1. Bridges   2. Nevada City, California 3. Korea 4. Anarchy 5. Candidacy 6. Bum On The Rod 7. Enormously Wealthy 8. Mess With People 9. Natural Resources 10. Heroes 11. Half A Ghosst Town 12. Holding On

One of the recurring themes throughout Utah Phillips' many years of wise and funny storytelling has been that we should all learn from our elders. Ani DiFranco, herself a perceptive and sometimes controversial observer of life and times, found in Phillips an elder whose thoughts should be shared. The result was this unique disc in which some of Phillips' familiar stories are rhythmically recast with an instrumental backdrop from DiFranco, whose arrangements stretch from quiet piano to pounding rock. The inherent cadence of Phillips' storytelling is usually punctuated by percussion and bass, his shaggy dog stories of populist politics and eccentric neighbors, his reminiscences of hard life as a hobo, and survival in the Korean War taking on new life as jazz/rock poems. A few longtime fans of Phillips' work may have trouble figuring out what's going on here, especially when DiFranco's sampling/overdubbing production turns key phrases into spoken choruses on some tracks, but the overall effect is powerful. And the fact that this collaboration will bring Phillips' work to a new audience is a splendid thing, too. Tom Nelligan (Waltham, MA)