Music

Magic, Bruce Springsteen's first studio album with the E Street Band in five years, came out earlier this month. The event has occasioned at least a pair of network-TV appearances — including a live morning concert on NBC's Today show and a mortifying 60 Minutes interview.

Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker says Springsteen's approach to promoting the album — and the way the news media are receiving it — says something about both the state of the media (precarious) and Springsteen's place in American pop culture.

Rock historian Ed Ward reviews the new classic rock box set Rockin' Bones: 1950s Punk and Rockabilly. Hits from Elvis, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee light up this 101-track, four-disc collection produced by Rhino Records

Fresh Air's rock critic reviews Is It News, the new album from Texas blues musician Doyle Bramhall. He's had two previous discs, but this is the first collection where the songs are all his own.

The singer, songwriter and drummer has played in his own band, the Chessmen, and with a host of Texas music titans from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Marcia Ball.

Fresh Air's jazz critic reviews a remastering of trumpeter Lee Morgan's 1956 Lee Morgan, Volume 2: Sextet.

Fresh Air's rock critic reviews Revival, the new solo album from the onetime Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman.

Fogerty is a noted songwriter, responsible for the standard "Proud Mary" and nine other Top 10 singles for CCR between 1969 and 1971 alone. The band split in 1972.

Revival, due out Oct. 2, carries 12 new originals from the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer.

Fresh Air's jazz critic reviews Quartet, a live performance from the McCoy Tyner Quartet, featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jeff "Tain Watts.

The album, recorded on New Year's Eve 2006, leads off a new series of recordings from McCoy Tyner, and is the first recording on the new McCoy Tyner Music label.

Fresh Air's rock critic reviews The Con, the fifth album from Canadian duo Tegan and Sara.

The Calgary natives — they're twins, named Tegan and Sara Quin — have seen their music used to score a number of American TV shows, including Grey's Anatomy, The L Word and Medium.

Fresh Air's music critic Milo Miles considers the work of the art-punk band Sonic Youth; the group's 1988 album Daydream Nation has just been reissued in a deluxe double-CD edition.

Following up on their platinum debut album, Into the Rush, the sister act Aly & AJ serves up an album heavy on the teen-relationship tunes.

Insomniatic is just the latest in a multimedia onslaught from the sisters Michalka that includes TV roles, Aly & AJ books, a clothing line, an Xbox game, dolls and the inevitable calendar.

Fresh Air's rock critic has a review of the album.

Fresh Air's jazz critic reviews two new CD reissues originally recorded in the fall of 1958.

Everybody Digs Bill Evans, featuring the legendary jazz pianist, includes a track left off the original issue of the recording.

We Three, featuring the Tennessee-born pianist Phineas Newborn, showcases his phenomenal technique alongside the contributions of drummer Roy Haynes and bassman Paul Chambers.

During his heyday in the early 1970s, shock-rock icon Alice Cooper dressed like a ghoul with a gaunt face and mascara-streaked eyes. His hits included "I'm Eighteen," "School's Out" and "Welcome to My Nightmare." In a memoir — Alice Cooper: Golf Monster, he recounts how he used his obsession with golf to overcome his addiction to alcohol.

This interview was originally broadcast on May 17, 2007.

On his third album, Up Front & Down Low, singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson covers classic country songs including "She Thinks I Still Care," "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers," and "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone." On his earlier discs, including his self-titled 2000 debut and 2006's Separate Ways, Thompson performed more of his own songs. He's also appeared on various recordings with his parents, the British folk-rock legends Richard and Linda Thompson.

Sinatra, Streisand, Rosemary Clooney and Tony Bennett — even Fred Astaire — have all recorded their songs: The husband-and-wife team of Marilyn and Alan Bergman has been writing irresistible tunes together for 50 years.

Saxophonist Harry Allen and singer-instrumentalist Eddie Erickson are just two of the performers on a new CD, The Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet Perform Music From 'Guys and Dolls'. Erickson, who's best known as a guitarist, is featured on the disc as a vocalist, singing Frank Loesser's tunes alongside Rebecca Kilgore.

Max Roach, the pioneering jazz drummer and bebop innovator, died this week at age 83. Roach was considered the greatest drummer of all time by his peers. He played with Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis. "Max was one of the founders and original members of the A-Team of bebop," said musician Quincy Jones. "Outside of losing a giant and an innovator, I've lost a great, great friend. Thank God he left a piece of his soul on his recordings so that we'll always have a part of him with us." Roach spoke to Terry Gross on June 25, 1987.

Eugene Hütz is the charismatic front man of the gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello. The multinational, multiethnic group includes a violinist, guitarist, accordionist and bass player. Hütz himself hails from Ukraine; he appeared in the film Everything is Illuminated alongside Elijah Wood. Gogol Bordello's new album is Super Taranta.

Celebrated salsa musician is the subject of the film El Cantante. Our music critic takes a look at his career, marked by dazzling musical highs and personal lows including heroin addiction and a suicide attempt.

Singer-songwriter Ben Vaughn talks with Fresh Air producer Amy Salit about Lee Hazlewood, who died Saturday at age 78. Hazlewood was best known for writing Nancy Sinatra's hit "These Boots are Made For Walkin'," and his songs were recorded by other pop stars including Elvis Presley, Nick Cave and Courtney Love. But he had a recording career of his own as well, and he influenced a generation of rockers. Vaughn is a singer, songwriter, producer and composer who's scored many network TV shows and films, in addition to recording 12 albums of his own.

Fresh Air's jazz critic reviews a new reissue of Folk Songs for Far Out Folk, an obscure but iconic 1958 album created by jazz cellist Fred Katz — a student of classical giant Pablo Casals and a player in Chico Hamilton's legendary '50s quintet.

Singer Pegi Young has just released a self-titled debut album after many years of singing backup for her husband, Neil Young. Pegi wrote many of the songs on the album, too. Her main focus in life, however, has been the creation of the Bridge School for special-needs children like her son Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy. Now, with her kids grown (the Youngs also have a daughter named Amber), she's found time to get into the studio to record her own music.