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...
Music
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...
City of Refuge Abigail Washburn (Rounder Records, 2011) The banjo is the most American of instruments, arriving with the slaves from West Africa but quickly...
I Know I’ve Been Changed By Aaron Neville (EMI Gospel, 2010) Put the name of New Orleans R&B singer Aaron Neville alongside those of Flannery...
Write About Love By Belle and Sebastian (Matador Records, 2010) I have a really bad attitude about the clever, collegiate, and self-consciously catchy indie...
