The Rifters - Winter Song (Digital Download)
The Rifters are excited to present their 9th album to the world, and it's one specially made for the Holidays! Winter Song is a collection of Christmas and winter songs, with four originals from the band, a few old classics, and some songs that are a bit more off the beaten path. Says band member Don Richmond, “We had a lot of fun making this album – walking around in July singing Christmas songs and all!” The Rifters are: Rod Taylor on guitar, mandolin and vocals (and sleigh bells on the new album), Jim Bradley on bass and vocals, and Don Richmond on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, banjo, accordion, pedal steel, trumpet and vocals. The album also features several special guests - Michael Hearne on guitar, Paul Pearcy on drums and percussion, Jimmy Stadler on piano, Boulder reed virtuoso Dexter Payne on clarinet, Alamosa native Valerie Naranjo on percussion and her husband Barry Olson on trombone and piano. The Rifters will celebrate their 25th year together in 2027, and as they have been known to say, “We ain't dead yet!”
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This project has been a lot of fun to record and put together. We hope that it can provide some good company and warmth while you cook your Holiday dinners or wrap your presents or sit having a drink by the fire. Thanks to the wisdom of our dear wives, who told us (a few times) that we needed to do this. Wishing everyone all the best, in this season and in all others.
1. Christmas Must Be Tonight This old tune by The Band was one of the first songs we thought of when we were choosing songs for this project – it's just got a great warm old-timey vibe. Thanks to Paul Pearcy for joining us on drums. 2. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow All of us, living where we live in the high and dry southwest, and from Rod's life as a working cowboy and Jim's work in the ski business, are pretty into precipitation. So yeah, let it snow! This song features Boulder reed man Dexter Payne on clarinet and NYC trombonist Barry Olsen, as well as Paul Pearcy on drums. 3. The Night Before Christmas Song Rod had this old musical retelling of the Clement Moore poem, (recorded by Rosemary Clooney and Gene Autry) floating around in his mental basement somewhere and thought it would be a good fit for this project, and so it is! 4. Until the Light Returns Don's wife Teri McCartney wrote these lyrics about life at Howlin' Dog Central and dealing with the short days of the solstice, and how to keep the spirits up and the lights shining through the dark times. Don put them to music. Thanks to Paul Pearcy for contributing drums. 5. Song for a Winter's Night Although not strictly a Christmas song, we thought this Gordon Lightfoot classic was a great winter song to include. This song features Alamosa native, and NYC Saturday Night Live percussionist, Valerie Naranjo on djembe. 6. I Don't Need a Thing At some point in life, you realize that the really important things you want and need are not things at all. We are joined by Paul Pearcy on drums, Michael Hearne on guitar, and Jimmy Stadler on piano. 7. Christmas for Cowboys This song seemed like a perfect fit for the Rifters and for Rod. He says that he has spent many a Christmas day out riding the wide-open prairies of Philmont Ranch checking on the cows and the buffalo. 8. May Your Heart Be Warmed We wanted to include a tune with good rousing sort of “Irish pub drinking song” vibe and decided to write one. 9. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel We love spooky minor key songs in general, and we love the prayer for wisdom contained in these lyrics. 10. Taos Christmas Eve It's hard to find a Christmas song that fits our part of the world better than this song Michael Hearne wrote with his son Travis and friend Jon Gold. Thanks to Michael for joining us on guitar. 11. Winter Song Don says, “I always feel an important part of Christmas and the end of the year season is taking time to regroup, recharge, reorient, and generally take stock of life and where our energies are going. I'll have to try it sometime.” So here's to finding time to do more of that. 12. White Christmas - Silent Night The story goes that when Irving Berlin finished writing White Christmas, he told his secretary that he had written not only the best Christmas song ever, but the best song period. It's hard to argue, even with only two short stanzas. And there is no arguing with the beauty and power of Silent Night. We thought it would be a great way to close the album. Thanks to Barry Olsen for the beautiful piano.
