Duncan Sheik

This 26-year-old South Carolina bred singer/songwriter, guitarist and keyboard player
inhabits the same '60s-and '70s-style shadows that fell across U.K. bands like the House of
Love, Talk Talk, the Smiths and Deacon Blue during the otherwise glitzy '80s. With brave
accomplishment and the assistance of producer Rupert Hine and string arranger Simon
Hale, Sheik conjures up the aura of the pre-video era: groaning violas and nightt... More >

Why do I suspect that only a whiner foolish enough to fall for the depressed wacko now suffocating him all over the airwaves would be stupid enough to blame it on her? Because no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of guys who program the drums but consider it tasteful to hire out the strings to certified human beings. However desperate the biz may be for matinee idols, anybody who figures this neosensitive can fill Bryan Adams's shoes would have bet on Robbie Nevil back when these things mattered. (Grade: C)