Wendy Waldman’s new studio album, My Time in the Desert, gets off to a rocking start and doesn’t let up on quality or heart. Waldman worked on this record for five years off and on, until she felt the whole collection of songs gelled. Waldman co-produced with Michael Boshears, with whom she worked on her Warner Brothers records in the 1970s. She reunited with him in 1997, and has produced about a dozen albums with him since that time. Boshears also recorded and mixed much of the album.
The combination of new tracks and songs penned earlier in her career varies between the country rockers like Waldman/Gary Nicholson’s “Can’t Stop Now” (previously recorded by Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, and others), “Fishing in the Dark”, (The Dirt Band, Garth Brooks), and the bluesy “New Mexico Cadillac”, along with quieter stories of life and relationships that stay real, like “You Plant Your Fields” (Kathy Mattea) and “The One Who Loved”.
Several of Waldman’s previously covered songs have been staples in her own live sets over the years, but “Can’t Stop Now”, a standout track that will stay in your head forever, was one that she hadn’t performed much. “It was Michael who insisted that I record it,” Waldman says. “I didn’t think I could do a good version of it, but thankfully, he prevailed and I tried it. It began to work immediately.”
The majority of the tracks feature wide-ranging instrumentation and very tasteful electrics (courtesy of Mark Goldenberg, Brent Rowan, and Los Angeles studio ace Matt Cartsonis), but Waldman’s acoustic guitar shines on several cuts, including “You Plant Your Fields”. In particular, Waldman was happy with the sound of her XXX-RS on “My Last Thought”, where the guitar is rich, warm, and focused.
Waldman’s musical resume is formidable, from her work in the early ’70s with L.A.-based Bryndle (including Karla Bonoff, Andrew Gold, and Kenny Edwards) and later solo work to her career as a songwriter for the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Kim Carnes, Jesse Colin Young, Kenny Rogers, Bette Midler, Aaron Neville, and Alison Krauss. She also distinguished herself as one of the first women producers, helming projects with Suzy Bogguss, Jonathan Edwards, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and the New Grass Revival, also working with independent artists Brian Joseph, John Cowan, Arthur Lee Land, Rosie Flores, and Hypnogaja.
My Time in the Desert brings together Bryndle mate Kenny Edwards (guitar) with John Cowan (bass, vocals), Scott Babcock (drums/percussion), and other studio heavies to complement Wendy’s vocals, acoustic guitar, and piano. Steve Ferguson adds sly jazz-funk piano on Waldman’s newly-penned “The Luckiest Woman” and “Fishing in the Dark”. George Winston’s Steinway lends a rich harmonic base for the album’s title track, and Seth Osburn adds a delicate touch to the Waldman/Phil Galdston/Jon Lind classic, “Save the Best for Last”, previously released by Vanessa Williams. My Time in the Desert takes you on a tour of humanity and world class musicianship.
— Julie Bergman
Wendy Waldman’s new studio album, My Time in the Desert, gets off to a rocking start and doesn’t let up on quality or heart. Waldman worked on this record for five years off and on, until she felt the whole collection of songs gelled. Waldman co-produced with Michael Boshears, with whom she worked on her Warner Brothers records in the 1970s. She reunited with him in 1997, and has produced about a dozen albums with him since that time. Boshears also recorded and mixed much of the album.