Music

The Fresh Air rock critic gives his picks for the best albums of the year. Tucker is critic-at-large for Entertainment Weekly.

Musicians Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello join us to talk about their new collaborative album, "Painted From Memory." (Mercury) The two have been working together for nearly two years, beginning with the Grammy-nominated single "God Give Me Strength" (from the film "Grace of my Heart"), included on this album. Singer-songwriter Elvis Costello has recorded over 17 albums in his 25 year career. Composer Burt Bachrach is said to have revolutionized the sound of the sixties, with dozens of top ten hits, several Grammys and Academy Awards.

Rhino Records has just released "Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman." a new four CD box set that includes an entire disc of Newman's previously unreleased tracks. Newman's most popular songs include "Short People" and "I Love L-A." He's also written music for the films, "Ragtime," "The Natural," and "Toy Story," among many others.

The once post-war heartthrob won new fans with his MTV Unplugged concert. His new CD is "The Playground." He has a new autobiography called The Good Life. A grocer's son, Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born in Astoria Queens in 1926. After working as a singing waiter in his teens and then following service in the U.S. Army, he auditioned for Columbia Records and launched a career that started off with his first big hit "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

Bette Midler made a name for herself in the early 1970s at New York's Continental Baths, a club for gay men. Since then she's been nominated for two Academy Awards, and earned Emmy and Grammy awards. She has a new CD, "Bathhouse Betty" (Warner Bros. Records).

A special in-studio concert and interview with Kate and Anna McGarrigle; Loudon, Rufus, and Martha Wainwright, and other. They all sing and play on the new album, "The McGarrigle Hour" (Hannibal).

Writer and critic Nelson George. He's one of this country's most prominent chroniclers of black music and culture. His new book "Hip Hop America" (Viking) is a history of Hip Hop, and a memoir of his own life, growing up to the musical strains of Hip Hop.

The singer and pianist has a new CD titled "Sing It" on Rounder Records. It features her with Tracey Nelson and Irma Thomas. She has been compared with Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Leon Russell, and, Jerry Lee Lewis. She's been called the bayou queen of the piano. Her latest solo album came out last year on Rounder. "Let Me Play With Your Poodle." The concert was recorded in September in Austin, Texas as a benefit for the public radio station KUT.

Singer and pianist Ray Charles has a new four CD box-set out that captures his contribution to country music. "Ray Charles: The Complete Country and Western Recordings 1959-1986. (Rhino) Charles may be best known for his blues, R&B and soul music. He has won 12 Grammy Awards.

The soul musician has written his autobiography "Truly Blessed" (Putnam). Pendergrass was a popular soul singer in the group "Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes". He went solo in 1976. In 1982, he was paralyzed after a near fatal car accident in Philadelphia, his hometown. Since then he has returned to the studio and produced several albums.