Album Notes

In the years since its humble beginnings as a home-recorded and home-burned CD, Rebecca Hall Sings! has turned a lot of heads. Listeners are drawn in, no doubt, by Rebecca's deep, resonant alto, with an irresistible hint of twang. But as the album unfolds, Rebecca's songwriting takes center stage, echoing the timeless themes of Appalachian ballads, the concise storytelling of classic songwriters such as Townes van Zandt, and the delicate arrangements of early British folk-rock. Solely by word of mouth, Rebecca Hall has already gained many admirers--from Radio Thrift Shop's Laura Cantrell, to the Byrds' Roger McGuinn, to fans around the globe.

Rebecca began playing music in 1990, after moving to New York from her native Boston. She performed frequently in the Village, building a repertoire that included early jazz and blues compositions as well as songs by such artists as Nina Simone, Alex Chilton, Hank Williams and Roy Harper. She never thought of writing songs during that time-in retrospect, it most likely was a period of absorbing these varied influences.

Then, as for many a young singer during the sixties folk revival, everything changed upon encountering Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. Inspired by this collection of ballads, blues and traditional gospel, Rebecca was moved to pick up a guitar and begin writing songs. At around the same time, she discovered the English folk-rock songwriters of the early 1970s; artists such as Nick Drake and Sandy Denny had incorporated traditional inflections into an ethereal folk style characterized by pastoral themes and delicate orchestration. These converging influences resulted in the haunting lyric and melodic sensibilities of Rebecca Hall Sings!

Remastered and repackaged here for wide release, Rebecca Hall Sings! will soon take its place as a classic folk album.