Ken Tucker

Rock critic Ken Tucker says critical darlings David Berwald and John Hiatt are striving for a commercial sound, but their new, dolorous albums fall flat. On the other hand, Steve Earle's The Hard Way -- the latter half at least -- delivers the goods.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Banned In the USA" by 2-Live Crew. Their previous album, As Nasty as They Wanna Be, was declared obscene, and they were later arrested for simply performing their music at a concert. Tucker doesn't find much merit in 2-Live Crew' often misogynistic songs, but he vigorously condemns the efforts to criminalize their music.

Ken Tucker reviews the first solo album by the Electric Light Orchestra and Traveling Wilburys alum. Known for his past complex and often sterile music, Lynne has since adopted a looser, rougher style that's big on charm.