Kate Hudson spent much of her career orbiting the center of rock & roll so the transition from acting to singing doesnt seem awkward in the slightest on Glorious, her debut album. Hudson spends the record on comfortable ground thanks to her chief collaborators Danny Fujikawa -- the onetime leader of Chief and Hudsons domestic partner since 2016 -- and Linda Perry, the superstar producer who encouraged the actress to follow her dream of writing and performing music after hearing Hudson sing for a charity event at a school both their children attend. Perrys schedule didnt allow for her to complete Glorious, giving Hudson and Fujikawa the opportunity to work with Johan Carlsson, an associate of Max Martin who found success co-writing with Ariana Grande. Having two prominent producers as collaborators winds up putting the spotlight on Hudson herself, as her passionate, full-throated vocals -- raspy without seeming ragged, powerful yet controlled -- are the focal point throughout the record. Unsurprisingly for an actress who became a star playing Penny Laine, the chief "Band Aid" in Cameron Crowes album rock epic Almost Famous, Hudson is firmly rooted in classic rock, displaying clear debts to such 70s titans as Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks. The trick Hudson pulls off on Glorious is that her classicism never seems staid: its bright, lively, fresh and fun, tuneful, and knowing without succumbing to rote, respectful tropes of traditionalism. Part of the reason Glorious sounds so engaging is that shes working with Perry and Carlsson, pop producers who are keenly aware of fashion but who also know Hudson isnt gunning for the Top 40. Instead, the team knows how to give the insistent "Romeo" and pulsating "Fire" a New Wave sheen and how to let the power chords of "Gonna Find Out" settle into a blues-rock groove thats as slick as it is earthy. Similarly, there are both dimension and depth to the quieter moments -- "Live Forever" builds from a hushed acoustic guitar to a lovely shimmer of harmonies and strings -- that emphasis emotion instead of overwhelming it. The suppleness of the production mirrors Hudsons range -- she not only adeptly handles the shifts in style and tone, but provides the music with a dynamic center. Perhaps Hudson is indeed a bit of a throwback to another era -- not so much the 70s as the dawn of the 2000s, when Sheryl Crow made this kind of colorful classic rock a radio staple -- but Glorious shows shes a rock star in her own right. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rovi