Accessibility links
Music Reviews Music reviews of new albums in pop, rock, folk, jazz, blues, classical, world, and hip-hop.

Music Reviews

Saturday

Having a Ball with Juan Garcia Esquivel

Have a cocktail. Why? Because Juan Garcia Esquivel is back... after a fashion. True, he died in 2002. But the man who practically invented 1950s lounge music — then led a resurgence in the 1990s — is being rediscovered on a CD called The Sights and Sounds of Esquivel!.

Having a Ball with Juan Garcia Esquivel

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4981512/4981582" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

'60s Icon Donovan Returns with 'Try for the Sun'

Forty years ago, an unknown Scottish folk singer named Donovan Leitch released his first single. "Catch the Wind" was the first in a string of hits that would make Donovan a '60s icon. A new box set, Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan celebrates and explores his career.

'60s Icon Donovan Returns with 'Try for the Sun'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4978990/4978991" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Calexico and Iron and Wine: 'In the Reins'

John Brady reviews In the Reins, a seven-song collaboration between soft-voiced Florida folk singer Sam Beam, who records under the name Iron and Wine, and the band Calexico — border rockers from Tucson, Ariz., known for their eclectic tastes.

Calexico and Iron and Wine: 'In the Reins'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4973748/4973749" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sudanese Christian, Muslim Unite for 'Ceasefire'

Ceasefire is a new musical collaboration between a young Christian rapper and an elderly Muslim singer and bandleader, both from Sudan: Emmanuel Jal and Abdel Gadir Salim. Banning Eyre has this review.

Sudanese Christian, Muslim Unite for 'Ceasefire'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4974306/4974307" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul' Bounces Back

Forty years ago this month, the Beatles began recording Rubber Soul. A new tribute CD features remakes of the landmark album's 14 tracks. Some of the artists weren't even born yet in 1965, when Rubber Soul came out.

The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul' Bounces Back

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4972054/4972327" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

The 'Return' of Soul Singer Bettye LaVette

Detroit rhythm-and-blues singer Bettye LaVette had a few hit records in the 1960s and then disappeared — sort of. For the past 40 years, she's been making records and appearing on Broadway. On her new CD I've Got My Own Hell to Raise, LaVette covers 10 songs, all written by women.

The 'Return' of Soul Singer Bettye LaVette

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4965908/4965909" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Wednesday

Music Interviews

Antony and the Johnsons: Cabaret to Carnegie Hall

With lush, mournful songs, Antony and the Johnsons have grown from cabaret act to Carnegie Hall. Singer-songwriter Antony channels artists such as Boy George and Nina Simone, earning an enthusiastic critical and popular response.

Antony and the Johnsons: Cabaret to Carnegie Hall

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4954080/4954170" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Culture

Laura Veirs' New CD a Quirky 'Year of Meteors'

Although she has released five albums since 1999, singer-songwriter Laura Veirs remains largely unknown in the United States. Critic Tom Moon believes her new CD, Year of Meteors, will change that.

Laura Veirs' New CD a Quirky 'Year of Meteors'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4954674/4954675" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Fiona Apple: 'Extraordinary Machine'

Music critic Christian Bordal reviews singer Fiona Apple's long-awaited album Extraordinary Machine. Six years and two recording sessions after she began working on it, Apple says she is happy with the result — and so are many critics.

Fiona Apple: 'Extraordinary Machine'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4954120/4954121" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Music

Doveman and 'The Acrobat'

Before he entered his teens, Thomas Bartlet had already proven himself a music phenomenon by releasing an album with the folk group Popcorn Behavior. Now 23, Bartlett continues to make incredible music. His latest project, called Doveman has produced the new CD The Acrobat.

Doveman and 'The Acrobat'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4953077/4953078" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Hearing New Music from Monk and Coltrane

Fresh Air

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall. It's a long-forgotten recording of a 1957 benefit concert, which has never been released until now.

Hearing New Music from Monk and Coltrane

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4949427/4949428" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">