"Somewhere around 2007 a rather remarkable sight and sound appeared around these parts. Two women, seated among a variety of instruments, playing their own mesmerizing songs amid scattered covers (Richard and Linda Thompson, Donovan, Anne Briggs). Sometimes they played together, sometimes one or the other would do a song while the other watched or added a bit of harmony. It was closer to something you'd see in a university club in 1967 than anything contemporary, but there they were. A large and devoted audience developed quickly, following them from gig to gig. At the time it seemed like they were ready to for the world to discover, something so good that everyone would know about them soon enough. Within a couple of years they would seem more like an apparition, something flown by that you weren't sure was ever really there. They had made some tentative starts at recording, but nothing much to show when I approached them in 2009 to make an LP. One afternoon they loaded all their gear in and set up as they would for a gig. We recorded everything live, including vocals, in one or two takes -- usually one. It was a lovely afternoon, without a hint of the usual recording jitters or other distractions. The songs flowed out, one by one, as naturally as you please. We later added a touch or two to a couple of songs, but the resulting record is almost entirely live, just as you would have heard it if you were lucky enough to see 'em around town. As it turned out, that session was close to the end for Baba Yaga. There were a few more gigs, and then they split -- Carla moving to NYC and Amanda staying local. There were scattered sightings of each over the years: Amanda joined Major Stars for a while. Carla formed Raajmahal with Pat Murano (of No Neck Blues Band and K Salvatore) and put out several LP's and cassettes. But the album they made together as Baba Yaga was seemingly doomed. For a couple of years emails were exchanged, but trying to get the recordings sequenced and artwork prepared for a defunct band whose members lived in different states was slow going. Finally in 2013 everything was in order and 250 copies of the LP were pressed. Then the finished art for the cover went missing. That seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. Boxes of unfinished LP's were tucked into a closet, where they've sat for over a decade. But you can't keep a good record down forever, right? A couple of chance meetings in the middle of this decade restarted the conversation, and designer Darryl Norsen (Grateful Dead, Yes, Joni Mitchell) was brought in to design an all-new sleeve. The records were exhumed and unboxed and after a sixteen year wait the Baba Yaga album everyone 'round town was waiting for is finally here." -- Wayne Rogers
