Personnel: Rose Maddox (vocals); Fred Maddox (spoken vocals); Tim Howard (electric guitar); Jim Howard, Jay Dee Maness (steel guitar); Steven Grahn (mandolin, guitar); Norm Hamlet (dobro); Bill Bryson, Donny Maddox (bass); Steve Duncan, Larry White (drums); Rick Cunha (background vocals).

Producers: Byron Berline (tracks 1-12, 15-16); Chris Strachwitz, Gary Mueller, Roman Haiderer, Country Music Club Of St. Poelten, Austria (tracks 13-14).

Engineers: Rick Cunha (tracks 1-12, 15-16); Steven Grahn, Bob Hockenberry (tracks 13-14).

Recorded at Rainbow Garage Studios, Van Nuys, California in July 1994 and Hag, Inc., Palo Cedro, California in June 1990. Includes liner notes by Chris Strachwitz.

$35 AND A DREAM was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.

Personnel: Rose Maddox (vocals); Merle Haggard (vocals, gut-string guitar); Fred Maddox (spoken vocals); Herb Pedersen (guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, background vocals); John Jorgenson (guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, background vocals); Steve Grahn (guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin); Tim Howard (electric guitar); JayDee Mannes, Jim Howard, Jay Dee Maness (steel guitar); Norm Hamlet (dobro); Byron Berline (mandolin, fiddle); Larry White, Steve Duncan (drums); Rick Cunha, Bill Bryson (background vocals).

Recording information: Hag, Inc., Palo Cedro, CA (07/1994); Rainbow Garage Studios, Van Nuys, CA (07/1994).

Photographer: Chris Strachwitz.

Rose Maddox's first album following seven heart bypasses and three months spent in a coma, after which she had to re-learn to talk, let alone sing, is an excellent and welcome addition to the Maddox family catalogue. Rose Maddox's voice had weathered very well, and with an excellent backing band, including most of the Desert Rose Band and the fiddle of Byron Berline, her signature sound remains in top form. A fine testament to her legendary status within the country music community, Merle Haggard and composer David Price contribute songs written especially for the occasion, with Haggard contributing harmony vocals on "Dusty Memories." Johnny Cash even sings her praises in a non-musical dialogue. The final product is a fine combination of bluegrass, Western swing, and Bakersfield country, all presented with a very professional sound. Fine examples of the latter are covers of Buck Owens' "Falling for You" and "We're Gonna Let the Good Times Roll." A beautifully understated rendition of Gram Parsons' "Sin City" and the exemplary musicianship on the traditional "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues" are also highlights. David Price's three songwriting contributions range from the completely appropriate gospel of "Blood Stained Hands" to the somewhat maudlin "Tonight I'm on Stage" and "$35 and a Dream," which charts the history of the Maddox family and puts Rose Maddox in the strange position of singing about her own legacy. All in all, there still isn't a bad track here, and $35 and a Dream would be one listeners' last looks at a true country legend. ~ Matt Fink