Under American Skies

by Tom Paxton, Anne Hills

Overview

Tom Paxton reunites with one-time collaborator Anne Hills for this album of largely political folk, which includes such evergreens as "Carry It On," "Birmingham Sunday" (about the racially motivated 1963 church bombing), "God Bless the Grass," and Paxton's own "Clarissa Jones." Also on the program are a few later compositions, most notably Tom Russell's "Manzanar," about the treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, and the title cut, a comment on the death penalty that represents the album's only songwriting collaboration by Paxton and Hills. The singing is impeccable and the songs are first-rate, but the performances are mostly so faithful to the originals that they don't add much. In addition, while the social commentary is balanced by an occasional love song, it would have helped to also sprinkle in some of the humor that Paxton employs so well on his solo albums; as is, this is pretty consistently somber stuff. Still, Paxton and Hills deserve plaudits for helping to keep the political folk genre alive; it's too bad that more writers aren't addressing the sorts of issues tackled here. ~ Jeff Burger

Product Details

Release Date:	07/24/2001
Label:	Appleseed Records
UPC:	0611587105226
Rank:	7993

Tracks

1. There Goes the Mountain
2. Under the American Skies
3. Follow That Road
4. Clarrissa Jones
5. Birmingham Sunday
6. Carry It On
7. God Bless the Grass
8. Manzanar
9. Getting Up Early
10. Well, Well, Well
11. Pandora's Box
12. Shadow Crossing the Land
13. Links in the Chain
14. And Lovin' You

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Anne Hills   Primary Artist,Banjo,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica
Tom Paxton   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Tom Paxton & Anne Hills   Primary Artist
Scott Petito   Guitar,Piano,Bass
Jon Carroll   Piano,Vocal Harmony
Jerry Marotta   Percussion
Mark Schatz   Bass
Al Petteway   Guitar
Bob Gibson   Banjo,Vocals

Technical Credits

Scott Petito   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Mastering
Phil Ochs   Composer
Jim Robeson   Engineer
Richard Farina   Composer
Tom Russell   Composer
Gil Turner   Composer
Malvina Reynolds   Composer
Bob Gibson   Composer
Rich Warren   Engineer
Tom Paxton   Composer
Anne Hills   Composer,Producer
Irene Young   Photography
Jim Musselman   Liner Notes
Bob Camp   Composer