Havalina Rail Co. (album)

Havalina Rail Co. is the first studio album by the American eclectic rock band Havalina Rail Co., released 1994.

In an interview for KPSU, Wignall commented that the first album was "this sort of finding our path and gravitating towards American sounds".^[1] The album featured folk, swing, jazz, zydeco, and rock influences; according to Matt Wignall, the swing influence led many to falsely assume that the band was part of the contemporary Swing revival.^[2]

Track listing

1. "Ragtime" (2:36)
2. "One Day" (3:38)
3. "Proportion Thing" (3:09)
4. "Things" (3:37)
5. "Grass Roots" (1:55)
6. "Cruis'n" (3:03)
7. "2/4" (2:09)
8. "Green Skies" (1:45)
9. "If You Leave" (3:17)
10. "French Theme" (3:45)
11. "New Song" (6:56)
12. "3.14" (4:17)
13. "Big Lu" (5:28)
14. "Laconic" (0:32)
15. "Sha La La" (3:25)
16. "Train Song" / "Take You Rid'n in My Car" (5:18)
17. "I Change My Clothes" (4:18)
18. "This Monkey Doesn't Take Nickels and Dimes (4:42)
19. "Moon River (!)" (1:58)

All songs written by Havalina Rail Co., except "Take You Rid'n in My Car" written by Woody Guthrie, and "Moon River" written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini.

Personnel

Havalina Rail Co. lineup

• Daniel J. Brooker: Accordion, piano
• Matt Wignall: Guitar, banjo, primary vocalist
• Jeff T. Suri: Drums, piano, vocals
• Grady McFerrin: Trumpet, washboard
• Mark Cole: Percussion, extra noise
• Orlando Greenhill: Double bass, bass guitar

Guest musicians

• Nathan Jensen: Saxophone
• Julie Musali: Vocals on "Proportion Thing" and "Moon River"
• "John from Riverside": Clarinet on "If You Leave"
• G.N.O. Crew ("Janna, Debbie, Kara, Charis, Allisa, Lori, Julie, Liz, Destiny, and Samantha"): Vocals on "Train Song" and "New Song"
• Bob Moon: Rolling on "Cruis'n"
• "King 'S'": Background vocals on "One Day"
• Deana Yang: Strings
• Jennifer Marliniak: Strings

Notes

"Train Song" ends with a cover of "Take You Rid'n In My Car".

It is ambiguous whether saxophonist Nathan Jensen is a member of the band or a guest musician on this album. He is listed as a guest musician in the liner notes, but during the bridge of "New Song", Matt Wignall calls out the names of all the members of the band and he includes Nathan among them. (Nathan was clearly listed as a member of the band on the later albums The Diamond in the Fish and Russian Lullabies.)

Sources

1. ↑ KPSU interview of Matt Wignall by Dave Cusick.
2. ↑ "On our first Tooth & Nail album, you could swing dance to the first song, so we're a "swing" band, but if you listen to the rest of the album, there are maybe 1 or 2 songs where, if you're really hard-pressed, you could get a swing dancing going." Interview with Matt Wignall by Nolan Shigley and Tricia Krull at The Phantom Tollbooth.

External links

• Album listing on the Tooth And Nail Records website. (The band line-up listed is that from Space, Love, & Bullfighting.)
• Havalina Rail Co. at Allmusic