REVIEWS 
ANYA MARINA > Slow & Steady Seduction, Phase II(0)
January 1, 2009
Anya Marina’s Slow & Steady Seduction, Phase II has Billboard Heatseaker stamped all over it.
ANDREW BIRD > Noble Beast
Depending on your perspective, Andrew Bird is either inching closer toward the mainstream or is still about a thousand miles away from it.
J.D. SOUTHER > If the World Was You
Souther’s Conltranesqueries strike the nuanced intimacy of Joni Mitchell’s best work.
THE DEAD TREES > King of Rosa
Though their names suggests something hollow and gone, their music is anything but.
More in this category:
- THE POSTMARKS > By-the Numbers
- THE BIRD & THE BEE > Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future
- HOLLY GOLIGHTLY & THE BROKEOFFS > Dirt Don’t Hurt
- RANDY OWEN > One on One
- STARFLYER 59 > Dial M
- RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS > Cardinology
- ERIN MCCARLEY > Love, Save the Empty
- JOEY + RORY > The Life of a Song
- TRACE ADKINS > X
- THE DONKEYS > Living on the Other Side
- DAVID BYRNE & BRIAN ENO > Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
- ANATHALLO > Canopy Glow
- ELIXIR > Cables
- BLAKE SHELTON > Startin’ Fires
- AUDIX > SCX25A
- FRANZ FERDINAND > Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
- L.R. Baggs > Para Acoustic D.I.
- ABLETON > Live 7
- DENT MAY & HIS MAGNIFICENT UKULELE > The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
- M-AUDIO > ProFire 610
- DENISON WITMER > Carry the Weight
- NICO VEGA > Nico Vega
- TOONTRACK > The FunkMasters EZX
- SONY CREATIVE SOFTWARE > Sony Acid Pro 7.0
- PAUL REED SMITH > Starla
- THE MOOG GUITAR > Paul Vo Collector Edition
- FISHMAN > SoloAmp Performance System
- WILD COMBINATION > A Portrait of Arthur Russell
- AWAKE, MY SOUL > The Story of the Sacred Harp
- CHARLIE DANIELS AND FRIENDS > Preachin’, Prayin’, Singin’ Live from Nashville
- THE ROCK BIBLE: UNHOLY SCRIPTURE FOR FANS & BANDS > By Henry Owings
- SMART BLONDE: DOLLY PARTON > By Stephen Miller
- PURE COUNTRY: THE LEON KAGARISE ARCHIVES, 1961-1971 > by Eddie Dean
- DANIELSON > Trying Hartz
- THE SMITHS > The Sound of The Smiths
- HANK WILLIAMS > The Unreleased Recordings
- MARK OLSON & GARY LOURIS > Ready for the Flood
- 11/10/08 Brian Wilson @ The Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.
- ROY ORBISON > The Soul of Rock and Roll
- IT STILL MOVES: LOST SONGS, LOST HIGHWAYS & THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT AMERICAN MUSIC > by Amanda Petrusich
- THINGS THE GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD KNOW > by Mark Oliver Everett
- SEVEN SIGNS > Music, Myth & the American South
- JOHNNY CASH > The Johnny Cash Christmas Specials, 1976-1979
- REAL MOMENTS: BOB DYLAN > by Barry Feinstein
- CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL > Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bayou Country, Green River, Willy and the Poor Boys, Cosmo’s Factory & Pendelum
- TOM VERLAINE > Dreamtime & Words from the Front
- THE JACKSONS > Destiny & Triumph
- BENJI HUGHES > A Love Extreme
- EMILiANA TORRINI > Me and Armini
- LEE ANN WOMACK > Call Me Crazy
- DEERHUNTER > Microcastle
- THE DEARS > Missiles
- LAMBCHOP > OH (Ohio)
- BLITZEN TRAPPER > Furr
- KINGS OF LEON > Only By The Night
- BRETT DENNEN > Hope for the Hopeless
- LAND OF TALK > Some Are Lakes
- THE WHISPERTOWN 2000 > Swim
- RANDALL BRAMBLETT > Now It’s Tomorrow
- OKKERVIL RIVER > The Stand-Ins
- BLOC PARTY > Intimacy
- CHERRYHOLMES III > Don’t Believe
- BRAD PAISLEY > Play
- THE ROSEBUDS > Life Like
- 10/23/08 The Dears @ Hiro Ballroom, New York, N.Y.
- 10/19/2008 Ray LaMontagne @ The Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.
- 10/13/08 The Walkmen @ The Basement, Nashville, Tenn.
- 10/8/08 The Black Keys @ The Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.
- 9/25/08 Built To Spill/Dinosaur Jr./The Meat Puppets @ Terminal 5 New York, N.Y.
- 9/10-13/08 Next Big Nashville 2008
- 9/11/08 Land Of Talk @ Mercury Lounge, New York, N.Y.
- 9/10/08 Maps & Atlases @ Mercury Lounge, New York, N.Y.
- RON SEXSMITH > Exit Strategy of the Soul
- CALEXICO > Carried to Dust
- THE STILLS > Oceans Will Rise
- THE DUHKS > Fast Paced World
- LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III > Recovery
- RAY SCOTT > Crazy Like Me
- HACIENDA BROTHERS > Arizona Motel
- CARRIE RODRIGUEZ > She Ain’t Me
- RECKLESS KELLY > Bulletproof
- CHRIS KNIGHT > Heart of Stone
- KIMYA DAWSON > Alphabutt
- BRUCE ROBISON > The New World
- TAMMY WYNETTE > Legendary Performances
- ARTHUR LEE > Love Story
- PHISH > Walnut Creek
- U2 > Boy, October, War
- NOTION SOFTWARE > Progression
- NOTION SOFTWARE > Notion 2.0
- EDDIE FLOYD > Eddie Floyd Loves You
- STEVE CROPPER & FELIX CAVALIERE > Nudge It Up a Notch
- LINE6 > Micro Spider Review
- BILLY JOEL > The Stranger
- EDIROL > R-09HR Portable Recorder
- GUILD > Willy Porter Signature Model
- BUCK OWENS > Act Naturally: The Buck Owens Recordings 1953-1964
- SIERRA > Compass ST10 w/ Bag
- SANTA CRUZ > Otis Taylor Signature Model
- GODIN > 5TH AVENUE ARCHTOP ACOUSTIC
- FENDER > Fender American Stratocaster HSS guitar in Blizzard Pearl
- AUDIX > DP Elite 8 Mic Pack
- DIGIDESIGN: Pro Tools Music Creation Studio
- RANDY NEWMAN > Harps and Angels
- BROOKE WAGGONER > Heal for the Honey
- BECK > Modern Guilt
- DEERHOOF > Offend Maggie
- DELTA SPIRIT > Ode to Sunshine
- DAMIEN JURADO > Caught in the Trees
- SIGUR Rós > Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
- THE WALKMEN > You & Me
- BODIES OF WATER > A Certain Feeling
- BRIAN WILSON > That Lucky Old Sun
- GABE DIXON BAND > Gabe Dixon Band
- DR. DOG > Fate
- MILES ON MILES > Interviews and Encounters with Miles Davis edited by Paul Maher Jr. and Michael K. Dorr
- SONGWRITING > A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE CRAFT by Stephen Citron
- THE MUSIC OF JONI MITCHELL > by LLoyd Whitesell
- JAMES OTTO > Sunset Man
- 8/21/08 Bruce Springsteen @ Sommet Center, Nashville, Tenn.
- 8/8/08 Wilco and Bon Iver @ Koka Booth Ampitheatre, Cary, N.C.
- 8/8/08 Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band @ Mercy Lounge, Nashville, Tenn.
- 7/18/08 Pitchfork Music Festival @ Union Park, Chicago, IL
- TAYLOR > SolidBody Custom Koa
- SUPERSCOPE TECHNOLOGIES > PSD330
- SIBELIUS > Sibelius 5 First
- PEAVEY > Windsor Studio Amplifier
- NUMARK > Total Control
- NUMARK > MixMeister Fusion (Mac/PC v7.2)
- LR BAGGS > Para DI
- MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND > A Thousand Shark’s Teeth
- HUSS & DALTON > Model OO-SP.
- PAPER RIVAL > Dialog
- WORKING GIRL BLUES > The Life & Music of Hazel Dickens by Hazel Dickens and Bill C. Malone
- GUILD > GAD M-20 Acoustic Guitar
- BEATLES FOR SALE > How Everything They Touched Turned to Gold by John Blaney
- THE WATSON TWINS > Fire Songs
- EVEREST > Ghost Notes
- THE ACCIDENTAL > There Were Wolves
- MARTHA WAINWRIGHT > I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too
- GUILD > GAD F-20E
- THE BOXMASTERS > The Boxmasters
- GIBSON > Robot SG Special Ltd.
- JAKOB DYLAN > Seeing Things
- LADY ANTEBELLUM > Lady Antebellum
- MASON JENNINGS > In the Ever
- AL GREEN > Lay It Down
- LOUIS ARMSTRONG > Greatest Performances of the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s
- MINK DEVILLE > Live at Montreux 1982
- JAMES BROWN > I Got the Feeling: James Brown in the ’60s
- ERNIE BALL > Slinky Acoustic Strings
- AIMEE MANN > @#%&! Smilers
- I LOVE MATH > Getting to the Point is Beside It
- THE LONG BLONDES > Couples
- MANDA > Keeps On Turning
- JESSIE BAYLIN > Firesight
- DENNIS WILSON > Pacific Ocean Blue–Legacy Edition
- THE BRAKES > Tale of Two Cities
- GEORGE JONES > Hits Then ‘Til Now: Legends of American
- WALTER MEEGO > Voyager
- WILLIE NELSON > One Hell of a Ride
- CHRISTINE FELLOWS > Nevertheless
- THE NOTWIST > The Devil, You + Me
- MEL TILLIS > Me and Pepper; Your Body is An Outlaw; Southern Rain
- SONNY LANDRETH > From the Reach
- CORY MORROW > Vagrants and Kings
- LOUIS ARMSTRONG > Greatest Performances of the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s
- LUKE DOUCET > Blood’s Too Rich
- A GUITAR AND A PEN > Stories by Country Music’s Greatest Songwriters edited by Robert Hicks
- KEN WILL MORTON > Devil In Me / Kickin’ Out the Rungs
- RAILROAD EARTH > Amen Corner
- AMOS LEE > Last Days At the Lodge
- JAMES HUNTER > The Hard Way
- COLDPLAY > Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
- Audio-Technica > AT2020 USB Cardioid Condenser Microphone
- 5/5/08 Holy F**k, M.I.A. @ City Hall, Nashville, Tenn.
- 5/4/08 Mason Jennings @ City Hall, Nashville, Tenn.
- 4/30/08 Jay Reatard @ Mercy Lounge, Nashville, Tenn.
- DESTROYER > Trouble In Dreams
- D’ADDARIO > Pure Nickel
- D’ADDARIO > ProSteels
- YAMAHA > NP-30 Piano
- WASHBURN > WB400SWCE Baby Jumbo
- TAYLOR > T5-C2
- DONALD FAGEN > Nightfly Trilogy
- SIBELIUS > Sibelius 5
- BLACK CROWES > Warpaint
- BRIGHT EYES > Cassadaga
- VAN MORRISON > It’s Too Late to Stop Now, Tupelo Honey, Wavelength, Back on Top, A Sense of Wonder, Avalon Sunset
- PETER MORÉN > The Last Tycoon
- SEAGULL > 25th Anniversary CW Flame Maple EQ / Mahogany Spruce
- M-AUDIO > Micro-track II
- DE NOVO DAHL > Make Every Move, Make Every Sound
- PETER COOPER > Mission Door
- THE KINGSTON TRIO > Once Upon a Time, Twice Upon a Time
- MARTIN > OMC Cherry
- WYE OAK > If Children
- MANDO SAENZ > Bucket
- RIGH AGATA > Let’s Call It Hope
- L.R. BAGGS > Radius Mandolin Pickup
- CHRIS CAGLE > My Life’s Been a Country Song
- COLOUR REVOLT > Plunder, Beg and Curse
- LINE 6 > POD X3
- JACKIE GREENE > Giving Up the Ghost
- SHE AND HIM > Volume One
- EPIPHONE > Les Paul Ultra II
- THE WEEPIES > Hideaway
- JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE > The Good Life
- JAMIE LIDELL > Jim
- BILLY BRAGG > Mr. Love and Justice
- MAN MAN > Rabbit Habits
- MY MORNING JACKET > Evil Urges
- KRIS DELMHORST > Shotgun Singer
- SCARLETT JOHANSSON > Anywhere I Lay My Head
- SHAWN MULLINS > Honeydew
- EL PERRO DEL MAR > From the Valley to the Stars
- KATHY MATTEA > Coal
- WILLIE NELSON > An Epic Life by Joe Nick Patoski
- THE WOOD BROTHERS > Loaded
- COUNTING CROWS > Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings
- ELECTRIFY MY SOUL by Dan Kimpel
- JAMES MCMURTRY > Just Us Kids
- VAN MORRISON > Keep It Simple
- AMERICA > Live In Central Park 1979
- GNARLS BARKLEY > The Odd Couple
- JOHN LENNON > Plastic Ono Band
- ELVIS PRESLEY > Elvis on Elvis
- TINA TURNER > Private Dancer
- 4/08/08 Caribou, F**k Buttons @ Mercy Lounge, Nashville, Tenn.
- 4/4/08 Teletextile @ Union Hall, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- 3/25/08 Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks @ Mercy Lounge, Nashville, Tenn.
- 3/19/08 Blitzen Trapper, Fleet Foxes, Ghostfinger @ Exit/In, Nashville, Tenn.
- 3/20/08 The Black Lips @ Mercy Lounge, Nashville, Tenn.
- VIRGINIA COALITION > Home This Year
- THROW ME THE STATUE > Moonbeams
- WEBB WILDER & THE BEATNECKS > Born To Be Wilder
- JESSE SYKES & THE SWEET HEREAFTER > Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul
- TOONTRACK > EZDrummer
- PAUL REED SMITH > Hollowbody II
- MARTIN > 5k Ukulele
- GARY LOURIS > Vagabonds
- NATIVE INSTRUMENTS > Guitar Rig 3
- TRENT WILLMON > Broken In
- ELIXIR > Cables
- DOUGH HOEKSTRA > Blooming Roses
- ABLETON > Live 7
- ATLAS SOUND > Let the Blind Lead Those Who See But Cannot Feel
- JOE JACKSON > Rain
- METRIC > Live at the Metropolis
- AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB > The Golden Age
- TOM DOUGLAS > Songs & Short Stories
- ALLISON MOORER > Mockingbird
- VARIOUS > Larger Than Life: A Celebration of Steve Goodman and His Music
- TRAVIS MEADOWS > My Life 101
- BUZZ CASON > Hats Off to Hank
- NADA SURF > Lucky
- BABY DEE > Safe Inside the Day
- JIM LAUDERDALE & THE DREAM PLAYERS > Honey Songs
- CHRIS GANTRY > Next Time I Play Carnegie Hall
- BOB MOULD > District Line
- XIU XIU > Women as Lovers
- JACK JOHNSON > Sleep Through the Static
- RHONDA VINCENT > Good Thing Going
- THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN > We Brave Bee Stings and All
- WILLIE NELSON > Moment of Forever
- THE FLESHTONES > Take a Good Look
- THE MILES DAVIS READER > Interviews and Features from DownBeat Magazine by Frank Alkyer
- POPULAR LYRIC WRITING > 10 STEPS TO EFFECTIVE STORYTELLING by Andrea Stolpe
- IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES by Marybeth Hamilton
- NICK LOWE > Jesus of Cool: 30th Anniversary Edition
- JOHN ANDERSON > All the People are Talkin’; I Just Came Home to Count the Memories; Eye of a Hurricane; Tokyo, Oklahoma; Countrified
- MICHAEL JACKSON > Thriller: 25th Anniversary Edition
- CHUCK BERRY > Johnny B. Goode: His Complete ‘50s Chess Recordings
- SONG MAN > A Melodic Adventure, or My Single-Minded Approach To Songwriting by Will Hodgkinson
- 2/25/08 Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses @ 3rd & Lindsley, Nashville, Tenn.
- 1/29/08 Band of Horses, Cass McCombs, Tyler Ramsey @ Exit/In, Nashville, Tenn.
- 1/17/08 Yo La Tengo @ The Belcourt, Nashville, Tenn.
- VIVA VOCE > Lovers, Lead the Way!/The Heat Can Melt Your Brain
- PAISTE > Twenty Series
- ANDERS OSBORNE > Coming Down
- PAUL REED SMITH > Mira
- VAN HUNT > Popular
- NICK DRAKE > The Fruit Tree Box
- THE WHIGS > Mission Control
- THE ROSEWOOD THIEVES > Lonesome EP
- THE NEW AMSTERDAMS > At the Foot of My Rival
- THE KILLERS > Sawdust
- SEAL > System
- RADIOHEAD > In Rainbows
- MINIPOP > A New Hope
- MARC COHN > Join the Parade
- MARAH > Angels of Destruction
- Louis XIV > Guilt By Association
- JOSH TURNER > Everything is Fine
- JOHN FOGERTY > Revival
- JESSE DAYTON & BRENNAN LEIGH > Holdin’ Our Own
- HOT CHIP > Made in the Dark
- GRIZZLY BEAR > Friend EP
- GRAYSON CAPPS > Songbones
- GARRISON STARR > The Girl That Killed September
- DOUG STONE > My Turn
- DEANA CARTER > The Chain
- CROSS CANADIAN RAGWEED > Mission California
- CHRIS STILLS > Chris Stills
- B.J. THOMAS > Love to Burn
- BEACH HOUSE > Devotion
- NIRVANA > Unplugged In New York
- BOB DYLAN > The Other Side of the Mirror: Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965
- RESPECT YOURSELF > The Stax Records Story
- MERLE HAGGARD > Legends of American Music: Merle Haggard-The Original Outlaw
- LED ZEPPELIN > The Song Remains the Same
- JOY DIVISION > Unknown Pleasures; Closer; Still
- 10/30/07 The Whigs @ Exit/In, Nashville, Tenn.
- EMMA POLLOCK > Watch the Fireworks
- ANN WILSON > Hope and Glory
- MINDY SMITH > My Holiday
- SUZY BOGGUSS > Sweet Danger
- FERRABY LIONHEART > Catch the Brass Ring
- HEAVY TRASH > Going Way Out With Heavy Trash
- THE EVERYBODYFIELDS > Nothing Is Okay
- LEVON HELM > Dirt Farmer
- CHUCK PROPHET > Soap and Water
- THE SADIES > New Seasons
- LES SAVY FAV > Let’s Stay Friends
- RED STICK RAMBLERS > Made In The Shade
- VARIOUS ARTISTS > Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
- SERENA RYDER > If Your Memory Serves You Well
- NORTH TWIN > Falling Apart
- DAVE MORRISON > A Little Farther Down The Line
- WILL HOGE > Draw the Curtains
- DAN COHEN > Dan Cohen
- DEADSTRING BROTHERS > Silver Mountain
- VANESSA CARLTON > Heroes and Thieves
- TH’ LEGENDARY SHACK*SHAKERS > Swampblood
- TAKEN BY TREES > Open Field
- MICHAEL STANLEY > The Soft Addictions
- GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS > This Is Somewhere
- DEVENDRA BANHART > Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
- THE WRIGHTS > Self-titled
- STEVE FORBERT > Strange Names & New Sensations
- FIERY FURNACES > Widow City
- JONI MITCHELL > Shine
- THE GREATEST MUSIC NEVER SOLD by Dan LeRoy
- MILLION DOLLAR BASH > BOB DYLAN, THE BAND, AND THE BASEMENT TAPES by Sid Griffin
- TWENTY THOUSAND ROADS > THE BALLAD OF GRAM PARSONS AND HIS COSMIC AMERICAN MUSIC by David N. Meyer
- COWBOY JACK CLEMENT > Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: Cowboy Jack Clement’s Home Videos
- BRYAN FERRY > Dylanesque Live-The London Sessions
- JOHNNY CASH > The Johnny Cash TV Show
- ALLEN TOUSSAINT > Toussaint
- FRANK SINATRA > A Voice In Time (1939-1952)
- WOODY GUTHRIE > The Live Wire: Woody Guthrie in Performance 1949
- BILLIE HOLLIDAY > Lady Day: The Master Takes and Singles
- VEE-JAY > The Definitive Collection
- EAT A PEACH > The Allman Brothers
- 10/26/07 Spoon @ Cannery Row, Nashville, Tenn.
- 10/24/07 Hold Steady @ Lincoln Theater, Raleigh, N.C.
- RYAN BINGHAM > Mescalito
- PATRICK PARK > Everyone’s In Everyone
- MARY GAUTHIER > Between Daylight and Dark
- LEGENDS OF THE CHELSEA HOTEL > Living With the Artists and Outlaws of New York’s Rebel Mecca by Ed Hamilton
- RILO KILEY > Under the Blacklight
- JOSE GONZALEZ > In Our Nature
- TOWNCRAFT > Notes From A Local Scene
- SONIC YOUTH > Daydream Nation 2007 Deluxe edition
- LORI MCKENNA > Unglamorous
- 7/18/07 Levon Helm @ The Ryman, Nashville, Tenn.
- THE POLYPHONIC SPREE > The Fragile Army
- ZOOM TECHNOLOGIES > H4 Handy Recorder
- AVETT BROTHERS > Emotionalism
- GENESIS > Genesis: 1976 - 1981
- DAVE ONEY > One Tough Town
- GRETCHEN WILSON > One of the Boys
- THE DYNAMITES featuring CHARLES WALKER > Kaboom!
- PORTER WAGONER > Wagonmaster
- PANDA BEAR > Person Pitch
- Best of the Flatt & Scruggs TV Show: Classic Bluegrass from 1956 to 1962,
- MIRANDA LAMBERT > Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
- EPIPHONE > Firebird Studio/Worn Cherry
- WILCO > Sky Blue Sky
- PAM TILLIS > Rhinestoned
- KAISER CHIEFS > Yours Truly, Angry Mob
- THE CRAFT AND BUSINESS OF SONGWRITING > Third Edition by John Braheny
- FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE > Traffic and Weather
- RON SEXSMITH > Time Being
- RICKIE LEE JONES > Sermon on Exposition Boulevard
- BOB DYLAN > Don’t Look Back - ‘65 Tour Deluxe Edition
- LAST TOWN CHORUS > Wire Waltz
- BLOC PARTY > A Weekend in the City
- WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN: COUNTRY MUSIC IN AMERICA > Paul Kingsbury & Alanna Nash
- DAMIEN RICE > 9
- COLD WAR KIDS > Robbers and Cowards
- JOANNA NEWSOM > Ys
- TOM WAITS > Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards
- NIRVANA > Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! (LIVE DVD)
- THE SHINS > Wincing The Night Away
- YIP HARBURG > The Wizard of Oz