Strangers In Another Country

On Strangers in Another Country Rosalie Sorrels celebrates the memory of her friend and fellow troubadour Bruce “Utah” Phillips. Anyone familiar with this colorful exponent of Rocky Mountain balladry and radical politics (who passed away in May 2008) should find this album a rewarding song collection. But even the casual listener will be charmed and moved by the music and stories captured here. Sorrels is joined by an all-star cast of folk stalwarts, including Pete Seeger, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Jay Unger, and Bryan Bowers, and the results combine bittersweet reminiscence with the rollicking spirit of a hobo jamboree. Phillips’ sympathy for the downtrodden (as well as his lyrical feel for Western landscapes) is conveyed in fine renditions of “Starlight on the Rails,” “He Comes Like the Rain,” and “Old Buddy Goodnight.” Sorrels’ weathered but resolute vocals catch the right note of longing in “Eddie’s Song” and of sorrow in “Schofield Mining Disaster.” At the other extreme is “Talkin’ Wolverine 14,” a bluegrass-tinged ode to the freight-hopping life. Interspersed with the tunes are spoken recitations of Phillips’ funny and defiant prose writings. Strangers in Another Country is a lovingly-rendered farewell by one folk legend to another.