Jay Farrar, Jim James, et al. (Rounder Records, 2012) When the American folk icon Woody Guthrie died in 1967, he left behind reams of song lyrics but no music...
Music
Chuck Prophet (Yep Roc, 2012) Chuck Prophet has been known in the alt-rock world since the mid-1980s when he signed on as chief guitar-slinger for a great alt...
The Harrow & The Harvest Gillian Welch (Acony Records, 2011) Gillian Welch has described the 10 songs on The Harrow & The Harvest as “10 kinds of...
undun The Roots (Def Jam, 2011) The Roots are famous now as the house band on The Jimmy Fallon Show, but they’ve been legend among America’s better-informed...
Working in Tennessee Merle Haggard (Vanguard Records, 2011) Merle Haggard has been a monument of American culture for almost 50 years. His life story is the...
A Dreamer’s Christmas By John Zorn (Tzadik, 2011) If Christmas has something to do with wonder and the joy of the unexpected then news of John Zorn...
Garland Jeffreys (Luna Park Records, 2011) OK, so the guy’s 68 years old, and it’s been about 15 years since his last record. And his sound is still anchored...
Hard Bargain Emmylou Harris (Nonesuch Records, 2011) Emmylou Harris’ Hard Bargain is the joyous, bittersweet album that a 64-year-old country-rock legend...
KMAG YOYO Hayes Carll (Lost High, 2011) Despite the best efforts of the Nashville industry, country music refuses to die, and Hayes Carll’s new album is...
Anyone who’s seen The King’s Speech, about King George VI and his speech therapist, knows people don’t stutter when they sing. So will singing similarly help...
