The McGarrigle Hour

Performer: Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Artist: Linda Ronstadt; Loudon Wainwright III; Emmylou Harris; Rufus Wainwright
Engineer: John Wood
Producer: Joe Boyd
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Kate McGarrigle (vocals, guitar, banjo, accordion, piano); Anna McGarrigle (vocals, guitar, accordion, piano, bass); Loudon Wainwright (vocals, guitar); Chaim Tannenbaum (vocals, whistle, mandolin); Rufus Wainwright, Jane McGarrigle (vocals, piano); Martha Wainwright, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Lily Lanken, Dane Lanken, Sylvan Lanken (vocals); Philippe Tartartcheff (spoken vocals); Michel Pepin (guitar, mandolin, bass, drums); Joel Zifkin (violin); Tom Mennier (piano); John McColgan (drums, percussion). Recorded at Le Studio Morin Heights, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada and Studio Frission, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Includes liner notes by Jane McGarrigle. Personnel: Kate McGarrigle (vocals, guitar, banjo, accordion, piano); Anna McGarrigle (vocals, guitar, accordion, piano); Martha Wainwright (vocals, guitar); Chaim Tannenbaum (vocals, mandolin); Rufus Wainwright (vocals, piano); Emmylou Harris, Dane Lanken, Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Michel Pepin (guitar, mandolin); Joel Zifkin (violin); John McColgan (drums, percussion). Audio Mixers: John Wood ; Michel Pepin. Recording information: Studio Frisson, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Studio Morin Hieght, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada. Photographers: Randy Saharuni; Anna McGarrigle. Arrangers: Dane Lanken; Kate McGarrigle; Anna McGarrigle; Chaim Tannenbaum. This elegantly produced family album contains an embarassment of riches. For the McGarrigles aren't just any family. Besides sisters Kate and Anna (and Jane), there's Kate's ex-husband Loudon Wainwright, their singer/songwriter offspring Rufus and Martha Wainright as well as old friends like multi-instrumentalist Chaim Tannebaum and producer Joe Boyd. Add guests Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris and the table can get a little crowded here. The atmosphere never loses that saving intimacy however. Each individual is allowed his or her moment in the limelight--Rufus shines especially on his original "Heartburn," Martha on hers, "Year Of the Dragon." Most of the numbers are old-timey parlor songs--whether public domain traditional folk, Stephen Foster's "Gentle Annie" or Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do." The McGarrigles' special gift has always been to invest this homespun material with something other than "traditional" values. This get-together--the sisters' best record in years--is no exception. Their music remains sharp and pungent, a little acerbic, and always mindful of the tragic undercurrent lurking beneath the surface warmth.

Entertainment Weekly (10/16/98, p.88) - "...The communal vibe and organically elegant performances make this a poignant meditation on the meaning of family and the power of shared history." - Rating: A-

Active from the 1970s on, Canadian sisters Kate & Anna McGarrigle possess voices that blend in the magical ways that only those of siblings can, and are both powerfully affecting songwriters. While their music is nominally in the folk-rock vein, their arrangements draw from diverse sources and lend a bracing sense of place, community, and family to their music.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25