Lyrics and vocals: Lorraine Feather Additional vocals: Cheryl Bentyne, Janis Siegel, and Tierney Sutton Music : Eddie Arkin, Shelly Berg, Bill Elliott, Russell Ferrante, Michael B. Nelson, Tony Morales Arrangements: Eddie Arkin, Shelly Berg, Bill Elliott, Russell Ferrante Piano: Shelly Berg, Russell Ferrante, Michael Lang Bass: Michael Valerio Drums: Michael Shapiro, Gregg Field Percussion: Michael Shapiro Guitar: Grant Geissman Trumpets: Gary Grant and Willie Murillo; saxophones: William Liston and Gregg Smith; trombone:Andy Martin Album design: Sarah Bolles Photography: Steve Davy Liner notes: Ken Dryden Produced by Lorraine Feather, Carlos Del Rosario and Geoff Gillette
Representation for Lyrics/Publishing Administration: Air-Edel
Lorraine is the equal of not just her esteemed papa but also of such top-drawer wordsmiths as Bob Dorough and Dave Frishberg. Like such masters, she is particularly skilled at observational humor derived from the mundane aspects of everyday life. But Feather’s whip-smart skills aren’t limited to sophisticated witticisms, as here evidenced by a sweet, delicate homage to Billy Strayhorn (‘In Flower’) and a rosy rendering of yuletide Manhattan (‘I Love New York at Christmas’) that is actually a heart-wrenching snapshot of a crumbling relationship.
In this age of press releases and e-mails, not to mention iPods and iTunes, it’s amazing how many compact disks promoting artists new and old still find their way into our mailboxes. Sometimes these arrivals include a true gem. NPR’s special correspondent Susan Stamberg got such a musical delivery the other day …it’s called Language.
‘We’ve struggled offensively,’ I never thought I’d hear that in a song, but of course it has a perfect right to be there in a compendium of sports clichés … [as well as] ‘regrettable away-game incident.’ Wonderfully smart renditions. They do repay study. We’re still enjoying discovering some of the neat words on Lorraine’s earlier releases!
Mellifluous phraseology … chicly utilized clichés … one of Feather’s best attributes is allowing the listener to feel as if they’re having an intimate conversation with her … [her] musicality truly speaks on a visceral level.
Her talent as a lyricist of wit, sarcasm, and keen observations of the American human condition is her true strength…This may very well be Lorraine Feather’s best effort. Bravo, Lorraine.”