Kid Rock maintains a remarkable propensity for wearing his contradictions on his sleeve, and more than anything he's previously released, Rock 'n' Roll Jesus finds fuel in unresolved opposites. Is he a hard-core chauvinist ("Half Your Age") or a would-be gentleman ("When U Love Someone")? Is he a God-fearing everyman ("Blue Jeans and a Rosary") or a bohemian hero ("So Hott")? These ...
Called "the Black Album" by many (due to its monochrome cover), Metallica marks the group's entrance into the mainstream, with shorter songs, simpler song structures and slower tempos overall. That said, this is an excellent album, featuring some of the best songwriting Metallica has ever done. "Enter Sandman", "Wherever I May Roam" and "God That Failed", despite being slower and more ...
Johnny Cash had been breaking new ground for a decade when At Folsom Prison suddenly made the world at large take notice. The interaction of a volatile prison population starved for entertainment and a desperately on-form Johnny Cash was electrifying: his somber machismo finally found a home. The songs, which included every prison song Cash knew ("I Got Stripes", "The Wall", "25 Minutes ...
Even as greatest hits packages go, Legend is an utter gem. Every song is inspired, in a class of its own, whether the real version of "I Shot the Sheriff", the hymnlike "No Woman, No Cry" or the sheer joy of "Jamming". Even allowing that Marley never wrote any bad material, Legend is still the crème de la crème, the heart and soul of the Jamaican people packed into one five-inch ...
Emmylou Harris has always had a way with woe. On All I Intended To Be, she seems more maudlin than ever as she sings her way through songs about loss, heartbreak, even the odd funeral. Of course, this is the kind of material Harris has always been comfortable with, but as her career and years advance gracefully, so her gliding soprano seems to breathe ever more refinement and soul into her ...