Have Harmony, Will Travel

Editorial Reviews Carla Olson co-founded the critically acclaimed group The Textones (with future Go-Go s bassist Kathy Valentine), of which Mikal Gilmore said, Carla Olson (who, wouldn t ya know, comes from Texas, where many wonderful things come from) combines John Fogerty-style, working-man populist politics with a grand, Rolling Stones-inflected bent for hellfire rock n roll, then manages to make both influences seem secondary, with a raw, growling irruptive vocal style that owes acknowledgement to no influence other than its own zeal and compassion. The Textones 1985 major-label debut included Ry Cooder, Gene Clark and Barry Goldberg, and was followed by 1987 s Cedar Creek. Olson worked on albums with Don Henley, John Fogerty, Eric Johnson and Sky Saxon, and released her solo debut in 1988. Her latest album, Have Harmony, Will Travel, follows 2002 s The Ring of Truth and consists of twelve cover songs, each featuring a duet with a guest vocalist Richie Furay (Poco, Buffalo Springfield), Juice Newton, John York (Byrds), Peter Case, James Intveld, Rob Waller and more. Instrumental backing on the album is provided by Clem Burke, Cindy Cashdollar, Mike Clinco, Skip Edwards, Tom Fillman, Barry Goldberg, Rick Hemmert, Tony Marsico, Tom Jr Morgan, Richard Podolor, Marty Rifkin, Pat Robinson and Gregg Sutton.