Country music

Lynne's new album Revelation Road contains both a torchy pop ballad and a startlingly direct song about her parents' murder-suicide. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the album is an excellent showcase for Lynne's sharp songwriting and fantastic voice.

The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams features a number of major country and rock musicians, who craft songs around lyrics that Hank Williams left behind in four notebooks when he died in 1953. Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, Jack White and Norah Jones are among the artists on the album.

In the liner notes to his new album, Ghost on the Canvas, Campbell writes that it's the last studio record he plans to make after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the album "has a melancholy air of valedictory about it."

Bridges won an Oscar in 2009 for his performance as a broken-down country singer in the film Crazy Heart, for which her performed his own vocals. He also sings as himself on a new self-titled album.

Singer Blake Shelton scored his fourth consecutive No. 1 country hit with "Honey Bee," from his just-released album. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the album shows Shelton's playful, unpredictable side.

The star is admired for his guitar playing, and for the way he mixes elements of country and rock music without pandering to either audience. Ken Tucker says that Paisley's new album, This Is Country Music, is less a manifesto than an enjoyable way to hear him expand his fan base.
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The singer-songwriter's new album, Hard Bargain, includes a new song about her days with country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons and a tribute to her late friend, singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle.

In 1927 and '28, Ralph Peer, a talent scout for the Victor Talking Machine Company, set up recording sessions in a town straddling the Tennessee-Virginia border. The resulting sessions, rock critic Ed Ward says, laid the framework for all of country music.

Middle Brother is a trio formed by members of other bands: Deer Tick, Dawes and Delta Spirit. Critic Ken Tucker says the group's new self-titled album reaches across decades of rock, folk and country music.

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