Emily's Angel
The third album from Valerie & Walter Crockett
We think our new album, "Emily's Angel," is our best yet. It features 12 new original songs, ranging in style from pop to Cajun to rollicking blues. One highlight is "One Special Day," written and sung by our daughter Emily, 15. The song tells of Emily's trip to meet country star Garth Brooks. Emily who has had a brain tumor for 8 years, met Brooks in New York City, and Brooks turned the scheduled 20-minute chat into an unforgettable three-day stay.
The album's title tune, written and sung by Valerie, gives a mother's perspective on the visit. "Emily's Angel" is our most requested tune in live performance. Because of his kindness, we dedicated the album to Garth Brooks.
You can order Emily's Angel online right now, and listen to a few songs from it too.
Or you can order it from us by mail for $15 CD, $10 cassette, plus $1.50 each for mailing:- Valerie & Walter Crockett
32 Maple Tree Lane,
Worcester, MA 01602.
Emily's Angel features the fine playing of our fantabulous band, the Oxymorons (motto: "We'll drive you to a frenzy of catatonia!"): the sensitive bluegrass stylings of the immortal Francis McConville, the flat-out virtuosity of Bob Dick on acoustic bass, and the eclectic wizardry of Mark Manuel on keyboards, accordian and saxophone. And we're delighted to have Bill MacGillivray on drums and percussion throughout the album. Special guests include Duke Levine on electric guitar, Roger Williams on dobro, Dave Dick on banjo, Chet Williamson on harmonica, and Jackson Crockett on trombone.
Many of the songs feature four- and five-part harmony and Valerie's exquisite vocals. Her voice ranges from a deep Karen Carpenter-style alto to a stratospheric bluesy wail. The band likes tight arrangements that still include plenty of room for instrumental improvisation, often with tradeoffs between Walter's lead guitar playing, Fran's rapid-fire mandolin licks, Bil's ever-sensitive fills and slapping backbeat, and Mark's bottomless well of piano ideas. Bob Dick is a superb soloist on bass, and he gets a chance to show it several times on this album, including a monster four-verse solo on the final cut, "Ice Cream Man."