Singing Through the Hard Times: A Utah Phillips Celebration [PA]

Performer: Various Artists
Engineer: Chris Andersen; Michael Stribling; Dakota Dave Hull; Antero Puckay; Tom Rowe; David Paton; Wesley Easter; Lew London; Don Cunningham; Andrew Mitchell; Brian Hunter; Peter Engisch; Bruce Wheelock; Rich Grudzinsky; Jake Galbraith; James McVay; Marcy Marxer; Neil Young; Rob Gal; Sandy & Caroline Paton; Dave Rowe; Tony Marcus; Bruce Boege; John Dyer; Cathy Fink; Jud Caswell
Producer: Dan Schatz; Jacqui Morse; James Stephens; Captain Kendall Morse; Dan Schatz; Jacqui Morse; Captain Kendall Morse
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Tributee: Utah Phillips. Personnel: Cathy Fink (vocals, guitar, banjo); Dan Schatz (vocals, guitar, autoharp); Taylor Whiteside (vocals, guitar, fiddle, accordion); Saul Broudy (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Cindy Kallet, Jay Peterson, James "Sparky" Rucker, Ray Bierl, Ed Trickett, Emmylou Harris, Will Brown, Mick Lane, Mark Ross, Harry Tuft, Bruce Brackney, Larry Penn, Pat Humphries, Rosalie Sorrels, Art Thieme, Tom Paxton, Pop Wagner, Greg Artzner, Captain Kendall Morse (vocals, guitar); Gordon Bok (vocals, 12-string guitar); Rhonda Hicks Rucker, Pete Seeger, Rik Palieri (vocals, banjo); Ian Robb (vocals, concertina); Jacqui Morse, Bodie Wagner, Judy Cook, Julia Friend, Sandy O, Lisa Null, Ann Downey, Faith Petric, Shelley Posen, Caroline Paton, Dick Swain, Flawn Williams, Joe Hickerson, Jean Ritchie, Mary Black, Terry Leonino (vocals); Davy Spillane (whistling); Dakota Dave Hull (guitar, baritone guitar); Jack Stanesco (guitar, banjo); Peter Kessler, Marcy Marxer (guitar, mandolin); Tom Rowe, Ani DiFranco (guitar); David Bernz (12-string guitar); James McVay (lap steel guitar); Don Campbell (banjo); Russell Gores (mandolin, spoons); Lew London (mandolin); Bruce Boege (ukulele); Greg Boardman (violin); Allegra Ziffle, James Stephens, Grey Larsen, Jay Ungar, Aly Bain (fiddle); Chris Muse (harmonica); Julie Wolf (accordion); Jason Mercer (upright bass); Daren Hahn (drums); Jim Sutherland (percussion). Audio Mixer: Charlie Pilzer. Recording information: Arabica Studio, Minneapolis, MN; Bias Recording Company, Springfield, VA; Community Music, Kensington, MD; Eastwood Studio, Cana, VA; Flying Whale Studio, Cedar Ridge, CA; Ivy Creek Studios, Hickory, NC; Limin' Music, Northport, ME; Nevessa Production, Woodstock, NY; Pelicula Films, Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland; Surround In Sound Studio, Wauwatosa, WI; TellTale Studios, Portland, OR. Authors: Mike Quirke; Thomas Wolfe ; Joe Louis Hill; Utah Phillips. Photographer: Susan Alzner. Unknown Contributor Roles: Judith Simpson; Carol Rohl; Bob Richardson; John Pineince; Jamie Huntsberger; Amy Fradon; Bill Huntington. Arrangers: James "Sparky" Rucker; Ani DiFranco. Issued in early 2009 on Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe label, SINGING THROUGH THE HARD TIMES celebrates the life and music of beloved folk singer Utah Phillips. DiFranco, who championed Phillips late in his career and recorded with him, contributes "The Internationale (Instrumental)" to the two-disc collection, while Emmylou Harris and Mary Black team up for a stirring version of "Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia" and folk icon Pete Seeger performs "Or Else! (One-a These Days)." This double-disc tribute collection to Bruce "Utah" Phillips was curated by Dan Schatz, and Jacqui and Kendall Morse and issued by the last label Phillips recorded for during his lifetime: Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe. Phillips was a prolific performer, who played benefits, strikes, organizing drives, and the like, for most of his adult life, and was an inveterate traveler in the wake of his heroes like Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Cisco Houston -- he lived during a time when he was able not only to admire them but to be able to perform with them. This double-disc set collects 38 performances of songs either written by Phillips or closely associated with him by as many artists. While folk enthusiasts will be familiar with some of these names -- Gordon Bok, Tom Paxton, Rosalie Sorrels, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, Si Khan, Pete Seeger, and John McCutcheon -- others will be new to all but the most ardent fans of the genre. There is also a truly wonderful collaboration between Emmylou Harris and Ireland's Mary Black, whose reading of "Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia,," written as a collaboration between Phillips with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, is one of the true highlights in a set that is brimming with them. ~ Thom Jurek

Dirty Linen (p.52) - "Performances by lesser known artists, including Larry Penn, Rik Palieri, Saul Broudy, and Mark Ross demonstrate that, like the best folk tunes, it's the songs, and not the artists, that make this album shine."

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