Ken Tucker

Wainwright has just released an elaborate box-set career retrospective called 40 Odd Years -- and the pun in the title is definitely intended. Rock critic Ken Tucker says it presents the singer-songwriter just the way his music does, artful warts and all.

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is the first Beastie Boys album since the all-instrumental 2007 collection The Mix-Up. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the new record is fresh and vital because it sounds so old-fashioned and defiant.

The singer-songwriter's new album, Hard Bargain, includes a new song about her days with country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons and a tribute to her late friend, singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle.