''The Past Didn't Go Anywhere'' is an album by American

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

Utah Phillips Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips (May 15, 1935 – May 23, 2008)
, KVMR, Nevada City, California, May 24, 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008 ...

and American singer-songwriter

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influenc ...

, released October 15, 1996, on DiFranco's label,

Righteous Babe Records Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label that was created by folk singer Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company. History Righteous Babe Records was originally ...

. On the album, Phillips is recorded telling stories at concerts with DiFranco setting the musical background. DiFranco provides background vocals on the first and last tracks as part of her remixing, but no songs as such. The record was followed by ''

Fellow Workers ''Fellow Workers'' is an album by American folk music, folksinger Utah Phillips and American singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco. It was released May 18, 1999, on Difranco's own Righteous Babe Records. ''Fellow Workers'' is DiFranco's and Phillip's ...

'', a second collaboration between the two musicians, which focused on songs associated with the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

and contained singing as well as spoken-word pieces.

Track listing

All tracks written by Utah Phillips and Ani DiFranco. # "Bridges" – 8:03 # "Nevada City, California" – 6:41 # "Korea" – 8:30 # "Anarchy" – 6:27 # "Candidacy" – 1:45 # "Bum on the Rod" – 4:18 # "Enormously Wealthy" – 0:43 # "Mess With People" – 6:44 # "Natural Resources" – 2:31 # "Heroes" – 1:07 # "Half a Ghost Town" – 4:22 # "Holding On" – 6:13

Personnel

* Ani DiFranco – guitar, bass, percussion,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, vocals,

thumb piano Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and ...

, production,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, sampling,

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

, design, mixing,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

Utah Phillips Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips (May 15, 1935 – May 23, 2008)
, KVMR, Nevada City, California, May 24, 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008 ...

– spoken word, vocals, guitar * Darcie Deaville –

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

Mark Hallman Mark Hallman (born August 1, 1951) is an American producer, songwriter, engineer and multi-instrumentalist. He has worked with Carole King (appearing on six of her albums as a performer and producer), Ani DiFranco, and Eliza Gilkyson. In the m ...

– engineer * Marty Lester – engineer * Chris Bellman – mastering * Blair Woods – photography

References

1996 albums Ani DiFranco albums Utah Phillips albums Righteous Babe Records albums {{1990s-folk-album-stub