Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky & Richard Shindell

Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky & Richard Shindell - Cry Cry Cry - 1998 - Razor & Tie

This is an album of folk-rock covers performed by the Big Three singer/songwriters of the most recent folk revival, and it works well, if not perfectly. It starts off with the most risky number, a shimmering version of R.E.M.'s "Fall on Me." Dar Williams doesn't quite have the right voice for this song, but the band arrangements and backing vocals work nicely and the track ends up being very pretty in its way. The rest of the program is more of what you'd expect: story-songs by songwriters admired by the three performers, including James Keelaghan (whose "Cold Missouri Waters" is a harrowing firefighting tale), Robert Earl Keen ("Shades of Gray"), and Greg Brown ("Lord, I Have Made You a Place in My Heart"). Lucy Kaplansky, who has the best voice of the three, sings the heartbreakingly sweet "Speaking with the Angel," and there's a very interesting a cappella version of Leslie Smith's "Northern Cross," sung here in wide-open, medieval-sounding harmony. A couple of tunes rock out in a country-ish sort of way, and there's a nice version of Richard Shindell's "Ballad of Mary Magdalene." At times it sounds like the group members are still trying to figure out how best to work together, but fans of these artists won't be disappointed. © Rick Anderson © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/cry-cry-cry-r379274/review

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Fall On Me - Michael Stipe, Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills
2 Cold Missouri Waters - James Keelaghan
3 Speaking With The Angel - Ron Sexsmith
4 The Kid - Buddy Mondlock
5 Shades Of Grey - Robert Earl Keen Jr.
6 Lord, I Have Made You A Place In My Heart - Greg Brown
7 By Way Of Sorrow - Julie Miller
8 Memphis - Cliff Eberhardt
9 Northern Cross - Leslie Smith
10 Down By The Water - Jim Armenti
11 I Know What Kind of Love This Is - Nerissa Nields
12 The Ballad of Mary Magdalen - Richard Shindell

MUSICIANS

Larry Campbell - guitar, acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, mandolin, fiddle
Alan Williams - electric guitar, organ, percussion
Jon Herington, Cliff Eberhardt - guitar
Billy Masters - electric guitar
Richard Shindell - acoustic guitar, vocals,vocal harmony
Chuck Parrish - acoustic guitar
Richard Gates - bass
Jeff Hill - upright bass
Michael Rivard - upright bass, fretless bass
Doug Plavin, Jay Bellerose - drums, percussion
Stephanie Winters - cello
Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky - vocals, vocal harmony