ALBUM INFORMATION AND CREDITS
Ten songs inspired by backcountry skiing, paddling, hiking, and a lifetime spent exploring wild places.
ALBUM 1-SHEET (download)
Backcountry Ballads
Barry Oreck and Friends
RADIO RELEASE DATE: December 8, 2025
PRODUCED BY: Barry Oreck and Bob Harris
CONTACT: Barryoreck@gmail.com
Folk singer-songwriter Barry Oreck’s new album is a collection of songs inspired by adventures in nature. Through decades of backcountry skiing, paddling, riding, hiking, and exploring wild places, Oreck has written songs that capture his reverence for the outdoors and the physical and mental challenges of pushing oneself to the limit. Backcountry Ballads features four newly recorded songs written in backcountry huts in Colorado and Canada along with six recorded on previous albums.
The tunes range from rousing bluegrass to bluesy ballads exploring many aspects of the backcountry experience. From uphill climbs (Grunt Factor, To the Top), to fast downhill runs (One More Run, Ride), to life in backcountry huts and yurts (Hut Trip Lullaby, Bill Stewart’s Guitar, Cramps), paddling (Geezer in the Weeds) and environmental anthems (Don’t Take the Road, Gentle Arms of Eden), the album celebrates self-reliant, self-powered exploration in wild places and the search for balance, peace, and focus in this increasingly disembodied and distracted time.
Oreck is accompanied by multi-instrumentalist (as well as co-producer and engineer) Bob Harris, in addition to his virtuosic Brooklyn band “and Friends” -- Jesse Miller on guitar, mandolin, and vocals; Rima Fand on violin and vocals; Adam Armstrong on bass. Their most recent album, We Were Wood (2025) reached #7 on the US Folk charts in March 2025. Other stellar musicians on the album include Andy Leftwich (Ricky Skaggs’ band), Kevin Garcia (The Steel Wheels), Anthony Hannigan (Hickory Project), and Michael Ronstadt (Nathans and Ronstadt).
Barry’s Backcountry Ballads Track Descriptions (All songs FCC Compliant) (BMI)
1. Ride (3:22 on Leap Year album) “giving up to gravity, on the edge of insanity” Written at the Opus Hut (CO) as we looked out over the valley at our tracks after four days of skiing fresh powder, this rollicking tune celebrates the weightless abandon of downhill runs, finding the sweet spot between careful and crazy, fear and flow.
2. One More Run (2:13) “when they scrape us off the valley floor we’ll still be screaming ‘just one more’” I wrote this one with long-time (since age 4) friend and ski partner James Marienthal at Opus Hut (CO). At our advanced age we somehow continue to inspire each other to just peek over the next rise, or to take a “couple” more turns to explore an opening and then -- ‘what do you know?’ – we’re doing one more run. This tune features great bluegrass fiddle work from Andy Leftwich (Ricky Skaggs’ band).
3. Don’t Take the Road (5:10 on the Barry Oreck album) “jump on the trail and off of the street, crunch some leaves under your feet” I wrote this on a forest road near Fowler-Hilliard Hut (CO) as we climbed toward previously untouched slopes while snowmobiles roared past, pulling skiers headed for the same spot and enveloping us with noise and exhaust fumes. We climbed off the road and found perfect quiet, astonishing views, and the deep satisfaction of making our own path under our own power. The song was finished before I reached the hut at the top of the climb.
4. Bill Stewart’s Guitar (4:49) “his voice lifted all of us lucky to be with him” I wrote the words in the logbook at Fowler-Hilliard Hut (CO) to commemorate Bill’s gift of his guitar to the hut. He was truly a legend – an elegant and fearless skier and rider, monster climber, gifted musician, inspirational friend and outdoor companion. I turned the log entry into a song for his memorial in Boulder in 2018. Will Cooter was his band and musical nom de plume.
5. Cramps (3:58 on How the Bright Earth Spun album) “I feel like a frog in a science experiment” Written at Janet’s Cabin (CO) in intense pain while my friends laughed at my St. Vitus dance. An occupational hazard after a day of huge physical exertion, cramps can become public performance art in the cozy communal living room of a small hut. I didn’t know about pickles for cramps when I wrote the song. I should add a new verse.
6. Grunt Factor (3:31 on Barry Oreck album) “the more you go down, you’ve got an up situation” Written at the Eiseman Hut (CO) after an epic ski into the hut in a blizzard. This song encapsulates the essential truth of backcountry skiing: No Up-No Down, No Pain-No Gain. The effort and time involved in climbing makes the downhill that much more satisfying (actually true about any athletic endeavor or human pursuit).
7. To the Top (5:03) “to the stars, to the valley down below” My first backcountry ski song. I went to Ruedi Berlinger’s Selkirk Mountain Experience in British Columbia, Canada in 2001. We rose in the dark and climbed all morning, sometimes 4 or 5 hours before de-skinning and skiing down. There is a whole lot of time to let rhythms and words float into your brain when you are slowly marching uphill for that long. I’ve found this song to be a great climbing companion.
8. Gentle Arms of Eden (4:24 on How the Bright Earth Spun album) “this is our home, this is our only home” The history of life on earth in 4 verses. Written by Dave Carter. This is one of the most powerful environmental songs I know.
9. Hut Trip Lullaby (4:03) “it wouldn’t be a real vacation without some sleep deprivation” Written at Janet’s Cabin (CO) after some long nights of very little sleep. It’s hard enough to sleep at 11,500 feet but in communal sleeping arrangements sometimes the loud sleepers are spread out to every room, creating a beam-rattling snorchestra. Epic skiing + sleep deprivation made us all a little loopy.
10. Geezer in the Weeds (5:29 on We Fit Together album) “I let the wind tell me where to go and the stars when it’s time to sleep” A fleeting glimpse of a hat and a fishing pole sticking out above the tall reeds on Lake Durant in the Adirondacks (NY) piqued my curiosity and envy for the person spending their day in that peaceful pond.
Barry Oreck and Friends featuring:
Barry Oreck – Guitar and lead vocals
Bob Harris – Guitar, mandolin, slide guitar, percussion, squeeze box, organ
Rima Fand – Violin, harmony vocals
Adam Armstrong -- Bass
Jesse Miller – Guitar, harmony vocals
Guest Artists
Kevin Garcia -- percussion
Andy Leftwich -- fiddle
Michael Ronstadt -– cello
Anthony Hannigan -– mandolin
J Granelli –- bass
Rusty Holloway –- bass
Mixing and Mastering: Bob Harris
Barryoreckmusic.com
Barry Oreck and Friends
RADIO RELEASE DATE: December 8, 2025
PRODUCED BY: Barry Oreck and Bob Harris
CONTACT: Barryoreck@gmail.com
Folk singer-songwriter Barry Oreck’s new album is a collection of songs inspired by adventures in nature. Through decades of backcountry skiing, paddling, riding, hiking, and exploring wild places, Oreck has written songs that capture his reverence for the outdoors and the physical and mental challenges of pushing oneself to the limit. Backcountry Ballads features four newly recorded songs written in backcountry huts in Colorado and Canada along with six recorded on previous albums.
The tunes range from rousing bluegrass to bluesy ballads exploring many aspects of the backcountry experience. From uphill climbs (Grunt Factor, To the Top), to fast downhill runs (One More Run, Ride), to life in backcountry huts and yurts (Hut Trip Lullaby, Bill Stewart’s Guitar, Cramps), paddling (Geezer in the Weeds) and environmental anthems (Don’t Take the Road, Gentle Arms of Eden), the album celebrates self-reliant, self-powered exploration in wild places and the search for balance, peace, and focus in this increasingly disembodied and distracted time.
Oreck is accompanied by multi-instrumentalist (as well as co-producer and engineer) Bob Harris, in addition to his virtuosic Brooklyn band “and Friends” -- Jesse Miller on guitar, mandolin, and vocals; Rima Fand on violin and vocals; Adam Armstrong on bass. Their most recent album, We Were Wood (2025) reached #7 on the US Folk charts in March 2025. Other stellar musicians on the album include Andy Leftwich (Ricky Skaggs’ band), Kevin Garcia (The Steel Wheels), Anthony Hannigan (Hickory Project), and Michael Ronstadt (Nathans and Ronstadt).
Barry’s Backcountry Ballads Track Descriptions (All songs FCC Compliant) (BMI)
1. Ride (3:22 on Leap Year album) “giving up to gravity, on the edge of insanity” Written at the Opus Hut (CO) as we looked out over the valley at our tracks after four days of skiing fresh powder, this rollicking tune celebrates the weightless abandon of downhill runs, finding the sweet spot between careful and crazy, fear and flow.
2. One More Run (2:13) “when they scrape us off the valley floor we’ll still be screaming ‘just one more’” I wrote this one with long-time (since age 4) friend and ski partner James Marienthal at Opus Hut (CO). At our advanced age we somehow continue to inspire each other to just peek over the next rise, or to take a “couple” more turns to explore an opening and then -- ‘what do you know?’ – we’re doing one more run. This tune features great bluegrass fiddle work from Andy Leftwich (Ricky Skaggs’ band).
3. Don’t Take the Road (5:10 on the Barry Oreck album) “jump on the trail and off of the street, crunch some leaves under your feet” I wrote this on a forest road near Fowler-Hilliard Hut (CO) as we climbed toward previously untouched slopes while snowmobiles roared past, pulling skiers headed for the same spot and enveloping us with noise and exhaust fumes. We climbed off the road and found perfect quiet, astonishing views, and the deep satisfaction of making our own path under our own power. The song was finished before I reached the hut at the top of the climb.
4. Bill Stewart’s Guitar (4:49) “his voice lifted all of us lucky to be with him” I wrote the words in the logbook at Fowler-Hilliard Hut (CO) to commemorate Bill’s gift of his guitar to the hut. He was truly a legend – an elegant and fearless skier and rider, monster climber, gifted musician, inspirational friend and outdoor companion. I turned the log entry into a song for his memorial in Boulder in 2018. Will Cooter was his band and musical nom de plume.
5. Cramps (3:58 on How the Bright Earth Spun album) “I feel like a frog in a science experiment” Written at Janet’s Cabin (CO) in intense pain while my friends laughed at my St. Vitus dance. An occupational hazard after a day of huge physical exertion, cramps can become public performance art in the cozy communal living room of a small hut. I didn’t know about pickles for cramps when I wrote the song. I should add a new verse.
6. Grunt Factor (3:31 on Barry Oreck album) “the more you go down, you’ve got an up situation” Written at the Eiseman Hut (CO) after an epic ski into the hut in a blizzard. This song encapsulates the essential truth of backcountry skiing: No Up-No Down, No Pain-No Gain. The effort and time involved in climbing makes the downhill that much more satisfying (actually true about any athletic endeavor or human pursuit).
7. To the Top (5:03) “to the stars, to the valley down below” My first backcountry ski song. I went to Ruedi Berlinger’s Selkirk Mountain Experience in British Columbia, Canada in 2001. We rose in the dark and climbed all morning, sometimes 4 or 5 hours before de-skinning and skiing down. There is a whole lot of time to let rhythms and words float into your brain when you are slowly marching uphill for that long. I’ve found this song to be a great climbing companion.
8. Gentle Arms of Eden (4:24 on How the Bright Earth Spun album) “this is our home, this is our only home” The history of life on earth in 4 verses. Written by Dave Carter. This is one of the most powerful environmental songs I know.
9. Hut Trip Lullaby (4:03) “it wouldn’t be a real vacation without some sleep deprivation” Written at Janet’s Cabin (CO) after some long nights of very little sleep. It’s hard enough to sleep at 11,500 feet but in communal sleeping arrangements sometimes the loud sleepers are spread out to every room, creating a beam-rattling snorchestra. Epic skiing + sleep deprivation made us all a little loopy.
10. Geezer in the Weeds (5:29 on We Fit Together album) “I let the wind tell me where to go and the stars when it’s time to sleep” A fleeting glimpse of a hat and a fishing pole sticking out above the tall reeds on Lake Durant in the Adirondacks (NY) piqued my curiosity and envy for the person spending their day in that peaceful pond.
Barry Oreck and Friends featuring:
Barry Oreck – Guitar and lead vocals
Bob Harris – Guitar, mandolin, slide guitar, percussion, squeeze box, organ
Rima Fand – Violin, harmony vocals
Adam Armstrong -- Bass
Jesse Miller – Guitar, harmony vocals
Guest Artists
Kevin Garcia -- percussion
Andy Leftwich -- fiddle
Michael Ronstadt -– cello
Anthony Hannigan -– mandolin
J Granelli –- bass
Rusty Holloway –- bass
Mixing and Mastering: Bob Harris
Barryoreckmusic.com
