Goodnight Tender

Goodnight Tender is a studio album by American folk rock singer-songwriter Amy Ray, released on Daemon Records in 2014. The album has received positive reviews from critics and marked a shift in Ray's songwriting toward more Americana and country music roots.

Reception
Goodnight Tender received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on five reviews. Editors of AllMusic Guide chose this as a "Best of 2014" pick, rating it four out of five stars, with critic Thom Jurek noting that Ray's "use of country music as a way of getting these songs across is not only convincing, it's compelling". Writing for American Songwriter, Hal Horowitz rated this album four out of five stars, praising her experiment with genre and noting that "Ray's distinctive, always emotive voice can be tender or tough, frisky or forlorn and any combination of those, but always compliments the music and lyrics". Matt Casarino of PopMatters gave Goodnight Tender an eight out of 10, writing that Ray understands the internal logic of country music and he particularly praised Ray's voice, noting that it is "deeper than ever – she’s effortless on some low notes that would give Trace Adkins trouble – but it’s also smooth and mature, with just the tiniest trace of that whiskey-nightcap rasp"

Track listing
All songs written by Amy Ray, except where noted.
 * 1) "Hunter's Prayer" – 3:36
 * 2) "Oyster and Pearl" – 4:00
 * 3) "The Gig That Matters" – 3:41
 * 4) "Time Zone" – 4:26
 * 5) "Anyhow" – 3:03
 * 6) "Duane Allman" – 2:51
 * 7) "More Pills" – 3:35
 * 8) "Broken Record" – 3:11
 * 9) "Goodnight Tender" – 4:01
 * 10) "My Dog" – 2:23
 * 11) "Let the Spirit" – 4:05
 * 12) "When You Come for Me" (Heather McEntire) – 3:47

Personnel

 * Amy Ray – guitar; vocals; mandolin on "Duane Allman", "My Dog", and "Let the Spirit"; production
 * Jon Ashley – harmony vocals on "Goodnight Tender", assistant engineering
 * Jim Brock – drums on "Hunter's Prayer", "Time Zone", "Duane Allman", "More Pills", "Goodnight Tender", and "My Dog"; percussion on "Anyhow" and "Let the Spirit"; production assistance
 * Adrian Carter – fiddle on "Hunter's Prayer", "Anyhow", "Duane Allman", and "Let the Spirit"
 * Mark Chalecki – mastering at Little Red Book Mastering
 * Brad Cook – bass guitar on "Oyster and Pearl", "The Gig That Matters", and "Broken Record"; harmony vocals on "Oyster and Pearl", "The Gig That Matters", and "Broken Record"
 * Phil Cook – electric slide guitar on "Oyster and Pearl", Wurlitzer electric organ on "Oyster and Pearl" and "Broken Record"; harmony vocals on "Oyster and Pearl", "The Gig That Matters", "Broken Record", "and "When You Come for Me"; banjo on "The Gig That Matters"; piano on "Let the Spirit" and "When You Come for Me"; production
 * Jeff Fielder – bass guitar on "Hunter's Prayer", "Time Zone", "More Pills", and "My Dog"; electric guitar on "Hunter's Prayer", "Duane Allman", "More Pills", and "Goodnight Tender"; harmony vocals on "Hunter's Prayer", "Anyhow", and "Goodnight Tender"; piano on "Time Zone"; acoustic guitar on "Time Zone", dobro on "Anyhow" and "Let the Spirit"; banjo on "Anyhow", and "My Dog", "Let the Spirit"; baritone guitar on "My Dog"; production assistance
 * Paul Dunlap – photography
 * Susan Gramling – design concept
 * Mark Greenberg – engineering for Kelly Hogan's harmony vocals on "Time Zone" and "Goodnight Tender"
 * Kelly Hogan – harmony vocals on "Time Zone" and "Goodnight Tender"
 * Jake Hopping – double bass on "Hunter's Prayer", "Anyhow", "Duane Allman", "Goodnight Tender", and "Let the Spirit"
 * Brian Joseph – engineering for Brad Cook's piano on "Let the Spirit" and "When You Come for Me"
 * Terry Lonergan – drums on "Oyster and Pearl", "The Gig That Matters", "Broken Record", and "When You Come for Me"
 * Heather McEntire – harmony vocals on "The Gig That Matters"
 * Jaron Pearlman – additional engineeirng
 * Denise Plumb – artwork, design at Seedless Pictures
 * Trina Shoemaker – mixing at Local Honey Studios
 * Matt Smith – pedal steel guitar on "Hunter's Prayer", "Time Zone", "Duane Allman", "More Pills", and "Goodnight Tender"
 * Brian Speiser – harmony vocals on "Hunter's Prayer", "Anyhow", "Broken Record", and "Goodnight Tender"; recording; production assistance
 * Susan Tedeschi – harmony vocals on "Duane Allman"
 * Bobby Tis – engineering for Susan Tedeschi's harmony vocals on "Duane Allman"
 * Hannah Thomas – harmony vocals on "Hunter's Prayer", "More Pills", and "Broken Record"; vocals on "When You Come for Me"
 * Justin Vernon – vocal harmonies on "Oyster and Pearl", "The Gig That Matters", "Broken Record", "Let the Spirit", and "When You Come for Me"; banjo on "Oyster and Pearl"; mandolin on "The Gig That Matters"; slide mandolin on "Broken Record"; electric guitar on "When You Come for Me"