There's a wide range of material on the new double album, from love songs like “Love Me Like the Morning” and “Another Language” to landscape songs like “When Silence Speaks” to social explorations like “My Friend Who Disagrees With Me”, “Trying to Get This Right”, and “Do We Believe”. As usual with Don, there are many thoughtful explorations and realizations about all that life brings, like “Why Be So Sure”, “At the Beginning” and “Is This the Last Time”. And there's some tunes that are just fun, like “The Fact That You Are Here” and “It Was Just Like That Last Night”. There's also a new recording of Don's classic “Welcome”, the title cut from Tumbleweed's third album way back in the 80s, featuring his old Tumbleweed bandmates. The collection also includes his homage to Chuck Pyle, “A Tree Fell in the Forest”, and a co-write with his friends Chris and Deb Mitguard, “No Uniform”.
Co-producer Michael Hearne is featured prominently throughout the album, on both guitars and vocals. Other musical guests include Eliza Gilkyson on a lovely duet (“Why Be So Sure”), Taos's Jimmy Stadler on keyboards, Austin via Santa Fe drummer Paul Pearcy, Don's brother “Diamond” Jim Richmond on various instruments and vocals, brother Ed Richmond on vocals, pianist Matt Schildt, percussionist Creed de Avanzar, and vocalist Robin James. The Shinyribs “Shiny Soul Sisters” Kelley Mickwee and Alice Spencer even make an appearance on “It Was Just Like That Last Night”.
For those who don't know Don, he has been a professional performing musician for more than fifty years. He regularly performs and records on more than a dozen instruments including electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, violin, viola, dobro, pedal steel guitar, banjo, harmonica, accordion, trumpet and percussion and is an award-winning songwriter. He has now released 7 solo CDs, 4 other albums with the Colorado band Tumbleweed earlier in his career, 3 with the Taos, New Mexico based group Hired Hands, 6 with the New Mexico based group The Rifters, 2 as a duo with David Clemmer, and 2 with his older brothers as the Richmond Brothers. He is also the main producer and engineer here at Howlin' Dog, and has recorded and helped produce hundreds of other recordings by many local, regional, and national artists.