Bargain Audio CDs & Priceless Collection (series)

New Day Dawning

by Wynonna Judd

Product Description:

Personnel: Wynonna (vocals); Richard Bennett (acoustic & electric guitars); Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Steuart Smith (guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Aubrey Haynie (fiddle); The Nashville String Machine (strings); Kim Wilson (harmonica); Mark Douthit (flute, baritone saxophone); Jim Horn (tenor & baritone saxophones); Mike Haynes (trumpet); Barry Green (trombone); Matt Rollings (piano, organ, keyboards); John Jarvis (piano); Steve Nathan, Tony Harrell (organ, keyboards); Rob Mathes (keyboards, synthesizer); Willie Weeks (bass); John Robinson, Steve Potts (drums); Terry McMillan, Eric Darken (percussion); Vicki Hampton, Kim Fleming, Robert Bailey, Tabitha Fair, Kim Keyes, Judson Spence (background vocals).

Producers: James Stroud, Wynonna, Gary Nicholson, Tony Brown.

Engineers include: Julian King, Rich Hanson, Jeff Balding.

Recorded at Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas; Emerald Studios, The Sound Kitchen, Dark Horse Recording & Masterfonics Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

Personnel include: Wynonna Judd (vocals, guitar); Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Jerry McPherson (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Aubrey Haynie (fiddle); Kim Wilson (harmonica); Matt Rollings (piano, keyboards); John Hobbs (organ, keyboards); Willie Weeks (bass guitar); John Robinson (drums).

Recording information: Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas; Emerald Studios, Nashville, Tennessee; The Sound Kitchen, Nashville, Tennessee.

Wynonna Judd's first album of the 21st century is an event in and of itself, but the fact that the limited-edition version comes with a four-song EP featuring new music recorded with mom Naomi (the first such in over a decade) makes it particularly memorable.

Wynonna's album continues her trademark mix of country, rock, soul, and a little gospel, with the soul more or less predominating; "New Day Dawning," for example, has a horn section straight out of a '60s Stax/Volt session, and the quietly percolating "I Can't Wait to Meet You," is actually co-written by neo-R&B revivalist Macy Gray. There are also two great covers, a faithful version of the Fabulous Thunderbirds '80s blues hit "Tuff Enuff" (the T-birds Kim Wilson guests on harp), and an astonishing recreation of Joni Mitchell's "Help Me," showing off an upper register that Wynonna has previously kept hidden quiet. The Judds reunion disc is a little low-key, compared to the album per se, but it's great fun, from the pun-filled creation of the world title song, to a heartfelt (but no less funny) psychedelic peace-and-love anthem ("The 60s Were the 90s Upside Down") complete with sitar and backwards guitar.