Thanks & Giving All Year Long (CD - 2004)

Personnel: Kevin Bacon , Michael Bacon (vocals); Larry Saltzman (guitar, tiple, mandolin); Jim Marr (guitar, keyboards); Marc Swersky (guitar); John Hiatt, Mac McAnally (acoustic guitar); Ira Siegel, Sonny Landreth (electric guitar); Bruce Bouton (dobro); Eric Weissberg (banjo); Jonathan Yudkin (mandolin, fiddle); Robin Batteau (violin, fiddle, background vocals); Gary Schreiner (harmonica); John Lee Hooker (piano, organ); Doug Katsaros, Mike Utley (piano); Irwin Fisch (keyboards); David Ranson (electric bass); Kenneth Blevins, Roger Guth, Shawn Pelton, Frank Vilardi (drums); Marshall Rosenberg (congas, shaker, tambourine); Christopher Cerf, Dana Calitri, Curtis King, Angela Cappelli, Jill Walsh, Frank Simms, Hannah Levine, Claire Daley, Nicki Richards, Paulette McWilliams, Sharon Bryant, Wendy Page, Elaine Caswell (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Derek Bason; Glyn Johns; Eric & Suzy Thompson; Joel Soyffer; Nick Cipriano; Russ Titelman; Steven Wolf.

Recording information: Beatstreet, New York, NY; Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA; Coney Island Studios, Glendale, CA; Emerald Entertainmetn, Nashville, TN; Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Kessler Media, Katonah, NY; Outpost Sound Mixing Company, Hollywood, CA; P.O.P, Santa Monica, CA; Ronnie Milsap's Groundstar Labs, Nashville, TN; Sounsshop, Nashville, TN; Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage, Burbank, CA.

Director: Tony Thomas.

Illustrators: Greg Christie; Lane Smith ; Joe Mathieu; Dan Andreasen; Harry Bliss; Shel Silverstein.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Steve Whitmire; Oscar Colon.

Arrangers: Michael Bacon; Robin Batteau.

Thanks & Giving All Year Long is a companion CD to Marlo Thomas' book of the same name. Combining spoken word performances of the stories and poems in the book with original songs and delightful artwork, the collection revisits the sense of boundless positivity -- and life's possibilities -- that made Thomas' landmark 1972 children's release Free to Be...You and Me so special. Thanks & Giving's list of contributors is pretty varied. Musically there's tranquil material from Sheryl Crow and Jimmy Buffet encouraging folks to appreciate diversity and be in a good mood, and Wayne Brady gives love out to the "Unsung Heroes" in life -- you know, the galoshes, zippers, paper sacks, bottle caps, cups, and handles that make the world go round. Hilary Duff's "(I'll Give) Anything but Up!" is a sweetly urgent pop number comparable in both sound and message to her own work, while the rootsy John Hiatt and Amy Grant duet "Thank Someone" originally appeared on Thomas' 1988 album Free to Be a Family. Interspersed with these warm-hearted musical tracks are equally pleasant stories and poems, read by such Hollywood heavyweights as Antonio Banderas, Billy Crystal, Jennifer Aniston, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Highlights include David Hyde Pierce's reading of "The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage" where he perfectly personifies the title characters (in particular the mouse and sausage), as well as "A Tale of Two Friends," which features Muppets Bert & Ernie learning a Christmas lesson from Thomas herself. [In the spirit of the season, royalties from Thanks & Giving's benefited the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.] ~ Johnny Loftus minimize