Search - Kim & Reggie Harris :: Simplicity

As longtime songwriters, performers and residents of planet Earth, folk favorites Kim and Reggie Harris have learned the meaning and virtues of simplicity. As they write in the liner notes of this, their latest CD, "In a world that seems to grow more violent and overwhelming with each passing day, this music is, for us, a reminder of one simple truth: we are all connected." Without pretension or elaborate instrumentation, "Simplicity" focuses on the self-evident but hard-to-achieve concept that global peace and understanding are the only means for the human race to survive. The CD?s mixture of original compositions (including "Big, Big World," "Hold On," and a remake of their classic "Spoken in Love"), traditional spirituals ("This Little Light of Mine," "Roll, Jordan, Roll"), and distinctive versions of songs by Pete Seeger ("Rainbow Race"), Phil Ochs ("Changes"), Sting ("We Work the Black Seam), and others, share a central theme: learn or be chained to the mistakes of history. The determined spirit of optimism and activism that illuminates "Simplicity" is introduced on the opening "This Little Light of Mine" ? "The real power is yours and mine/So let your little light shine," sing Kim and Reggie, joined by the duo of Charlie King and Karen Brandow, who also appear on the ecology-minded "Solar Carol." Special guest John Sebastian galvanizes "Big, Big World" with his raucous harmonica work, and the Harrises are joined by their longtime friends and frequent collaborators, the duo of Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino (a.k.a. Magpie) on the CD?s affirmative closer, "Rainbow Race." Oboist Troy Messenger adds a lovely texture to the two peaceful instrumentals ? guitarist Reggie?s title tune and "Findlandia (Song of Peace)" by classical composer Jean Sibelius ? that bracket Kim?s chilling "Short Shift at Ground Zero," written two weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Her song is a kaleidoscope of images, shards of news reports and prayers interwoven with disaster-scene vignettes, sound effects, and a drifting chorus from the sorrowful gospel song "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." Despite the uncertainty expressed in some of these songs, the warmth of the Harrises? voices and arrangements, the tantalizing simplicity of their goal of universal harmony, and their unquenchable optimism make this CD a comforting and inspiring call to common sense.