Over the Hills is the latest CD from New York City singer-songwriter and Red House Records recording artist Lucy Kaplansky. It is her most personal recording to date, with a stunning range of material, from stories about family—those that have gone before and follow after, of lives lived and roads traveled—to a compelling collection of classic songs by other writers, performed with Lucy’s distinctive interpretive sensibility.  Over the Hills is Lucy’s story and her reflection upon her times.

While Lucy’s last album The Red Thread is about her journey to adopt her daughter Molly from China, Over the Hills is the story of how her family came to be in America and the struggles they have endured.  The album connects to universal themes of love, joy, loss and dreams for the future.  “As a mother, I find myself thinking about what kind of life and what kind of world my daughter Molly will experience,” Lucy says.  

"With two major losses in her life this past year—the passing of her mathematician/pianist father Irving Kaplansky and that of her mentor and friend Red House Records president Bob Feldman—Lucy and her husband/co-writer Rick Litvin were inspired to write the title track “Over the Hills.”  

Bob Feldman the president and founder of Red House died on January 11, 2006 at the age of 56. For nearly 25 years, Red House has been a major force in the national folk music scene.  What began as a hobby for Bob became an American roots music institution.  He will be missed, but his vision lives on.

Encompassing the themes of the album, it reflects upon the connections between generations and how we all journey beyond the world of our parents.  From the album’s opening song “Manhattan Moon” about her joy in motherhood to “Today’s the Day” about saying goodbye to her dying father, Lucy’s new songs are utterly personal and deeply moving.

Lucy’s stellar songwriting shines as never before as she sings against a bare alt-country backdrop of steel guitar, mandolin, accordion and upright bass.  Produced by Ben Wittman (Roseanne Cash, Paul Simon), Over the Hills features a world class band of Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan Band, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris), Jon Herington (Steely Dan), Duke Levine (Mary Chapin Carpenter), and noted jazz bassist Stephan Crump. 

Lucy is also joined by a parade of friends, who lend their vocal harmonies—Eliza Gilkyson, Buddy Miller, Richard Shindell and Jonatha Brooke.  Rediscovering her musical roots, Lucy returns to a more acoustic sound that is influenced by the music she first fell in love with—folk and classic country.

She re-invents Bryan Ferry’s “More Than This” as a pedal steel soaked ballad, rocks out on Ian Tyson’s “Someday Soon” and June Carter Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” performs a winning duet with Buddy Miller on Julie Miller’s “Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go,” and romps joyously through Loudon Wainwright III’s “Swimming Song.”  From the New York skyline to the hills beyond, Lucy’s latest album is pure Americana, wonderfully raw and rich with heartache and hope.

About Lucy Kaplansky

Lucy Kaplansky started out singing in Chicago bars. Then, barely out of high school, Lucy Kaplansky moved to New York City. There she found a fertile community of songwriters and performers—Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, Bill Morrissey, Cliff Eberhardt, and others.

With a beautiful flair for harmony, Lucy was everyone’s favourite singing partner, but most often she found herself singing as a duo with Shawn Colvin. People envisioned big things for them; in fact, The New York Times said it was “easy to predict stardom for her.” But then Lucy dropped it all.
 

Convinced that her calling was in another direction, Lucy left the musical fast track to pursue a doctorate in Psychology. Upon completing her degree, Dr. Kaplansky took a job at a New York hospital working with chronically mentally ill adults, and also started a private practice. 

Lucy was often pulled back into the studio by her friends, (who now had contracts with record labels) wanting her to sing on their albums. She harmonized on Colvin’s Grammy-winning Steady On, on Nanci Griffith’s Lone Star State of Mind and Little Love Affairs, and on four of John Gorka’s albums. She also landed soundtrack credits, singing with Suzanne Vega on Pretty in Pink and with Griffith on The Firm, and several commercial credits as well—including “The Heartbeat of America” for Chevrolet.

Then Shawn Colvin—who was itching to produce a record—hooked up with Lucy, her ex-singing partner. They went into the studio, and it all came together. When Lucy’s solo tapes got into the hands of Bob Feldman, president of Red House Records, he was blown away. Suddenly, Lucy was back in the music business. She signed with Red House and started playing gigs.

                                                                                           Red House released The Tide in 1994 to rave reviews, and within six months Lucy signed with Fleming Tamulevich & Associates a major USA booking agency and began touring so much it required leaving her two psychologist positions behind.                                                                      

Lucy’s second album, Flesh and Bone (1996), was produced by Anton Sanko (producer of Suzanne Vega’s Days of Open Hand), and it clearly showed a performer and songwriter stepping into her own. Some of Lucy’s favorite singing partners joined her in the studio, including Jennifer Kimball (formerly of The Story), Richard Shindell, and John Gorka. Where The Tide had showcased Lucy’s formidable interpretive skills, Flesh and Bone emphasized her development as a gifted songsmith. The album is graced with eight absorbing original songs, as well as four sharp covers.

After releasing, The Tide, Lucy’s success took flight with back-to-back hit albums Ten Year Night and Every Single Day. Both received the AFIM award (Association For Independent Music) for best pop album of the year.  Lucy’s rising popularity has led to appearances on the CBS Morning Show, NPR’s Weekend and Morning Editions, Mountain Stage, West Coast Live, Acoustic Cafe, and Vin Scelsa’s Idiot’s Delight.  Lucy also contributed her story to a unique new book, SOLO: Women Singer-Songwriters in Their Own Words, which includes some of the best known women on the music scene today: Ani DiFranco, Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan and others. She was also featured in Lipshtick, a collection of essays by NPR commentator Gwen Macsai, published in the fall of 1999.  She did all this while maintaining the busiest of tour schedules covering the U.S. and Europe.

Discography

The Tide (1994) — Red House Records

Flesh and Bone (1996) — Red House Records

Ten Year Night (1999) — Red House Records

Every Single Day (2001) — Red House Records

The Red Thread (2004) — Red House Records

The Tide (re-issued 2005) — Red House Records

Over the Hills (2007) — Red House Records

Visit Lucy's website at www.lucykaplansky.com

Red House Records are at www.redhouserecords.com

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