Personnel: Bill Frisell (acoustic & electric guitars, banjo); Hank Roberts (vocals, cello); Arto Lindsay (vocals, electric guitar); Julius Hemphill, Billy Drewes (alto saxophone); Doug Wieselman (baritone saxophone); Peter Scherer (keyboards, programming); Kermit Driscoll (electric bass); Joey Baron (drums, percussion); Cyro Baptista (shaker). Producers: Peter Scherer, Arto Lindsay, Lee Townsend, John Zorn. Recorded at Skyline Studios, Platinum Island, Creative Audio Recording, Power Station and Sound On Sound, New York, New York in August & September 1988. For this 1989 release, Bill Frisell's regular quartet (bassist Kermit Driscoll, drummer Joey Baron and cellist Hank Roberts) is sometimes augmented or otherwise altered in a set that again showcases the guitarist/composer's varied interests. A trio of saxophonists joins the quartet for the four-piece suite, "Some Song And Dance." John Zorn , with whom Frisell played in Naked City, produced the high-energy, cinematically-charged "Hard Plains Drifter." Arto Lindsay also plays guitar on several tracks and sings the album's beautiful closer, "Steady, Girl," a foretaste of his own forays into Brazilian music. This is a diverse set, anchored by Frisell's compositions and warm musical character.
Disc 1: Before We Were Born Freddy's Step I Love Motel II Pip, Squeak III Goodbye IV Hard Plains Drifter Lone Ranger, The Steady, Girl