Fearless by Taylor Swift One of the best mainstream pop releases of 2008, Taylor Swift's second album is styled after crossover country-pop stars Shania Twain and Faith Hill. There may be a hint of youthfulness to the 18-year-old Swift's singing but her writing—and she had a hand in penning all 13 tracks, with six of them bearing her solitary credit—is sharply, subtly crafted and the music is softly assured. Swift's gentle touch is as enduring as her songcraft, and this musical maturity results in a small-scale and sweetly tuneful production— always seeming humble even when the power ballads build to a big close.
Neko Case looks formidable on the cover of Middle Cyclone, brandishing a sword in one hand while crouching low on a muscle car's hood. It's mostly camp, of course -- the sort of superwoman image...
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The first sound on Back in Black is the deep, ominous drone of church bells -- or "Hell's Bells," as it were, opening the album and AC/DC's next era with a fanfare while ringing a fond farewell to...
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On Begin to Hope, Regina Spektor treads a delicate balance between her anti-folk past and her present home on Sire Records. Though the label re-released Soviet Kitsch in 2004, Begin to Hope is...
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Songs in the Key of Life was Stevie Wonder's longest, most ambitious collection of songs, a two-LP (plus accompanying EP) set that -- just as the title promised -- touched on nearly every issue under...
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Of course, Highway to Hell is the final album AC/DC recorded with Bon Scott, the lead singer who provided the group with a fair share of its signature sleaze. Just months after its release, Scott...
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The liner notes to Capitol's 20-track retrospective of rock goddess Pat Benatar's golden years are filled with testimonials from some of the genre's queens, both reigning (Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos)...
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Nirvana's Nevermind may have been the album that broke grunge and alternative rock into the mainstream, but there's no underestimating the role that Pearl Jam's Ten played in keeping them there....
If it weren't for his singing voice, so full of smoke and ether, one would be hard-pressed to believe that Till the Sun Turns Black was made by the same man who recorded Trouble just two years prior...
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One of the perennial complaints about AC/DC is that they've never changed -- and if that's true, High Voltage is the blueprint they've followed all their career. Comprised of highlights from their...
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This major-label debut from Austin-based retro soul man Black Joe Lewis is reminiscent of the '60s R&B albums he so clearly adores, right down to its 30-minute playing time. Only one song breaks the...
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Chicago Transit Authority recorded this double-barrel follow-up to their eponymously titled 1969 debut effort. The contents of Chicago II (1970) underscore the solid foundation of complex jazz...
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With its endless, droning minor-key riff and mumbled vocals, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is arguably the most notorious song of the acid rock era. According to legend, the group was so stoned when they...
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Disney's Pixar films have been about as consistent as the sunrise since 1995's Toy Story, but the same cannot be said for the requisite musical numbers that have served as convenient bathroom breaks...
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Using the textured soundscapes of The Bends as a launching pad, Radiohead delivered another startlingly accomplished set of modern guitar rock with OK Computer. The anthemic guitar heroics present on...
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Pablo Honey in no way was adequate preparation for its epic, sprawling follow-up, The Bends. Building from the sweeping, three-guitar attack that punctuated the best moments of Pablo Honey, Radiohead...
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AC/DC's hot streak began to draw to a close with For Those About to Rock We Salute You. While Back in Black was infused with the energy and spirit of paying tribute to Bon Scott, it became apparent...
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Let There Be Rock, the fourth AC/DC album -- and first to see simultaneous international release -- is as lean and mean as the original lineup ever got. Shaved down to the bone -- there are only...
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Few debut albums can boast as consistently solid an effort as the self-titled Chicago Transit Authority (1969). Even fewer can claim to have enough material to fill out a double-disc affair. Although...
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Ritual de lo Habitual served as Jane's Addiction's breakthrough to the mainstream in 1990 (going gold and reaching the Top 20), and remains one of rock's all-time sprawling masterpieces. While its...
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Paranoid was not only Black Sabbath's most popular record (it was a number one smash in the U.K., and "Paranoid" and "Iron Man" both scraped the U.S. charts despite virtually nonexistent radio play),...
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Although Jane's Addiction's 1987 self-titled debut was an intriguing release (few alternative bands at the time had the courage to mix modern rock, prog rock, and heavy metal together), it paled in...
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Verve's Jazz for Kids: Sing, Clap, Wiggle and Shake is a wonderful collection of kid-friendly novelty tunes by some of the biggest names in jazz. Fun, funny, and breezy, the collection will have both...
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There's little question that Dierks Bentley has good taste, as well as a burning desire to be part of the tradition of rough, rugged, and sensitive hard country singers. In particular, he styles...
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The official release of The Basement Tapes -- which were first heard on a 1968 bootleg called The Great White Wonder -- plays with history somewhat, as Robbie Robertson overemphasizes the Band's...
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Heart had a pair of greatest-hits collections to their credit by 1997, but both did not contain all the renowned studio versions of their classic hits from the '70s (both 1980's Heart Greatest Hits:...
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![Chicago II [Bonus Tracks]](http://images.alibris.com/cover/f38065e9yd5_t.jpg)
