Sarah Harmer's third studio album from 2005 released on vinyl for the first time.
Joey Wright, Spencer Evans, Jason Euringer, Julie Fader and I had just wrapped up a Spring tour along Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment, from Tobermory to Burlington. We had been hiking, kayaking and rock climbing! parts of the Bruce Trail during the day and playing in small theatres and halls at night. When we finished the I Love the Escarpment Tour (which we had organized to raise awareness about industrial threats to the precious UNESCO World Biosphere and specifically Mount Nemo, one of its fountainheads) my manager Patrick said I should book a few days in a studio and record some songs now that the band was all warmed up. We went in to Reaction Studio in Toronto’s east end with Denis Tougas engineering. Denis set most of us up in one room, with me in a smaller room looking at everyone through a window, and Julie in the control room singing harmonies. Jay (stand up bass) , Spencer (piano) and Joey (mandolin and guitar) were in the large room each behind a small partition. We would record one or two takes of the song all together then go into the control room and choose the best version. Later we might add an overdub if needed. A few guests performers came by, including my Dad and Willie P. Bennett, who played gorgeous harmonica on How Deep In The Valley. We recorded 8 songs in two days, and as I had already recorded Goin Out, The Ring and Escarpment Blues at an earlier time Denis spent the next few days mixing all 11 songs.
My dear friend Stewart Jones drew the album cover and his illustrations and the tour photographs on the inside sleeve capture the feeling and creativity of the time. I adore the playing on the album, the off-the-floor spontaneity, and the quick decision making that kept things fresh. The album was unexpected and ready to go in a matter of weeks, and though they were surprised I had another album ready to go so soon after the last one, the record label released I’m A Mountain a few months later. - SH
1. The Ring
2. I Am Aglow
3. Oleander
4. I'm A Mountain
5. Goin' Out
6. Will He Be Waiting For Me?
7. Escarpment Blues
8. The Phoenix
9. Salamandre
10. Luther's Got The Blues
11. How Deep In The Valley