Dan Kening

Robert Cray Sweet Potato Pie (Mercury) (star) (star) 1/2 Ever since he burst on the scene with the "Bad Influence" album in 1983, Robert Cray has had one foot in...

Richard Buckner Devotion + Doubt (MCA) (star) (star) Singer-songwriter Richard Buckner is that guy at every party who sits off by himself, morosely contemplating the bottom of his beer glass...

The Chieftains: The Chieftains, Ireland's most widely known traditional music export, added some Spanish seasonings to a rousing concert Friday at the Rosemont Theatre. The sextet founded by leader Paddy...

Cyndi Lauper Sisters of Avalon (Epic) (star) (star) A cartoonish Brooklyn girl persona and a surprisingly agile singing voice made Lauper a hot item in the mid-'80s, but she's been...

Come On Home (Virgin) (star) (star) (star) Boz Scaggs returns to his pre-"Silk Degrees" R&B and blues roots on the appropriately titled "Come On Home." The album has more in...

Van Morrison The Healing Game (Polydor) (star) (star) (star) 1/2 Over the last decade Van Morrison has established a pattern of following each quality album with a lesser work. Coming...

Just back from a tour of Europe, Tom Jones will perform Wednesday in a sold-out show at Metro. Tom Jones at Metro? Yep. The prodigiously perspiring Welshman, who has gyrated...

If you haven't made plans for New Year's Eve, and you want those plans to include live music, it's still not too late. In fact, it's hard to recall a...

Todd Snider Songs From the Daily Planet (Margaritaville) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 If you like hard-rocking, iconclastic country artists like Steve Earle and Billy Joe Shaver, Memphis singer-songwriter Todd Snider is just...

Michael Angelo No Boundaries (M.A.C.E.) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Michael Angelo may be the most technically dazzling Chicago guitar hero you've never heard of. On his solo debut this veteran of the L.A.-based...