Rosalie Sorrels

Anyone who knows Rosalie Sorrels is already familiar with her reputation as an outsider. She’s been to hell and back, choosing to make her world into a place that suits her terms. Incredibly personal and personable, this grande dame of American folk is custom-fit to sing the songs of fellow activist and visionary Bruce "Utah” Phillips. With Phillips’ passing last May, Sorrels decided to pay tribute to her close friend — who better to voice the part of this powerful storyteller, poet and labour organizer than she? A grab bag of Phillips’ best-known and never recorded material awaits and Sorrels’ weathered, delicate voice is abetted by guests Peggy Seeger and the McGarrigles, among others. One listen to songs like "Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia” (with Kate and Anna) or poems like "Will This World Survive?” reveal a thinker whose thoughtful insight will only grow more legendary with time, deserving of this landmark recording. It is said that on the stormy night that Phillips died he rode out on a bolt of lightning. Sorrels does better than this in her compassionate treatment of the great man’s work.