Real Deal by Cris Williamson

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Political | like Joni

11 tracks | 43 minutes

Released Mar 2005
on Wolf Moon Records

Click for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.

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sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:59 Songbird lyrics BUY MP3 02:59 Songbird lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:59 Songbird

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:16 Mercy lyrics BUY MP3 05:16 Mercy lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:16 Mercy

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:20 Waters of Spokane lyrics BUY MP3 04:20 Waters of Spokane lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:20 Waters of Spokane

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:50 My House Tonight lyrics BUY MP3 02:50 My House Tonight lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:50 My House Tonight

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:55 Rumi's Song lyrics BUY MP3 02:55 Rumi's Song lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:55 Rumi's Song

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:23 True Story True Blue lyrics BUY MP3 04:23 True Story True Blue lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:23 True Story True Blue

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:18 Little Traveler lyrics BUY MP3 04:18 Little Traveler lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:18 Little Traveler

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:30 Footprints lyrics BUY MP3 04:30 Footprints lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:30 Footprints

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:30 Hecho en Mexico lyrics BUY MP3 04:30 Hecho en Mexico lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:30 Hecho en Mexico

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:19 Red Red Room lyrics BUY MP3 03:19 Red Red Room lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:19 Red Red Room

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:03 Real Deal lyrics BUY MP3 04:03 Real Deal lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:03 Real Deal

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"The first time I heard Cris's voice ... it was like honey drippping on a cello." - Bonnie Raitt

Editorial review

The most striking immediate impression made by Cris Williamson's 12th solo studio album, Real Deal, is its musical spareness. The singer/songwriter has long been associated primarily with the piano, and keyboards of one sort or another have provided the basis for most of her arrangements. Not so here. For the first seven of the 11 tracks, Williamson, who does not play at all apart from the strumstick for which she is credited on "Mercy," contents herself with two or three backup instruments, usually stringed ones; when Barbara Higbie's piano begins to play on "Rumi's Song" five tracks in, it comes as a shock. On the last four tracks, more instruments are used, building up to the folk-rock of the title song, which even boasts an electric guitar solo, but keyboards are de-emphasized. This simple, folk approach suits Williamson's songs, which are also simple and folk-like in construction, with lyrics that tend either to be plainspoken and direct or abstract and poetic, but in both cases clearly expressed. Williamson takes on politics in "The Waters of Spokane," a condemnation of polluters, and she also stakes out a position in opposition to everything from the mass media to the FBI in "My House Tonight," which sounds like something Pete Seeger could sing. But she can also show a light touch, particularly on the love song "True Story/True Blue" and the Latin-tinged "Hecho en Mexico." And she isn't above borrowing from poets such as Emily Dickinson ("Songbird") and Rumi ("Rumi's Song") in her search for imagery in her more flowery efforts. Real Deal is not one of her great albums, but it is a sturdy, workmanlike collection of songs presented in a surprisingly unadorned style. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Bio / Background

In her new cd, Real Deal, Cris travels easily through the various landscapes of roots and reggae, folk and mountain music, as well as powerful rock and prayerful ballads. Produced by longtime associate Teresa Trull, this cd features some of music's finest players from a variety of musical genres (Nina Gerber, Barbara Higbie, Todd Phillips, Linda Tillery, Julie Wolf, among others) who surround and support Cris's amazing voice on her new journey