New CD reviews: Prince, Trey Anastasio

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Interviews, performances

Rosie O’Donnell defends Lambert
Nov. 24: Rosie talks with Access about Adam's racy 2009 AMAs performance and how she feels that there is a triple standard in America for gay men. Plus, Rosie talks about her Broadway For All Kids Foundation.

Alicia Keys sings ‘Empire State of Mind’

Keys sings ‘Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart’

Alicia Keys performs ‘No One’

2009 AMAs: Leona Lewis ‘getting over’ the attack

Tom T. Hall, “Sings Miss Dixie & Tom T.” (Blue Circle Records)
This modest bluegrass session is evidence that, four decades after his recording debut, Tom T. Hall still ranks with country’s greatest storytellers, and his beloved wife and songwriting partner, Dixie, is one big reason why. Though the mood is generally upbeat, funerals figure prominently in “Jimmy Martin’s Life Story” (recorded shortly before yodeling guitarist Martin’s 2005 death and humorously suggesting the avoidance of hard-drinking blues songs at the memorial ceremony), “A Headstone for Harry” and the great “A Hero in Harlan,” an unsentimental look at a small-town soldier’s return for burial. Pastoral memories of dirt roads, county borders and green hills surround acknowledgement about not fitting in with the young folks. Sometimes Hall’s just along for a relaxed ride among an all-star cast of pickers and strummers, and he talks more than he sings. But then, he’s always been a great talker.

Kany Garcia, “Cualquier Dia” (Sony BMG)
Singer-songwriter Kany Garcia’s confessional rock debut is a welcome major-label departure from Latin pop divadom. Her husky tone seems built for a sideways glance at breakups, sex, aging and human indifference, but it’s the uptempo tracks that really leave an impression. Garcia’s sudden bursts of anger are a dose of good sassy fun, especially on the country-tinged “Amigo en el Bano,” a darkly funny tune about a vibrator, and the brisk rocker “Mujer de Tacones,” in which she declares she’s “tired of looking at myself in the mirror ... because in my early 20s, you’ve made me feel so wrinkled.” Garcia’s lyrics show moxie, and with a few more memorable arrangements to match, her incisive ballads could have even wider appeal.

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