Review Text
2016 release, the third album by Portland family performer Red Yarn (Andy Furgeson). Recorded with Grammy winning producer Dean Jones, the album is an homage to Furgeson's favorite old children's records and songbooks. Red Yarn emerges from the Deep Woods - the weird animal world he explored with his first two albums - to sing sunnier songs about waking up, childhood play, animal adventures, and parenting. Wake Up & Sing expands on Red Yarn's lush and lively folk-rock sound. His rootsy vocals, driving guitar, and tight harmonies with his wife Jessie Eller-Isaacs are reframed within Jones' whimsical sonic palette. The sound is rounded out by Jones' drumming, Jed Greenberg's bass and fiddle, guest appearances by Morgan Taylor of Gustafer Yellowgold, Mo Phillips, and Jane Scarpantoni on cello. Furgeson's collaborator Ryan Bruce created bright linocut prints for the album artwork, echoing the simple designs of old Folkways children's records.
