Thirteen Stories High is a 2008 album by California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

-based folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Joel Rafael

Joel Rafael

Joel Rafael is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician from San Diego County, California.Described as a natural interpreter of Woody Guthrie's lyrics and music, Woodyboye, Rafael's second volume to celebrate the songs of Woody Guthrie, was released on Appleseed in 2005. The first volume,...

. The album's political tone is set by the first track, "This Is My Country", which features David Crosby

David Crosby

David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...

 and Graham Nash

Graham Nash

Graham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...

 on background vocals. Political themes continue throughout the album both in Rafael's own songs and in two covers: Steve Earle

Steve Earle

Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....

's "Rich Man's War" and Jack Hardy

Jack Hardy (singer-songwriter)

John Studebaker "Jack" Hardy was an American lyrical singer-songwriter and playwright based in Greenwich Village, who was influential as a writer, performer, and mentor in the North American and European folk music scenes for decades...

's "I Oughta Know".

This is the first album in which Rafael is billed as a solo artist and here he records with a few talented session players rather than with the members of his Joel Rafael band. Rafael does spend a bit of time covering old territory, re-recording his own songs, "Time Stands Still" and "Reluctant Angel". Rafael has announced plans to tour in support of the new record.

Track listing

1. "This Is My Country" (Rafael) - 4:55
2. "Ball & Chain" (Rafael) - 3:01
3. "Rich Man's War" (Earle
   Steve Earle
   Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
   
   ) - 3:09
4. "I Ought to Know" (Hardy
   Jack Hardy (singer-songwriter)
   John Studebaker "Jack" Hardy was an American lyrical singer-songwriter and playwright based in Greenwich Village, who was influential as a writer, performer, and mentor in the North American and European folk music scenes for decades...
   
   ) - 3:45
5. "Missing Pages" (Rafael) - 4:33
6. "Dancing to the Dream" (Rafael) - 3:45
7. "Open Up Your Heart" (Rafael) - 3:11
8. "Wild Honey" (McClemore, Rafael) - 3:03
9. "Time Stands Still" (Rafael) - 3:19
10. "Song of Socrates" (Rafael) - 3:34
11. "Reluctant Angel" (Rafael) - 2:45
12. "Promised Land" (Rafael) - 4:27
13. "Rivers and Rain" (Rafael) - 3:31

Musician

• Joel Rafael
  Joel Rafael
  Joel Rafael is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician from San Diego County, California.Described as a natural interpreter of Woody Guthrie's lyrics and music, Woodyboye, Rafael's second volume to celebrate the songs of Woody Guthrie, was released on Appleseed in 2005. The first volume,...
  
   - acoustic guitar
  Steel-string acoustic guitar
  A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
  
  , vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• John Inmon - Electric guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  
• Radoslav Lorkovic - Organ, Piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  
• Glenn Schuetz - bass
  Bass (instrument)
  Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
  
  
• Wally Doggett - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• David Crosby
  David Crosby
  David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
  
   - vocals
• Graham Nash
  Graham Nash
  Graham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
  
   - vocals & harmonica
• Jamaica Rafael - vocals

Production

• Produced
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
   by Joel Rafael
• Engineered Jared Brown, John Inmon, Joel Rafael, and Fred Remmert
• Mixed
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
   by Joel Rafael
• Mastered
  Audio mastering
  Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
  
   by Gavin Lurssen
• Executive producer/Management - Cree Clover Miller

Charts

year	chart	peak
April 2008	Freeform American Roots Chart	19

Releases

year	format	label	catalog #
2008	CD	Inside Inside Recordings Inside Recordings is a Los Angeles, California based independent record label founded by singer-songwriter Jackson Browne in 1999. Browne has stated that the mission of the label is to "create a haven for music that might not find a home in the mainstream." In 2005, Inside Recordings signed a...	80219

External links

• "This Is My Country" video & mp3 from joelrafael.com