Bad Penny and the Riff Raff: Prayer and Cigarettes
This is the absolute best of Krista's original material from recording sessions at the Spirit Garden and Spirit Ranch studios in Sarasota, Florida.
Krista's musical vision is one which she develops in her own way, without commercial cliche or preconception. She uses her voice like a delicate instrument to tell stories of things irrevocably lost or suddenly found; true love with all its hard and ugly truths; humble faith.
Her songs, peopled with ragged souls, are also somehow shimmering with hope and undeniable beauty. They are a ride you're going to take, and anyone who's going to come along had better get on because you're going to go.
Impressive performances by some of the many fine musicians and improvisers Krista has worked with over six years round out the album, adding variety and scope:
Richard Leps, master of the blues fiddle/weeping violin, throws down on several tunes; guitar monster Lefty Sazarak tears your heart to pieces with his infinitely tragic rendition of "All the Pretty Girls" and "The Road Told Me"; on "God Takes Care of You", multi-instrumentalist Pamela Van Kirk deftly plays the right note at the right time on her mandolin, and does luscious backup vocals; the bottomless talent of Matt Frost on the Hammond organ adds a joyous edge to "Who Am I, Again?", and transforms the sorrowful notes of "All the Pretty Girls" into a glittering, holy processional. Acoustic Pete, Andy Karpay, and the magnificent Pedro Arevalo also show up with something wonderful to offer to the work as a whole.
Off-kilter artist Ben Louria (benlouria.com) did the artwork for the CD cover, a vibrant, satirical painting based on a concept by True Schoen.
The album is available for download at CDBaby. Click here to get this amazing album..