Halifax Herald
November 2, 2006

The Rankins reunite
Mabou's most famous family together again for upcoming tour, new CD,
with John
Morris's daughter helping out
By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter

IN 1999 IT was "Fare thee well love," as Cape Breton group The
Rankins
announced they would be calling it a day. After a full decade of
touring and
recording, the five siblings cited the desire to focus on their
families and
pursue other creative interests as their reasons to disband while
still at the
top of their musical game.

Now, seven years later, when the topic of reviving the group for one
more album
and tour came up amongst them, the response was, "You feel the same
way too?"

The Rankins reunion rumour was flying around Cape Breton during
Celtic Colours
last month, followed by an official release announcing that Jimmy
Rankin and
sisters Raylene, Cookie and Heather had been recording new music in
Nashville,
with an eye on going out on tour in the new year.

Unfortunately, it can never be the Rankin family as fans remember it,
with the
death of the band's traditional music lynchpin John Morris Rankin in
a winter
highway accident in 2000, but there was always that question whether
those
familiar harmonies would be heard together again, eight years after
their last
public performance together and nearly 10 years since their final
album,
Uprooted.

"Where does the time go?" ponders Heather Rankin over coffee at the
Lord
Nelson's Victory Arms. "I always privately hoped that some day we
would get
together again."

"But when John Morris was killed, that pretty much salted it, I
think," adds
Jimmy. "The truth is, that Celtic part is gone with John Morris,
although there
are a lot of great players now who can help preserve that feel. But
we have a
lot of songs that are pop that we can play in concert. And there's no
reason
why we can't play them if people want to hear them."

According to Jimmy, Calgary concert promoter Jeff Parry suggested a
reunion
tour to him last spring, but the singer-songwriter expressed his
doubts,
considering Raylene's solo career, Heather's business interests and
Cookie's
busy life in Nashville where she lives with Grammy Award-winning
producer/engineer George Massenburg.

"We're pretty spread out," he says. "But I brought it to everyone to
see what
they thought, and we got on the phone with Jeff. He had a wish list
of things,
like getting some new songs together, so we got together in August to
workshop
some songs with Scott Macmillan, who was with us in the old days.

"Then (John Morris's daughter) Molly came into the picture with a
bunch of
songs she'd been working on, and we ended up in Nashville working
with George,
and we wound up with enough material for an album."

While he also has his own new solo album coming out in January, Jimmy
was able
to come up with new songs for the project — which is still going
through the
mixing stage — and also rediscovered songs written during his time
with the
Rankins, like The Departing Song. Covers of tunes by John Hiatt,
David Francey
and Gordon Lightfoot will round out the track list.

Having Massenburg, known for working with the likes of Lyle Lovett
and the
Dixie Chicks, produce the new recordings was pretty much a no-brainer.

"I love the way we recorded at George's new state-of-the-art studio.
There's
nothing else like it in the world," says Jimmy. "I hate describing
it, it looks
like the inside of a sawmill.

"We were all crouched in a little room around our mics, no
headphones,
recording all the vocals live together."

"As a result, it sounds more laid back, more natural," says Heather.

"It was a very pleasant experience, very musical, very spontaneous,"
adds
Jimmy. "But you really had to be on your toes. You screw up, and
you've screwed
up a whole track. But I loved recording there."

The four original Rankins found it refreshing to have their 19-year-
old niece
Molly on board for the sessions. Surrounded by music her whole life,
she brings
a love of both contemporary and traditional sounds to the group's
sonic palette.

"Right from the get-go, we knew we had to go forward without John
Morris, but
we still wanted him to be part of it," says Heather. "And having
Molly involved
maintains that connection. She's a budding singer-songwriter, she
plays guitar
and fiddle, and I think all of us recognized her talent.

"It means a lot to us that she can participate and showcase what she
has to
offer."

For now, the Rankins are calling the upcoming record and tour a one-
shot deal,
a rare chance to bring their experiences of the past decade back into
the
musical family fold.

"We had gone pretty hard for 10 straight years," says Raylene. "I
think
everybody just needed a break.

"Personally, I was exhausted. And then I had a child while we were
making that
last record. So for the next couple of years, as a parent with an
infant, it
was really hard to be away. And taking a child along and subjecting
him or her
to life on the road is also difficult."

"And it's not just the road," adds Jimmy, who became a parent himself
for the
first time last year. "It's making records and dealing with the
business and
all the things that go along with it.

"Getting up on stage and doing a 90-minute set is the easiest thing
you could
do. Music is the fun part; everything else is where the work comes
into play."

"I remember talking to Tracey Brown from Family Brown at one of the
Canadian
Country Music Awards," recalls Raylene, "and she said, `You can take
a break
from it, and you can come back to it.' I don't know if Family Brown
ever got
back together, but she did have a solo career after taking a break.

"But learning that you can go away from it and come back to it when
you're
ready is a good realization to have."