Gary Dretzka

Linda Ronstadt Winter Light (Elektra) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Musical sojourner Linda Ronstadt returns to the pop arena for the first time since 1989's "Cry Like a Rainstorm . . ." and her...

James Taylor Live(Columbia) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Geezer alert: Anyone under 30 is excused from reading any further. James Taylor-unlike rockers Jerry Garcia and Neil Young-is among a small group of '60s-era...

Melissa Ferrick Massive Blur (Atlantic) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) A pop belter from Boston, this singer-songwriter's first album delivers the same kind of jolt that came in first hearing Melissa Etheridge's debut disc....

Various artists Common Thread: Songs of the Eagles (Giant) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) The Eagles were the quintessential '70s California rock group, before that term became synonymous with egregious self-indulgence and wimpy musicality....

Various artists Conmemorativo: A Tribute to Gram Parsons (Rhino) (STAR)(STAR) Various artists Love Gets Strange: The Songs of John Hiatt (Rhino) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 These two tribute albums start at the...

Stephen Bruton What It Is (dos) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Another rocking singer-songwriter-guitarist from Austin. So what else is new? Stephen Bruton is the latest in a seemingly inexhaustible line of such...

Iain Matthews Skeleton Keys (Mesa) (STAR)(STAR) 1/2 The pop music grind takes its toll after time and a 25-year career, however modest commercially, is one to be admired. Iain-formerly Ian-Matthews,...

Dire Straits On the Night (Warner/Reprise) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) The Videos (Warner/Reprise) (STAR)(STAR) Last year, the popular British rock group Dire Straits undertook an international tour that was much-anticipated and vastly overhyped....

Tracy Nelson In the Here and Now (Rounder) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Not to begrudge Bonnie Raitt any of her recent success, because she certainly deserves every bit of it, but I...

Dick Dale Tribal Thunder (Hightone) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when surf music ruled and bronzed, blond American youth set the media's standard...