album in 29 years, “I’m Back! Family & Friends.”
That can be a mixed blessing.
As anyone who’s been to one of Stone’s rare, generally catastrophic concerts can attest, the 68-year-old recluse’s modern-day gigs tend to be serviceable Sly & the Family Stone tribute shows that go along just fine ... until the man himself appears.
If you want to add some sadness to your day, check out the YouTube footage from Stone’s visitation to last year...
Read MoreReview: The Motels' Great Lost 'Apocalypso' Worth the 3-Decade Wait
August, 15, 2011 2:29 pm | Comments On #album review, Chris Willman, Martha Davis, Motels, musicIt’s never too late for a shelved album to get released from the vault. Some suppressed projects, like Prince’s “The Black Album,” only gather dust for a few years before seeing the light of day. Others might take 45 years – like the Beach Boys’ “Smile,” the original tapes of which are supposedly being pieced together for pop history’s most seriously belated official release.
Nothing else in the rock era is going to rival “Smile” for a conception-to-light-of-day gap. But the Motels’ “Apocalypso” might set a new mark for greatest time...
Read MoreReview: Jeff Bridges' Cowboy Zen Is Cooler Than Costner, Safer Than Tim Robbins
August, 15, 2011 1:55 pm | Comments On #album review, Chris Willman, Crazy Heart, Jeff Bridges, music, Rosanne Cash, Sam Phillips, T Bone Burnett, The Big LebowskiJeff Bridges has said he worried for a while about being typecast as the smart but zonked-out character he played in “The Big Lebowski.” So maybe it’s not surprising that some early reviews of the actor’s T Bone Burnett-produced new album have suggested that it carries certain Dude-like qualities.
Certainly it’s low-key enough that you could say it doesn’t strive to do much more than abide.
But the “...
Read MoreReview: 'Voice' Highlights Album a Cure for the Cover-Tune Blues
August, 08, 2011 6:44 pm | Comments On #album review, Chris Willman, Cyndi Lauper, Dia Frampton, Dolly Parton, Frenchie Davis, javier colon, Jessie J, Kanye West, music, Nirvana, Rebecca Loebe, soundtrack, The Voice, vicci martinez, XeniaIt may be that we don’t need another line of pop hits remade by barely identifiable reality-show contestants or actors, when we already have more “American Idol” and “Glee” albums than America’s shrinking music-retail shelves can hold.
Actually, it’s certain that we don’t. But if the gods have decreed we have to have another cover-tune franchise, thank God it’s “The Voice,” whose credible coaches know first-hand that individuality of interpretation counts.
The breakout series' first full-length soundtrack, “The Voice: Season 1 The Highlights,”...
Read MoreReview: Country's Hunk of the Week, Luke Bryan, Confined by 'Tailgates'
August, 08, 2011 5:03 pm | Comments On #album review, Chris Willman, Chris Young, country music, Jake Owen, Luke Bryan, musicIf you’re trying to distinguish between the young male country singers who all seem to be releasing albums at once, and you’re not sure which one Luke Bryan is, here’s the key: He’s the one with the teeth.
The really, really super-white teeth. Seriously: Just to keep from blinding us with Georgia's superior dental hygiene, the record company really should have Photoshopped those choppers gray.
As for other characteristics that might make it easy to tell him apart from fellow rural hunks like Jake Owen, Chris Young and Eric Church, that’s a little tougher.
“Tailgates &...
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Description
Chris Willman has been a frequent contributor to TV Guide, New York magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, Billboard, Parade and other publications. In a long run at Entertainment Weekly, he penned more than 20 cover stories as a senior writer before becoming the magazine’s chief music critic. His recent essay about Bob Dylan for New York magazine was selected for the latest edition of De Capo's’ "Best Music Writing" book series. Advertising Age’s media columnist included Willman in a short list of “the entertainment world’s sharpest critics.”
His book "Rednecks & Bluenecks: The Politics of Country Music" was praised by Stephen King, who said, “You won’t read a better book about American music this year — or, probably, a better one about American political thought.”
During his time at EW, meanwhile, he received the ultimate celebrity accolade from Kanye West, who famously blogged (in response to a B+ review), “Kill yourself, Chris Willman!” Failing to heed that advice, Willman has survived to live, live-blog, and grade another day.
