| Product Summary | | Label: Razor And Tie Records | | UPC: 00793018288620 | | Release Date: 2/18/2003 | | Buy.com Sku: 60589094 | | Item#: MKPPG9 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Mercy Of The Fallen ~ Dar Williams |  | | 2. Farewell To The Old Me - (featuring Stefan Lessard & John Medeski) ~ Dar Williams | | | 3. I Saw A Bird Fly Away - (featuring John Popper & John Medeski) ~ Dar Williams | | | 4. Beauty Of The Rain, The - (featuring Chris Botti) ~ Dar Williams | | | 5. World's Not Falling Apart - (featuring Stefan Lessard & Michael Kang) ~ Dar Williams | | | 6. One Who Knows, The - (featuring Alison Krauss) ~ Dar Williams | | | 7. Closer To Me - (featuring Bela Fleck) ~ Dar Williams | | | 8. Fishing In The Morning - (featuring Bela Fleck & Michael Kang) ~ Dar Williams | | | 9. Whispering Pines - (Chris Botti, Cliff Eberhardt, and Alison Krauss, featuring Steffan Lessard) ~ Dar Williams | | | 10. Your Fire Your Soul - (featuring John Medeski) ~ Dar Williams | | | 11. I Have Lost My Dreams ~ Dar Williams | |
| On her latest album, The Beauty of The Rain, Dar Williams takes another step forward, showcasing a new, fuller sound, as well as her mastery at mapping out the emotional terrain of people whose lives are in transition. Recorded in a studio in NYC's Chelsea neighborhood, The Beauty of the Rain was produced by Steuart Lerman and Rob Hyman, and features guest appearances by a remarkable array of talent: Alison Krauss on vocals, Bela Fleck on banjo, John Popper manning the harmonica and backup vocals, Stefan Lessard (of Dave Matthews Band) on bass, John Medeski on keyboards, Chris Botti on trumpet, Cliff Eberhardt on vocals and Michael Kang (String Cheese Incident) on fiddle. The idea to bring in so many illustrious guests came from Dar, who decided to make her song arrangements richer and denser this time around. "It can be a little lonely sometimes being a girl with a guitar," she says. "I wanted to reach out into the world and see what else was going on."
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Dar Williams (vocals, guitar); Alison Krauss (vocals, fiddle); John Popper (vocals, harmonica); Cliff Eberhardt (vocals); Eric Bazilian (guitar, mandolin); Steuart Smith (guitar, 12-string guitar, piano); Bela Fleck (banjo); David Mansfield (violin); Michael Kang (fiddle); Chris Botti (trumpet); Rob Hyman (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, melodica); John Medeski (Hammond B-3 organ); John Medeski (keyboards); Steffan Lessard, William Wittman, Stewart Lerman, Paul Sokolow (bass); Steve Holley, Sammy Merendino (drums); Carol Steele (percussion). | | Recorded at the Shinebox, New York, New York. | | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | Personnel: Dar Williams (vocals, guitar); John Popper (vocals, harmonica); Cliff Eberhardt, Alison Krauss (vocals); Steuart Smith (guitar, 12-string guitar, E-bow, harmonica, piano); Eric Bazilian (guitar, mandolin); Stewart Lerman (guitar, keyboards); B?la Fleck (banjo); David Mansfield, Michael Kang (violin); Rob Hyman (melodica, piano, reed organ, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards); Chris Botti (trumpet); John Medeski (piano, Clavinet); Steve Holley, Sammy Merendino (drums); Carol Steele (percussion). | | Audio Mixers: Steve Addabbo; William Wittman. | | Recording information: DBM, Ruckersville, WV; Elmstreet Studios, Conshohocken, PA; Pilot Sound, New York, NY; Shelter Island Sound; The Sanctuary, Nashville, TN; The Shinebox, New York, NY. | | Photographers: Ronald K. Fierstein; Ken Schles. | | Where Mortal City was a consciously reformatted Honesty Room, End of the Summer was an over-the-top break away from Mortal City, and The Green World was an admission that End of the Summer was a forced endeavor, The Beauty of the Rain is Dar Williams' first recording that truly expands upon the sound of the album before it. For the first time in her career, Williams no longer pushed too hard to readjust her sound, but instead embraced and built upon it. The result is her most comfortable and confident recording to date and the first time Williams did not appear to be ashamed of her previous work. Complete with a heavy roster including John Medeski, Alison Krauss, B?la Fleck, and John Popper, The Beauty of the Rain is a polished and spacious-sounding recording where virtually every track is an easy parade through flourishing arrangements and accessibility. The only song to stand out as a bit off the mark is the initially stunning "Whispering Pines," which shifts from a lovely, lush backing vocal and keyboard opening to a new age-tinted piano ballad, but when the third verse sets in, guest Cliff Eberhardt's soulless and strained singing turns it into a poor Disney-style "end-of-picture" duet and the whole song crashes down in a train wreck of poor judgment. Album-opener and extraordinary single "Mercy of the Fallen," the staccato intricacies of "Closer to Me," and the understated title track more than make up for this blunder and will certainly please passionate fans as well as increase Dar Williams' fan base considerably. ~ Gregory McIntosh | | Dar Williams' fifth album THE BEAUTY OF THE RAIN finds the singer-songwriter getting around the loneliness of being "a girl with a guitar" and chronicling her move from New York City to Massachusetts by breaking out her little black book to reel in a number of famous names. The result is a fuller-sounding album minus the kind of forced chemistry that occurs when it's an artist's label rather than the artist who arranges such an all-star affair. This organically flowing record benefits from the contributions of people like Alison Krauss (the harmony-brushed "The One Who Knows"), Blues Traveler's John Popper (a chugging "I Saw a Bird Fly Away"), and trumpeter Chris Botti (the subdued title cut). | | Other guests are more content to blend into the musical background, be it Bela Fleck (a twangy "Fishing in the Morning") or Medeski, Martin & Wood organist John Medeski (the stirring "Farewell to the Old Me.") RAIN also finds Williams delivering a chilling reading of the Band's "Whispering Pines" and forming a rare songwriting partnership with former Hooter Rob Hyman (the lightly trilling "Closer to Me.") |
Producer: Rob Hyman; Stewart Lerman |
Engineer: Chris Kress; Robert Battaglia; Richard Battaglia; Steve Addabbo; Stewart Lerman; Will Schillinger; William Wittman |
Musical Guests | | Chris Botti | | Cliff Eberhardt | | Bela Fleck | | John Popper | | John Medeski | | Alison Krauss | | Stefan Lessard & John Medeski | | John Popper & John Medeski | | Stefan Lessard & Michael Kang | | Bela Fleck & Michael Kang | | Steffan Lessard |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 02/18/2003 | | Original Release Date : 2003 | | Catalog ID : 82886 | | Label : Razor & Tie Music | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00793018288620 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (3/6/03, p.70)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Williams is an earnest and unadorned vocalist....She seems more at ease than ever..."Dirty Linen (06-07/03, p.87)
- "...Bursts out of the starting blocks with the breathtaking rush of 'The World's Not Falling Apart'..." |
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| Customer Reviews | ![]() | | Production |  5 | | Performance | 5 | | Composition | 5 | | Overall Satisfaction | 5 |
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5 of 5 Dar hits new heights Tuesday, July 01, 2003
A Listener from Fair Haven NJ
Dar takes it up another level with "Beauty"-- this classic is one of the top 10 theme albums, all time. Dar reminds one of a young Joni Mitchell in her energy and creativity. Quality acoustic numbers can be heard once again here with Dar's unique, touching, sometimes breaking voice, but the breakthrough is the fuller sound and building rhythm on such songs as "Mercy of the Fallen" and "The World's Not Falling Apart." I only hope that fame and fortune will not sidetrack Dar from her art as "Beauty" delivers the little-known Dar to commercial success. Was this review helpful?  
5 of 5 Relaxing, melodic, and creative, classic Dar Willi Monday, March 03, 2003
A Listener from Denver, CO
I came home from work today with a bad headache, and put on this cd for the first time. The soft, deep sound of Dar's voice was just what I needed to relax. Soothing and romantic, it would be a great background for an evening alone with someone you love. Was this review helpful?
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