“A garrulous comic observer of contemporary manners” New York Times 　　 　　“She has become the classic American troubadour. People find their lives in her songs.” Boston Globe 　　 　　“An enchanting stage performer.” 　　Cosmopolitan Magazine 　　 　　“Christine Lavin puts delightful melodies behind witty, perceptive observations about life.” New York Daily News 　　 　　“Lavin knows how to keep her audience guessing, thinking and laughing at the same time.” Washington Post 　　 　　“If we could get Christine Lavin and Loudon Wainwright III named as our national music laureates, we’d have most of the country’s problems described, if not solved in no time.” People Magazine 　　 　　“Lavin is as captivating an artist in solo performance as there is.” Billboard 　　 　　I was happy to get the chance to work again here in New York at The Magic Shop in SoHo, with producer Steve Rosenthal. He recently engineered/produced recordings by Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega, Alan Lomax, Sheryl Crow, also posthumous projects by Sam Cooke and Laura Nyro. 　　All the voices you hear on my new album were very carefully chosen -- they range in age from 8 months to 80+ years -- no anonymous studio singers here! 　　For background vocals on the title track we hired a young trio so brand new that they don't have a group name yet (Liz Tormes, Fiona McBain and Amy Helm) -- they are now working on their very first album. I did not know that Amy's dad is Levon Helm of The Band, but I do now and love that connection! On "Strangers Talk To Me" it's Dave Van Ronk protege jazz singer/guitarist Eve Silber asking the question "What does contiguous mean?" and Edith Drake answering, "Sharing an edge or boundary." Who is Edith Drake? Back in 1945 she broke up with her boyfriend Ervin, inspiring him to write the classic "Good Morning Heartache." And that is Ervin Drake, the sleepy/hungry guy you hear on the next song "Sunday Breakfast" -- this is the first time Edith and Ervin have ever appeared on the same album. They married in 1976 after many plot twists and turns -- one of American music's most enduring love stories. Ervin also wrote "It Was A Very Good Year," my all-time favorite song, so I am especially thrilled to have him on this album. 　　Grammy-winning songwriter Julie Gold ("From A Distance"), Suzzy Roche (of The Roches and now the Four Bitchin' Babes), and Helen Russell, from the national tour of "Woody Guthrie's American Song" join voices on "Wind Chimes;" it's Steve's 8-month old daughter Addie making baby sounds at the end of that song. Singer/ songwriter Heather Eatman is the harmony vocalist on both "Trade Up" and "Firehouse." Pat Crawford Brown (of "Piranha Women of the Avocado Jungle of Death" fame) reads the poem she wrote "For Carolyn," and David Lutken (also from "Woody Guthrie's American Song") is the harmony vocalist you hear on "Something Beautiful." 　　For the music, Steve Rosenthal brought in Zev Katz on bass (you can hear his bass on albums by Marc Anthony, Judy Collins, and Bryan Ferry); Charlie Giordano on accordion (he's recorded with Roseanne Cash and Dar Williams); wildman percussionist Hearn Gadbois (he works barefoot, plays instruments with his hands and feet, has recorded with Patti Smith, They Might Be Giants, Yoko Ono); keyboard/high string guitarist Jimi Zhivago (Susan McKeown, Claus Nomi, David Tronzo); acoustic and jazz guitarist Frank Christian (Suzanne Vega, Marti Jones, toured the world with Nanci Griffith); on wind chimes we recruited Andrea Vuocolo, wife of the late great Dave Van Ronk; and on violin Lorenza Ponce, on a break between shows with Sheryl Crow -- she's also worked with Ron Sexsmith and Ally McBeal heartthrob Jon Bon Jovi (I love calling him that!). We even got the engineer Ben Bailes onboard (it's his fingersnaps on "Strangers" and his affinity for nature showcased by his tasteful playing of the wind on "Wind Chimes"), album mixer Pete de Boer is the angry yard owner on "Wind Chimes," and two of the Magic Shop's young interns, Matt Boynton and Yohei Goto clap on "Difficult Man." 　　During the time we were working on the first floor of the Magic Shop, engineer Teri Landi was in the basement working with Steve Rosenthal (who logged miles on the stairs every day) on the remastering of the entire Rolling Stones catalog to the new SACD format for ABKCO Records, but Teri also possesses world-class hand-clapping ability and so was drafted to also add it to "Difficult Man." 　　I know that's a lot of name-dropping, but it's one of the advantages of living and working in New York City, having access to such stellar musicians. And hand-clappers.