Music

Merle Haggard's new album is called I Am What I Am, a phrase that recalls the pugnaciousness of the cartoon character Popeye. But rock critic Ken Tucker says that Haggard's new album is neither combative or passively nostalgic — it's a collection of new songs, all of them written by Haggard, that prove how thoughtful the 73-year-old country star remains.

The New York Times calls Stephen Sondheim the "greatest and perhaps best-known artist in American musical theater." Sondheim composed the music and lyrics for, among others, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Company. He joins Fresh Air to discuss his career in musical theater.

Soprano saxophone can be an unforgiving instrument. It's hard to play in tune, and many players get a pinched or nasal tone like it has a bad cold. Its biggest proponents — Steve Lacy, Lol Coxhill — do influence Sam Newsome, but he stakes out his own turf with eerie-sounding, hoarse and hollow split-tones.

The Plimsouls, an L.A.-based band led by singer-songwriter Peter Case, performed extensively during the early '80s. The new release of a Plimsouls performance from Oct. 31, 1981 (called Live! Beg Borrow and Steal) leaves critic Ken Tucker feeling freshly enthusiastic about the continued vitality of The Plimsouls' music.

Package tours in the early years of rock and soul were varied grab bags. But none were like The T.A.M.I. Show. Filmed in October 1964 in Santa Monica, the lineup included performers who weren't stars yet — like The Rolling Stones — and those at the peak of their fame, like Lesley Gore and Jan and Dean. Critic Milo Miles reviews the concert, just released on DVD.

Wolf was the lead singer of the J. Geils Band, which led many to assume he was J. Geils. He explains how the band — with hits such as "Centerfold," "Freeze Frame" and "Love Stinks" — actually got its name and discusses his new country-influenced solo album, Midnight Souvenirs.

The Grammy-winning country-music fiddler is still recording new tracks 70 years after he picked up his first instrument. Gimble's new album, Playing With Friends, features Vince Gill, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and Garrison Keillor.

Jazz drummers leading their own bands often feature intricate rhythms and brisk, driving momentum. Paul Motian, with his slow tempos, loose timing and tunes that go with rainy days, is so self-effacing, he's almost an anti-drummer. A little rustle of brushes and the faint boom of a bass drum may be all he'll use to nudge the music on.

David Simon and Eric Overmyer met when they worked on the TV series Homicide: Life on the Streets. They also worked together on Simon's acclaimed HBO series The Wire. Now they have a new series called Treme — about the musicians and other locals rebuilding their lives after Hurricane Katrina.

After profiling Baltimore's citizens, politics and problems in the HBO series The Wire, David Simon heads south to New Orleans — to look at the city three months after Hurricane Katrina. TV Critic David Bianculli reviews the series, which he says is "like a haunting piece of jazz from the French Quarter."

Formed in the late '90s by guitarists and singer-songwriters Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, the Drive-By Truckers hit a peak of critical success with its 2001 release Southern Rock Opera. Critic Ken Tucker says their latest album, The Big To-Do, is "head-clearingly refreshing."

Wilson Pickett helped define 1960s soul, along with Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding and James Brown. Critic Ed Ward reviews Funky Midnight Mover, a new six-disc compilation of Pickett's recordings, released by Rhino Handmade.

In addition to newsreels, cartoon and coming attractions, movie studios used to show musical shorts before feature films. Warner Brothers has just released a six-DVD set of these shorts called Big Bands, Jazz and Swing. Classical musical critic Lloyd Schwartz says the new set is wroth checking out.

Hall doesn't often hog the spotlight on his debut album, Into the Light. He doesn't need to; he plays more stuff behind other musicians than some drummers do in a solo. Hall stays busy back there, exhorting and swinging the band, playing contrary rhythms, shifting his patterns and punctuating everybody else's solos.

On her new three-disc album, the singer-songwriter accompanies herself on harp and piano, with occasionally elaborate arrangements incorporating strings and horns. Rock critic Ken Tucker calls Have One on Me an anti-concept album, an extended piece that rewards the work of the listener.

In 1975, Michael Abrasion decided to photograph the blues clubs of Chicago. The pictures Abramson took in Pepper's Hideout, among other venues, have been released in a set called Light on the South Side. Jazz critic Ed Ward takes a listen to Pepper's Jukebox, the CD released along with the photographs.

Chilton, who died Wednesday from a heart attack, was the lead singer of the '60s teenage band the Box Tops and the '70s power pop group Big Star. He joined Fresh Air for two interview, first in 1991 and again in 2000. Today, we remember the cult musician.

Bach's cantatas contain some of his greatest music, but their individual sections are seldom performed out of context, least of all by celebrities. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwarz says Hilary Hahn's new CD, Bach: Violin & Voice, provides a welcome exception to this rule.

Seven years after the death of Johnny Cash, producer Rick Rubin has selected 10 more songs among the many he produced for Cash late in the singer's life. Rock critic Ken Tucker examines the end result, the album American VI: Ain't No Grave.

Singer and songwriter Mark Linkous, who performed under the name Sparklehorse, took his own life at the age of 47. Rock critic Ken Tucker remembers the man behind the albums Good Morning Spider and It's a Wonderful Life.