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Rachel Cross
Dream Land
ACCD 0403
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Rachel Cross
Rachel
Cross started her musical career in 1983 as a street musician in Paris, France.
She has been playing guitar, writing songs, singing and recording ever since.
Rachel was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the award-winning world
beat band Big Village for eleven years. Rachel is known for her high-energy
performances, positive vibe, and powerful voice. She has performed at countless
venues, colleges, and festivals including The Kennedy Center, on board The
Green Peace Warrior, and at the Mid-Atlantic conference for The National
Organization of Women.
Rachel has received many awards including a Mid-Atlantic Song Contest award
for her song "Sound of the Bullet", Song of the Week on MP3.COM for her song
"Same Guy," and Best World Music Vocalist from the Washington Area Music
Association in 1996, 1997,1999 and 2000. She has also been nominated for
many awards including Best Contemporary Folk Female Vocalist in 2001.
She
has been fortunate to share the stage with many luminaries including Shawn
Colvin, The Neville Brothers, Los Lobos, political comedian Al Franken and
Jesse Jackson.
When not performing, Rachel enjoys being a session vocalist and educator.
Her soulful vocals have been featured on many soundtracks including National
Geographic's Tiger Sharks, Babylon, and Self-portrait,
and as the theme for the ITV Network. Rachel recently received her fourth
grant to create and record original songs with eighty students from School-within-school
at Peabody in Washington, DC. She has also written and recorded music with
Henry Cross for nine theatrical productions of The Bethesda Academy
of Performing Arts.
"Cross focuses on lyrics that are meant to inspire listeners - inspire them
to laugh or dance or to witness the breadth of her imagination."
Mike Joyce, The Washington Post
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Track 2 3:12
Better Than Excellent Best Dreamy Eyes Music/BMI
Track 16 4:43
We Got Love Dreamy Eyes Music/BMI
lyrics--click here
BETTER THAN EXCELLENT BEST
"Better Than Excellent Best" is all about the ordinary part of an extraordinary
love. It even features a solo played on stainless steel kitchen spoons –
a
literal example of making the ordinary extraordinary! The guitar groove is
very Washington, DC in a folkie sort of way, describes my town of Takoma
Park. Some neighborhood kids were down in my basement messing around on the
drums with some hip hop beats, and I was upstairs with my acoustic guitar.
I played along to their beats, and came up with a finger picking guitar part
that
matched the rhythm. And that’s how the groove was born.
Better Than Excellent Best
written by Rachel Cross © 2004
You’re my cinnamon toast
And my flying honey bee
The eggs in my basket
The bats in my belfry, Baby
You put me through the test
But at the end of the day, I still honestly say
You’re better than excellent best
Better than excellent best
You’re my hot bubble bath
And the air in my tires
The spring in my step
and my internal fire
The promise in my pocket
The hope in my chest
And at the end of the day, I still honestly say
You’re better than excellent best
The sound of your snoring so sweetly at night
And the shine of your dishes in the pale kitchen light
The ring on my finger
The ring round the bath
The ring and the shimmer of your beautiful laughter
Hey ! Hey !
You’re my secret blush in the middle of the day
The one who puts up with my crazy old ways
The roots
The tree
The bluebird
And the nest
And at the end of the day, I still honestly say
You’re better than excellent best
Better than excellent best…
Rachel Cross © 2004
Musicians:
Rachel Cross; vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica
Henry Cross: bass
Tim Gregory: spoons
Nick Hughes: drums
WE'VE GOT LOVE
"We Got Love" is probably one of the saddest and also most hopeful tunes
that I have ever written. In the most difficult and uncertain times, unconditional
love can be your wings. I am lucky enough to have experienced the wonder
of receiving and later giving safe harbor. When I composed this song, I was
thinking that it really is a blues song thematically. Instrumentally, a sparse
acoustic guitar and harmonica seemed to fit. I was doing stage tech for a
lot of musicians from Mali at the time, and their balaphone music always
sounded so hopeful to me. In the song, the balaphone is the warm field of
compassion.
She came to the door at 3 A.M.
She said, Please, please won’t you let me in.
They said, Come on in, Child. Don’t you cry
It’s gonna be alright now
Dry your eyes….Dry your eyes
She came with books, and bags of clothes, and a belly full of baby
They did the best that they knew how to treat her like a lady
They said, Come on in now. Don’t you cry
It’s gonna be alright
Dry your eyes
We got love
We got so much love for you
We got love
We got so much love for you
She went to the church the next Sunday
She got down on her knees and started to pray
How could something created from love be called a sin?
Please open up your heart and let us in
We got love
We got so much love for you
We got love
We got so much love for you
She went to the doctor at 3 AM
Heaven opened up and took the baby in
They said, Come on home now we say goodbye
Come on home now, it’s time to cry
We got love
We got so much love for you
We got love
We got so much love for you
You got love
You got so much love in you
You got love
And it’s love that pulls us through
Rachel Cross © 2004
Musicians:
Rachel Cross: vocals, acoustic guitar, balaphone, harmonica
Lori Kelley: harmony vocals
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Dream Land
Rachel Cross
ACCD 0403
Produced by Marco Delmar & Rachel Cross
Engineered by Marco Delmar, Stephanie Gogerty, & Antonio Pacheco,
Recording Arts, Fairfax, VA.
Mastered by Bill Wolf, Wolf Productions, Inc., Falls Church, VA
Photos--Donna T. Jones, F/Stop Studios, Silver Spring, MD
Graphic Design--Brad Rudich, College Park, MD
Dream Land Art Guitar--Rachel Cross
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