Van Dyke Parks is wrapping up the recording sessions at Sage Arts. He continues to give artistic direction while our expert sound engineers Daniel Protheroe and Matthew Gephart put in long hours mixing the sound.

Here's what Van Dyke has to say about Marley's Ghost:

Marley's Ghost is a project I wanted to do. I liked what they did and collected their records since they were mostly brunette and I was a brunette, too. They play folk music with an academic faithfulness to the form, trying to keep the past alive and bring it forward to the present.

On this CD, we are all looking through our own prism of understanding. Marley's Ghost looks into areas that take us beyond our own times. Parallel events in the past! I love that! I love reaching out of our time and place to find something to confirm what I know to be true in the lyrics and attitude of a song. And these guys can do that kind of stuff. This is good!

The fellows did a tune called "Get Off the Track" that was first performed in the 1850s in the theme of emancipation. That political agitation is transferable to our own time, so that song is kept alive in this record. The song speaks to liberation and slavery as it addresses oppression. A lot of people are oblivious to the plight of the less fortunate, so this song should still be heard today.

A healthy repertoire should have songs that express what is good and wrestle with what is not good. To me that's a responsive repertoire. Marley's Ghost is able to do songs that entertain and still stay awake by addressing unresolved political issues. That's a healthy repertoire.

Musicians try to look at these inherited musical goods, of ethnic music and play it in a way that we can understand the past and take a fresh look at the present.

There's nothing I can add to this, truly, except a sense of discipline in the studio: to remind them who they are and what they do best. Marley's Ghost members are very separate and highly individual people. Yet the project takes a mind of its own, hangs together beautifully, and confirms that their ability is at the peak of its power.