Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.
Tucker is the author of Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate About Television.
Person Page
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Rock critic Ken Tucker discusses the British singer's popularity and her new album, 25. "In a pop world overflowing with singers who want to blow you away, Adele wants to talk with you," he says.
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The British singer-songwriter who came to prominence during the punk-rock era of the late 1970s sings about his adopted homeland in his new album, a mERICa. Critic Ken Tucker has a review.
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Ken Tucker says that Justin Timberlake's duet with Chris Stapleton the Country Music Awards and Meat and Candy, the new hip-hop-influenced album by Old Dominion, showcase a new style of country.
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Critic Ken Tucker considers three songs by three artists: Elvis Costello's "I Can't Turn It Off," Lana Del Rey's cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and Eleanor Friedberger's "Alphabet City."
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Tennessee Ernie Ford was a hugely popular singer in the 1950s and 60s. Now, a new 5-disc boxed set attempts to reintroduce Ford to a new audience. Rock critic Ken Tucker has a review.
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Veteran songwriter Donnie Fritts has mixed blues, rock, soul and country throughout his long and winding career. Ken Tucker says Fritts' new solo album showcases the musician's "shrewd ruminations."
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Now in its fourth decade of music-making, Los Lobos just released its first studio album since 2010. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Gates of Gold is "full of thick, mysterious music."
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In her first solo album, Potter moves away from the hard-rock groove for which she's known and explores new genres. Critic Ken Tucker says Midnight "sounds like the breakaway from formula that it is."
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The "Call Me Maybe" singer proves she's not just a one-hit wonder with her new album. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Jepsen's record is "adventurously diverse in both its sounds and its sentiments."
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Poems by the Russian writer Anna Akhmatova form the basis of singer Iris DeMent's new album. Critic Ken Tucker says Akhmatova and DeMent share an urge to articulate "sorrow, sacrifice and gratitude."
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Canadian musician Daniel Romano specializes in country music that's a throwback to a bygone era. Rock critic Ken Tucker calls his new album, If I've Only One Time Askin', a "moving collection."
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Rock critic Ken Tucker says the third studio album from country star Ashley Monroe "is a collection of deceptively pretty songs that cohere as a strong, serious piece of work."