Reviews

I have respect and appreciation for all genres of music, and I think Stevie Wonder's contributions to American Music are worthy of his 1989 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

It's no secret 'veteran' artists always have a harder time getting songs up the charts, as everything is focused on new and young.

The Band Perry's new album 'Pioneer' is just as dramatic, yet dramatically more steady than their debut effort. The bar was raised and reached vocally, and songs like 'Done,' 'Forever Mine Nevermind' and 'Chainsaw' prove the family trio has lost nothing in terms of lyrical edge.

There is comedy in Blake Shelton singing with Pistol Annies, as he does on his new single 'Boys 'Round Here.' One imagines a country Hugh Hefner surrounded by his beauties. In real life, the Annies likely (very likely) don't attend to his every need and agree with him at all costs, but they do on this song, and it's absolutely charming.

Women who already think Blake Shelton singing is the sexiest thing since Johnny Castle pulled Baby from the corner may want to take the rest of the week off. The best moments on 'Based on a True Story ...' sizzle, and not in that ironic "bow-chicka-wow-wow" sort of way that's occasionally implied with this singer's sense of humor. Songs like 'Mine Would Be You' are safe to put on any red

The best songs on Thompson Square's new album 'Just Feels Good' sound like a conversation between the two married lovers. Early on, their back-and-forth is light and playful. Later ballads take a more somber tone, but all that find the 'If I Didn't Have You' singers sharing lead are highlights from the duo's sophomore project.

Kacey Musgraves' Mercury Records debut album is everything a new artist dreams her first record will be. 'Same Trailer Different Park' is well-written, edgy (yet familiar) and coated in "cool." Musgraves is an original who at age 24 is surprisingly wise and adept at using her voice to share her experiences.

After reading Jeff Levack's movie review, in his weekly feature 'The Trailer Park,' I decided to go watch the film Oz. Sadly, I chose the same showing as every popcorn chomping, talking, texting, foot scuffling, candy un-wrapping man, woman and screaming child.

We are just back from hosting our 7th Caribbean Country Dance Cruise. The 2013 edition featured the singer of one of the most popular country line dances in the world, 'Come Dance With Me,' Nancy Hays.

While Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift's vocals on 'Highway Don't Care' would be enough to make the song a hit and one of the best of 2013, it's Keith Urban's guitar that makes the track one of the best collaborations of the decade -- maybe even ever. Each artist brings his or her best effort to the song from McGraw's 'Two Lanes of Freedom' album. It's a sterling example of what can happen when artists

Brad Paisley wasn't joking when he said he was working to push himself places never gone before on his upcoming album, 'Wheelhouse.' The second single, 'Beat This Summer,' is a double-take sort of record in that after it begins, you do a double-take toward your stereo or computer to try to make sense of what's going on.

If Gary Allan's chart-topper 'Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)' was optimistic, his follow-up single 'Pieces' is downright plucky. The uptempo country-rocker may be the most contented single he's ever released.