Music

Rock critic Ken Tucker thinks that new albums from Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakum might appeal to people who were once turned off by country music's old-fashioned sound.

Jazz critic Francis Davis reviews a new greatest hits collection of the late blues singer Big Joe Turner, whose voice and presence were larger than life.

Ted Hawkins busked in Venice Beach for years before recording his first album; he was in his 40s. Now 51, he has a new album called Happy Hour, which blends blues, soul and pop. While the singer is popular in England, rock critic Ken Tucker says Hawkins deserves more recognition in his home country.

Whitney Houston's new album, Whitney, debuted at the top of the pop charts, in part fueled by its hit single, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." Rock critic Ken Tucker says the songs are thinner than those on her last album, and wonders if they'll be enough to sustain her immense popularity.

Soprano Benita Valente isn't as visible as some of her peers, in part because she hasn't recorded as much as other opera stars. Lloyd Schwartz hopes a new album of lieder will raise Valente's profile.

On this edition of Secret Harmonies, Ken Tucker looks at "City Slicker" by soul musician J. Blackfoot, "Doppelganger" by rock group Kid Creole and the Coconuts, fronted by August Darnell, and "Forget About the Danger Think of the Fun" by rockabilly group The Leroi Brothers. (PARTIAL REVIEW)

On this edition of "Hearing Secret Harmonies," rock critic Ken Tucker will review the television special "Motown: Yesterday, Today, Forever," and share some of the music "you didn't hear on the special," including songs by Jackie Wilson and Smokey Robinson. (PARTIAL REVIEW)

More than 50 years after the release of her first album, Raitt's voice remains a subtle instrument: earthy with an ache around the edges. Its sly intimacy is, as always, a deep pleasure.

Two new trio albums by tenor saxophonists who won the Thelonious Monk jazz competition share a conspicuous influence — vintage Sonny Rollins.

Best known for her roles in films like Five Easy Pieces and Easy Rider, Black, who died in 2013, also recorded music in the 1970s. A new album highlights some of her strongest work.