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Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young
Casting For Recovery raises funds for victims of breast cancer
Through the throat of a riffle, the stream batters over a slough of rounded cobbles, and pours into the purple-green
water of a flat, deep pool. A damselfly dimples the gliding water touching the surface with her tail, dropping her
eggs. Under the shade of an alder tree leaning over the purling water, there lays a trout hidden by the dark depth in
the cranny of some roots that stitch the bank together. Hope lives high here for the angler. It is those dark waters
where the fish reside.
"To fish is to hope," is the trademark of Casting For Recovery, a nationwide non-profit organization that exists to
bring hope and healing for victims of breast cancer. Purple words on a gray background can paint a picture any way
you like it. And so it is with this much of Neil Young's music. His metaphorical lyrics reside on a new a CD titled,
Cinnamon Girl ? Women Artists Cover Neil Young, from American Laundromat Records. The new two-disc set is a
fund-raiser for Casting For Recovery, and it is a beautiful thing any way you view it.
ALR owner, Joe Spadaro has done a wonderful thing all in the name of charity, and in the memory of his mother,
Norine, who passed away from the disease in 2005. Norine took part in a Casting For Recovery retreat, and her son is
"paying forward."
"I wanted to honor my mother who battled breast cancer for 6 years before passing on in July of 2005," said Spadaro.
"She had benefited greatly from the Casting For Recovery weekend retreat on Long Island. When she spoke about that
weekend her eyes would light up. She learned how to fly fish ? caught a big fish ? and met some amazing women and
formed several strong friendships. When she passed on, it was her wish that instead of flowers, donations to Casting
For Recovery be made in her name."
Spadaro has taken his mother's desires a step further. Thus far, $25,000 from sales of /Cinnamon Girl/ have made
their way to Casting For Recovery, and the organization is most appreciative.
"We're thrilled about Joe Spadaro's project. It's been great to see the wonderful reaction, and to see the ?ripple
effect' that this project has had," said Kate Fox, CFR's communications director. We're very honored that Joe chose
CFR as the beneficiary of this memorial to his mom, who was the center of a wonderful circle of family and friends.
She is remembered very fondly among those who met her at the CFR retreat she attended."
Neil Young's music holds a special place in Spadaro's memory, and why he would choose to cover some of Young's best
songs make perfect sense. Any fan of Neil Young will see some resemblance of Cinnamon Girl to Young's
Decade.
"One of my fondest Christmas memories was receiving my first record player. We didn't grow up with much money so this
was a special gift. My mother recognized my profound love of music at an early age and encouraged it. She worked very
hard to buy me the record player along with a copy of Neil Young's Decade, which was a beautiful collection,
three vinyl records. So for me, Neil Young and those songs in particular remind me of that Christmas and my mom.
The songs on Cinnamon Girl spill out in a poetic succession: Down by the River; I Believe in You; Tell me
Why; I am a Child; Comes a Time, as though they speak of the past and portend the future. The CD starts off with what
could be a character assessment of Joe Spadero: Heart of Gold, sung by Tanya Donelly.
"Heart of Gold has always been one of my favorite songs from earliest memory on," said Donelly. "When Joe contacted
me about this album I immediately asked if that one had been claimed yet."
And claim it she did, wringing out the emotion. "I think it's perfect, actually - structurally, lyrically, and
musically," Donelly said of the song. "There aren't very many words, but they say everything and I can relate to
every single one of them. I love that such strong images and heartbreak and hope all come through in a few
lines."
Donelly has some familial experience with breast cancer. Her grandmother and mother-in-law have survived breast
cancer. "I would have wholeheartedly contributed to this album in any case, but watching these two women that I love
fight this disease with courage and grace and toughness brought the whole project home."
You can bring it all home too, by adding the CD to your library of great music or downloading via iTunes, while also
helping to better the lives of others. Your purchase will help the nationwide all-volunteer network that is Casting
For Recovery. Go to alr-music.com to get the CD. To find out more about CFR
in the Four Corners, go to castingforrecovery.org
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