YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Review: Gary Allan delivers edgy new album

    By MICHAEL MCCALL | Associated Press – Tue, Jan 22, 2013 2:09 PM EST

    Gary Allan, "Set You Free" (MCA Nashville)

    Gary Allan shows younger country singers the difference between true emotion and posturing on his searing new album, "Set You Free." Allan avoids all Nashville trends and clichés, as he has for most of his 17-year recording career. Instead, he digs deep into edgy songs that balance pain and self-reckoning with gritty determination and, ultimately, a hard-earned transcendence.

    Experimenting with sounds and textures, Allan co-produced seven of the 11 tracks while collaborating with three different producers, among them the red-hot Jay Joyce. Allan also co-wrote five cuts, including the current country radio hit, "Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain)." After recent vocal surgery, the California native sounds more expressive than ever, and the roller-coaster of feelings he instills in "Set You Free" illustrates why he's among the few contemporary country stars deserving of being called an artist.

    News for You

    • The new consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony

      NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft is the last of the three big video game console makers to unveil its latest gaming system. The unveiling comes nearly eight years after the Xbox 360 went on sale. It follows last fall's debut of Nintendo's Wii U and a preview in February of the upcoming PlayStation 4 from Sony.

    • Woman on Trump: 'Somebody had to stand up to him'

      CHICAGO (AP) — An 87-year-old woman who alleges Donald Trump cheated her in a skyscraper-condo sale told jurors Monday she had qualms about suing the real estate mogul and TV celebrity. But, she quickly added, "Somebody had to stand up to him."

    • Disney-owned ESPN cutting hundreds of jobs: source

      By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - ESPN, the sports channel that is Walt Disney Co's most profitable unit, is cutting 300 to 400 jobs across the company and closing a small Denver office, a person with knowledge of the cuts said. The job cuts, comprising 4 to 6 percent of ESPN's staff of 7,000, include open positions that will not be filled, said the source, who asked not to be named because the information is not public. But ESPN will continue hiring for other open positions, the person said. The channel has recently won rights to exclusive coverage of the U.S. ...

    • Man pleads guilty in Picasso vandalism case

      HOUSTON (AP) — A man accused of vandalizing a 1929 Pablo Picasso painting in a Houston museum — an act that was caught on cellphone video — agreed Tuesday to a two-year prison term as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

    • NY Cuomo letter warns Kardashian over T-shirt logo

      ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sent a letter to Khloe Kardashian informing the reality star the logo on her T-shirt line may be violating copyright law.

    • A diversion in the air for 'Today'

      NEW YORK (AP) — Two charter airplanes carrying the "Today" show anchor team and their crew from Hawaii to Yellowstone National Park were diverted in the air to Oklahoma for coverage Tuesday of the catastrophic tornado outside of Oklahoma City.

    Show More