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Ben Rayner
There can be only one Kylie Minogue, but consider Britney Spears promoted to "understudy" status.
Our Bright Future: Tracy Chapman
Greg Quill
Relaxed and focused, relying heavily on lightly applied acoustic instruments and laid-back rhythms, Chapman's new songs range through blues, pop and country.
Greg Quill
Relaxed and focused, relying heavily on lightly applied acoustic instruments and laid-back rhythms, Chapman's new songs range through blues, pop and country.
Two discs by Quinsin Nachoff
Ashante Infantry
Canadian saxist/clarinetist Quinsin Nachoff stars in two fine recent recordings.
Ashante Infantry
Canadian saxist/clarinetist Quinsin Nachoff stars in two fine recent recordings.
Electric Arguments: The Fireman (Paul McCartney and Youth)
Greg Quill
Skeptics who can't stomach Macca in full flight will find this collaboration with producer/remixer Youth (his credits include Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy) a refreshing surprise.
Greg Quill
Skeptics who can't stomach Macca in full flight will find this collaboration with producer/remixer Youth (his credits include Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy) a refreshing surprise.
This is Awesome: Christine Bougie and Dafydd Hughes
Ashante Infantry
Somewhere between lounge, jazz and ambient pop lie Toronto composer-instrumentalists Bougie and Hughes. Their 13 low-key tracks are like daydreams set to music.
Ashante Infantry
Somewhere between lounge, jazz and ambient pop lie Toronto composer-instrumentalists Bougie and Hughes. Their 13 low-key tracks are like daydreams set to music.
Freedom: Akon
Ashante Infantry
Akon's third disc features indistinguishable tracks – mostly about a woman he loves, or has lost – with his nasal Auto-Tune tweaked vocals sliding over Euro dance beats.
Ashante Infantry
Akon's third disc features indistinguishable tracks – mostly about a woman he loves, or has lost – with his nasal Auto-Tune tweaked vocals sliding over Euro dance beats.
Tom Jones: 24 Hours
Greg Quill
The title track, a stark, minimalist contemplation of mortality and a savage denial of regret, suggested when it was released that Jones' first album of new material in 15 years would be a radical stylistic departure.
Greg Quill
The title track, a stark, minimalist contemplation of mortality and a savage denial of regret, suggested when it was released that Jones' first album of new material in 15 years would be a radical stylistic departure.
The Killers: Day & Age
Ben Rayner
It looks a bit more likely every day that the Killers might actually make the Great American Album after which they lust so transparently.
Ben Rayner
It looks a bit more likely every day that the Killers might actually make the Great American Album after which they lust so transparently.
Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins
Greg Quill
Tribute albums smack of favour-currying or debt repayment, and few provide new insights into the artist being honoured. This one's a little different because Collins made her name first as an interpreter of ...
Greg Quill
Tribute albums smack of favour-currying or debt repayment, and few provide new insights into the artist being honoured. This one's a little different because Collins made her name first as an interpreter of ...
Christian Scott: Live at Newport
Ashante Infantry
The 25-year-old trumpeter's third disc opens with the mournful "Died In Love" which recalls fellow Crescent City native Terence Blanchard's Hurricane Katrina suite.
Ashante Infantry
The 25-year-old trumpeter's third disc opens with the mournful "Died In Love" which recalls fellow Crescent City native Terence Blanchard's Hurricane Katrina suite.
Ludacris: Theatre of the Mind
Ashante Infantry
The Southerner with the volcanic flow lives up to his stage name with this schizophrenic concept album.
Ashante Infantry
The Southerner with the volcanic flow lives up to his stage name with this schizophrenic concept album.
Three operas: The Tragedy of Armide; Pearl Fishers & What Price Confidence
John Terauds
It's more fun to watch opera, but here are three new audio recordings worth considering.
John Terauds
It's more fun to watch opera, but here are three new audio recordings worth considering.
Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak
Ashante Infantry
Computerized voice manipulation is all the rage in hip-hop these days. Kanye West is latest MC to follow the trend, writes Ashante Infantry.
Ashante Infantry
Computerized voice manipulation is all the rage in hip-hop these days. Kanye West is latest MC to follow the trend, writes Ashante Infantry.
Nickelback: Dark Horse
It's surprising, really, that Nickelback didn't hook up with super-producer "Mutt" Lange sooner.
It's surprising, really, that Nickelback didn't hook up with super-producer "Mutt" Lange sooner.
Molly Johnson: Lucky
Ashante Infantry
This Toronto singer's first full album of what she has called the "old dead guys songbook" is a gem, completing the one-time avant-garde rocker's evolution into a jazz singer.
Ashante Infantry
This Toronto singer's first full album of what she has called the "old dead guys songbook" is a gem, completing the one-time avant-garde rocker's evolution into a jazz singer.
Aretha Franklin: This Christmas
Ashante Infantry
Here's a can't-miss selection for fans of Christmas music and Aretha. The Queen of Soul serves up the traditional on her first holiday album.
Ashante Infantry
Here's a can't-miss selection for fans of Christmas music and Aretha. The Queen of Soul serves up the traditional on her first holiday album.
Tafelmusik: Beethoven Symphonies No. 7 & 8
John Terauds
In 30 years, Toronto's Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, being celebrated this season, has become recognized internationally as a gold standard for performing music on historically accurate instruments.
John Terauds
In 30 years, Toronto's Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, being celebrated this season, has become recognized internationally as a gold standard for performing music on historically accurate instruments.
Taylor Swift: Fearless
Greg Quill
The quality of the follow-up to Taylor Swift's big surprise debut should convince skeptics that two years on, the young singer and songwriter is not an industrial fantasy or a one-hit aberration.
Greg Quill
The quality of the follow-up to Taylor Swift's big surprise debut should convince skeptics that two years on, the young singer and songwriter is not an industrial fantasy or a one-hit aberration.
Beyonce: I Am ... Sasha Fierce
Ashante Infantry
Beyoncé's third solo effort is a double album that purports to separate her shy, vulnerable authentic self from a swaggering stage persona.
Ashante Infantry
Beyoncé's third solo effort is a double album that purports to separate her shy, vulnerable authentic self from a swaggering stage persona.
T-Pain: THR33 RINGZ
Ben Rayner
It feels a bit disingenuous of T-Pain to rail against all the peeps copping his signature, AutoTuned vocal sound on the Billboard singles chart when no one is guiltier on Thr33 Ringz of beating that dead horse than T-Pain himself.
Ben Rayner
It feels a bit disingenuous of T-Pain to rail against all the peeps copping his signature, AutoTuned vocal sound on the Billboard singles chart when no one is guiltier on Thr33 Ringz of beating that dead horse than T-Pain himself.
Seal: Soul
Ashante Infantry
The singer/songwriter known for soulful pop hits such as "Crazy" and "Kiss From A Rose" handles with aplomb this album of classics by the likes of Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield.
Ashante Infantry
The singer/songwriter known for soulful pop hits such as "Crazy" and "Kiss From A Rose" handles with aplomb this album of classics by the likes of Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield.
Deborah Cox: The Promise
Ashante Infantry
The Miami-based, Scarborough native gets heavyweight help from producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on her first R&B album in six years, which is primarily comprised of thoughtful adult contemplations.
Ashante Infantry
The Miami-based, Scarborough native gets heavyweight help from producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on her first R&B album in six years, which is primarily comprised of thoughtful adult contemplations.
Ian Tyson: Yellowhead to Yellowstone and Other Love Stories
Greg Quill
Don't let the voice fool you. If it weren't for the epic cowboy narratives and high-country romance, you might think it's Rod McKuen on a comeback. But this is Tyson.
Greg Quill
Don't let the voice fool you. If it weren't for the epic cowboy narratives and high-country romance, you might think it's Rod McKuen on a comeback. But this is Tyson.
Christian Tetzlaff and Jonathan Crow
John Terauds
Two notable violinists have new discs out – 40-something German powerhouse Christian Tetzlaff and 31-year-old Canadian Jonathan Crow, who had a short tenure as concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony. Both men have distinctive, ...
John Terauds
Two notable violinists have new discs out – 40-something German powerhouse Christian Tetzlaff and 31-year-old Canadian Jonathan Crow, who had a short tenure as concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony. Both men have distinctive, ...
Hank III: Damn Right Rebel Proud
Ben Rayner
Say one thing for cow-punk enfant terrible Hank Williams III, the dude doesn't mince words when giving voice to his own take on the family line's storied tradition of rabble-rousin' hillbilly rebel music.
Ben Rayner
Say one thing for cow-punk enfant terrible Hank Williams III, the dude doesn't mince words when giving voice to his own take on the family line's storied tradition of rabble-rousin' hillbilly rebel music.
Burton Cummings: Above the Ground
Ben Rayner
Nineteen years have elapsed since Burton Cummings's last solo album, Plus Signs, but fans will find the big man from Winnipeg in reassuringly familiar form on Above the Ground.
Ben Rayner
Nineteen years have elapsed since Burton Cummings's last solo album, Plus Signs, but fans will find the big man from Winnipeg in reassuringly familiar form on Above the Ground.
Bartoli and Florez: Belini's La sonnambula
John Terauds
Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli has recorded a full-length opera with an excellent group of collaborators, including period-instrument Orchestra La Scintilla. But beware.
John Terauds
Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli has recorded a full-length opera with an excellent group of collaborators, including period-instrument Orchestra La Scintilla. But beware.
Kozena : Songs My Mother Taught Me
John Terauds
Fall has brought a truckload of new divo and diva discs. Two of the best rate (out of 4).
John Terauds
Fall has brought a truckload of new divo and diva discs. Two of the best rate (out of 4).
New Stompin' Tom album among his best
Few Canadian musicians inspire the kind of devotion Stompin' Tom Connors enjoys. A primitive poet-troubadour, Connors is at once a revered cultural relic and the deep, resonant voice of the common folk.
Few Canadian musicians inspire the kind of devotion Stompin' Tom Connors enjoys. A primitive poet-troubadour, Connors is at once a revered cultural relic and the deep, resonant voice of the common folk.
Music Columnists
- Singing comes second for trio of priests
by John Terauds - Neil Diamond shines bright at ACC show
by Ben Rayner - Circus: Britney Spears
by Ben Rayner - Popera roundup
by John Terauds
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Singing comes second for trio of priests
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Our Bright Future: Tracy Chapman
Tuning into new music with YouTube orchestra
Popera roundup
Two discs by Quinsin Nachoff
Electric Arguments: The Fireman (Paul McCartney and Youth)
Evgeni Koroliov: Bach Goldberg Variations
This is Awesome: Christine Bougie and Dafydd Hughes
Freedom: Akon
`I never thought this day would come'
Fitting tribute to Arts & Letters Club
