Playlist

Thor gives Nelly's new disc, Brass Knuckles, a B- but says the rapper gets lost in the soup of all-star contributors, like R. Kelly, Fergie, Snoop Dogg, Usher and others. What do you think of Nelly's new album? Listen to tracks and see videos on his Myspace here.

So with Taylor Hicks, Idol's fifth season winner, about to make his touring debut as the Teen Angel in a new theater production of Grease, we're starting to wonder if American Idol is producing musical theater actors more so than pop music stars? Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Fantasia Barrino (The Color Purple) and Diana DeGarmo (Hairspray), among others, have all found success and mass acceptance under the velvet curtains. Maybe the show should be renamed Broadway Idol.

By the way, Mr. Hicks begins his six-month touring run as the Teen Angel Dec. 2 at the Providence Performing Arts center in Providence, Rhode Island.

Photo: Taylor in suave "Teen" mode (Larry Busacca/Getty Images).

With less than a week in stores and as a digital download, the new Metillica CD, Death Magnetic, has already generated 242 fan review comments on amazon.com (at the time of this blog post). Four out of five stars is the rating. So I guess most fans are loving it. Produced by Rick Rubin and heralded as a return to the Master of Puppets sound, Death Magnetic is for many a refreshing return to form after 2003's muddy St. Anger. Word is circulating that Death Magnetic will enter Billboard's pop albums chart with more than 500,000 copies sold the first week. Yes, Metallica mania is back!

Photo: The cryptic Death Magnetic cover courtesy of cduniverse.com.

Glenn Frey introduced "Take It Easy" Saturday at the American Airlines Center as a song the Eagles first played in Dallas at the Bronco Bowl. A quick trip to our archives shows the date was Oct. 6, 1972 - a few months after the band released its debut LP. The opening act? None other than Jackson Browne, who wrote "Take It Easy" and was on the radio at the time with "Rock Me On the Water." The Eagles came back to D-FW several more times in the '70s, including in 1975 opening for the Rolling Stones at the Cotton Bowl and shows at the Tarrant County Convention Center arena in 1976 and 1977.

Tell us about your Eagles concert experience or memories.

Founding member Richard Wright died from cancer today at his home in Britain. Read the full story here.

Tell us your thoughts on the band and any memories you have of Wright.

Also: Sign the Legacy.com guest book for Richard Wright

The concert by Donna Angelle and her Zydeco Posse at the South Dallas Cultural Center, originally slated for last weekend, has been rescheduled for Sept. 21.