Serena Ryder - Unlikely Emergency (2003)

After a lifetime of performing, Serena Ryder stands poised on the brink of big things. Armed with a riveting stage presence, powerful three-octave range and songs of intense passion, she invites the listener to observe her soul stripped bare.

Ryder's big break came after a performance on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Channel) when she met her future mentor, Canadian singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Hawksley Workman. Workman had been listening to the program and immediately called the station. "We've been working together ever since. He comes from a really old place. He's an extremely talented musician who plays the hell out of every instrument. He's also a brilliant producer." He and Ryder holed up in Workman's studio in preparation for recording "Unlikely Emergency." Serena says, "He's got this little studio deep, deep, deep in the woods in Huntsville, Ontario. It's a one-room schoolhouse built in the late 1800s. It's magical, you can hear wolves all around you at night and frogs during the day."

Ryder's songs address both personal and fictional experiences. One case of a fictional story that came true is the heartrending title track, in which she sings, "In an unlikely emergency, over water / You stole my heart but no one was killed." Serena recalls, "I was almost in a plane crash on my way from Paris to Toronto. About 3 hours over the Atlantic Ocean, the captain says, 'Please don't panic. We have a gas leakage and we have to go back to the airport.' As we're landing, you can see huge sheets of gas coming out of the wing. There are paramedics, ambulances, and fire trucks on the runway. I found out later that it was national news. That was a year after I wrote that song."

"Unlikely Emergency" closes with a stunning a cappella version of the Etta James standard "At Last," the only track on the disc that Serena did not write herself. She often ends her live performances with this show-stopper as well, highlighting her powerful voice and immense stage presence.

Note from yLe: This was released beginning in 2003 thru 2007.

Track List:

01 - Sing Sing
02 - Just Another Day
03 - Again By You
04 - Every Single Day
05 - And Some Money Too
06 - Skin Crawl
07 - Daydream
08 - Stay For An Hour
09 - Unlikely Emergency
10 - At Last


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