"Ain't Nobody's Daddy Now," Steve Earle & the Dukes
Last week the 60-year-old Texas roots icon Steve Earle released his sixteenth album,Terraplane. It's been touted as his first proper blues album. Sonically, that's the case, as the record explores a Texas-centric blues timeline from Lightnin' Hopkins all the way to ZZ Top. Yet Earle has always been in touch with the hardscrabble spirit of that music in his lyrical approach - that's probably why the headfirst leap into the style seems natural. And nothing on the new record sounds more organic than "Ain't Nobody's Daddy Now," a casually sung, fiddle-tinged number that threatens to go full ragtime at several points.
"Good Times, Cheap Wine," Kid Rock
"I ain't never gonna fit into skinny jeans/And Coachella, honey, really ain't my kind of scene." Just a couple of the lines from "Good Times, Cheap Wine," a song that amounts to Kid Rock's take on "Old Time Rock n Roll." Makes sense - the artist (a.k.a. 44-year-old Bob Ritchie) has slowly evolved over the course of his career from a rap-rock novelty into Bob Seger's heart-on-sleeve successor. The truck-commercial-anthem formula continues to work fine for Kid Rock on First Kiss, the just-released album from which "Good Times" is a highlight. Look sharp, country bros: This is tailgating music.
"I Want You To Know," Zedd featuring Selena Gomez
And now for something completely different: The DJ-producer Zedd has lured yet another pop starlet into the vocal booth to embellish one of his hands-above-head EDM tracks. This time it's the Grand Prairie-rooted singer Selena Gomez, who hasn't had a musical misstep in the past couple of years. Even the music snobs of the world secretly enjoyed "Come & Get It." But "I Want You to Know" fails to reach the melodic bliss of past Zedd-assisted hits such as Gaga's "Marry the Night" or Ariana Grande's "Break Free." Gomez might not possess the vocal prowess of those women, but she's capable of much more than the few notes and a trill this song allows her.
"One Man Can Change the World," Big Sean featuring Kanye West and John Legend
At 26, Detroit rapper Big Sean has already risen to a status greater than most of his contemporaries. It's still not the smartest move to actively recruit superstars Drake and Kanye West to, by their very nature, overshadow him. But that's what those men do with their featured slots on Sean's third album, Dark Sky Paradise, released this week. Their influence is all over "Blessings" and "All Your Fault." And "One Man Can Change the World," which finds Sean, West and John Legend trading verses over simple piano, could easily serve as a B-side to "Only One." I'd much rather hear Sean explore the frantic, instant-message style of the album's first single, "I Don't .. With You." At least that one gives him some breathing room.
