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.
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Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs' “Dare To Dream," Tommy Richman's "Million Dollar Baby" and Jeff and Steven McDonald's “Born Innocent" feature spontaneous sounds rooted in deep knowledge of the past.
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Swamp Dogg, aka Jerry Williams Jr., began his career in the 1960s. Now 81, he demonstrates that, in his long career in R&B, soul and funk, country is another road he’s traveled.
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Ken Tucker reviews Robert McCormick's Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey, and Robert Mugge's Notes from the Road: A Filmmaker's Journey Through American Music.
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From 18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo to 83-year-old Peter Stampfel, critic Ken Tucker says the music he most enjoyed in 2021 was recorded by artists who were either very young or quite old. -
Of the three Bee Gees, only Barry Gibb is still alive. His new album is Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Volume 1. The HBO documentary, The Bee Gees, tells the story of the group's rise.
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Burns is known for finding fresh takes on big topics, but his new eight-part PBS series about country music treads a well-worn path, leaning heavily on the biggest stars and the most obvious ideas. -
Find everything our critics loved this year, all in one place: Maureen Corrigan's book list, movie pairings from Justin Chang, music recommended by Ken Tucker and David Bianculli's must-see TV list. -
Singer-songwriter Glaspy plays a variety of instruments, but concentrates mainly on guitar on her new album. Critic Ken Tucker says Emotions and Math blends complexity with "deceptive directness."
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Bell, who had his first hit in 1961 with the song "You Don't Miss Your Water," brings his trademark compassion and tenderness to his new album. Critic Ken Tucker calls This Is Where I Live a triumph.
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Simon blends his trademark wordplay with unique rhythms and exotic instruments on his new album. Critic Ken Tucker calls it a daring record that can be appreciated on a number of levels.
