Liner Notes

The serene setting of Napa Valley is not only home to some of the best wine-making in the world but is also a host to stellar music and music-making. Napa Crossroads is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between five prestigious wineries– Silver Oak, Far Niente, Pride Mountain, Gargiulo Vinyards, and Casa Piena– and David Pack, legendary producer, vocalist, and hit-maker (former singer-songwriter Ambrosia,) who conceived and produced the project. Stellar guest stars include: The Doors’ Ray Manzarek, Bela Fleck, Alan Parsons, Todd Rundgren, David Benoit, Billy Dean, Jimmy Wayne, Larry Carlton, Doyle Dykes, Mindi Abair, Robert Schwartzman, Cage The Elephant’s Lincoln Parish, Rick Braun and others. The album is available exclusively at the following five wineries until release in February 2014: Far Niente; Silver Oak Cellars and Twomey Cellars, Pride Mountain Vineyards, Casa Piena, and Gargiulo Vineyards.

Pack describes the experience as “Five years, five wineries and a lot of fun.” He goes on to say, “It’s a time capsule to preserve the memory of friends, Napa Valley and a time that will never be again.” Noted producer and musician, Pack has been drawn to Napa for many years with an unrequited passion for viticulture. He became a welcome figure in the Napa community a number of years ago after developing a friendship with winemaker Jeff Gargiulo and playing concerts for local events in the community. That friendship opened Pack to the world of undiscovered musicians among the winemakers and incited Pack’s desire to create a recording that serves as a backstage pass to a once-in-a-lifetime special event.

The wineries invested in the album financially and creatively, collaborating on two tracks each along with contributions from special guests, culminating in 14 tracks of original material. All songs were produced by Pack and written and recorded in Napa Valley beginning May 2009, which includes one of the final recordings of the late Ray Manzarek.

Archivist Notes

This release, which I didn’t even know about until contacted by David Pack, contains what is either the last (or second to last) studio recording Ray ever made. Ray is featured on track #2 called “Silverado Free”. If someone were to have asked me, “What would you like to hear on Ray’s final recording?”, my answer would have definitely been “Ray playing a classic Vox Continental”. My second answer would most likely be “Ray telling one of his favorite stories as only he can”. Both are featured on this track. For this song, they recorded Ray playing both a Steinway piano track and a Vox Continental track. They ended up using both. Towards the end of the song they feature a short section with Ray talking about the ’60s. A really nice song written by David Pack. A really great compilation album and worth picking up.