Duets: Friends and Legends (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Anne Murray (background vocals); Anne Murray (vocals); Dean Parks, Georges Hebert, Aidan Mason (guitar); Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Billy Masters, Brent Mason (electric guitar); Enrico DiCecco, Eva Burmeister, Abe Appleman, Hae Young Ham, Catherine Ro, David Chan, Elena Barere, Carol Webb, Katherine Fong, Ann Leathers, Jonathan Dinklage (violin); Irene Breslaw, Desiree Elsevier, Vince Lionti, Craig Mumm (viola); Diane Barere, Jeanne LeBlanc, Richard Locker (cello); Gil Goldstein (strings, accordion); Rob Mathes (strings); Katherine Fink (alto flute); Pamela Sklar (bass flute); Virgil Blackwell (bass clarinet); Diane Lesser (English horn); Andy Snitzer (alto saxophone, trumpet); Jeff Kievit, Tony Kadleck (trumpet); Phil Myers, Bob Carlisle (French horn); Birch Johnson (tenor trombone); Chris Hall (tuba); Lou Pomanti (piano, electric piano, organ, background vocals); Chris Caswell, Brian Gatto, Jim Cox, Steve Sexton, Doug Riley, Steve Nathan (keyboards); David Finck (electric bass); Barry Keane (drums, percussion, background vocals); Gregg Field, Shawn Pelton, Gary Craig (drums); Dawn Langstroth, Nathan Moore, Michael Francis, Peter Cardinali (background vocals).

Additional personnel: Dawn Langstrosh, Isabelle Bonlay, Dusty Springfield, Emmylou Harris, Indigo Girls, Jann Arden, k.d. lang, Martina McBride, Amy Grant, Nelly Furtado, Olivia Newton-John, Sarah Brightman, Shania Twain, Shelby Lynne, Celtic Woman, Carole King, Celine Dion.

Audio Mixers: Frank Filipetti; Kevin Doyle.

Liner Note Author: Larry LeBlanc.

Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN (12/14/1996); Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA (12/14/1996); Legacy Recording Studios, New York, NY (12/14/1996); Montreal, PQ (12/14/1996); Pase One Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (12/14/1996); The Orange Lounge, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (12/14/1996).

Photographer: Monic Richard.

Anne Murray's DUETS: FRIENDS AND LEGENDS is an anthology of 17 songs the Canadian country superstar has recorded over her career. The track list includes new versions of her own hits, such as "Danny's Song" with Martina McBride, "Daydream Believer" with Nelly Furtado, "Snowbird" with Sarah Brightman, "You Needed Me" with Shania Twain, and "A Little Good News" with the Indigo Girls. Murray also duets with stars like Dusty Springfield, Emmylou Harris, Celine Dion, and the Irish vocal group Celtic Woman.

For her 34th studio album, Anne Murray recorded a set of duets with many of her favorite female singers, from Nelly Furtado to Sarah Brightman. There are a number of country duet partners here, such as Shania Twain, Emmylou Harris, and Martina McBride, but there are even more pop-oriented women singing with Murray, encompassing the likes of Celtic Woman and Celine Dion. This makes perfect sense, as Murray's always straddled the pop-country fence effortlessly. Her singing on Duets: Friends and Legends is just as effortless. Now in her fifth decade as an active recording artist, her voice hasn't lost a beat, sounding just as pure and clear as it did on 1970s "Snowbird" (done here with a surprisingly relaxed, easy vocal from Brightman, sounding for all the world like a young Olivia Newton-John). The majority of these songs are ones which have been sizeable hits for Murray in the past, most of which work nicely recast as duets, or at least showcases for harmony singing. There are exceptions, of course: sadly, the late Dusty Springfield's voice doesn't fit "I Just Fall in Love Again" at all, and Nelly Furtado sounds mightily out of place on "Daydream Believer." But for each of those there's an Emmylou Harris on "Another Pot o' Tea," k.d. lang matching Murray perfectly on "A Love Song," and most of all, Shania Twain showing up with what might be the best vocal of her career on the classic "You Needed Me." Murray clearly inspired most of her duet partners to bring their "A" games, and since she's pretty much always on hers (and Phil Ramone, of all people, provides sterling production which knows when to stay out of the way), what results is often magical. ~ Thomas Inskeep minimize