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All Music Guide:
An enigmatic singer/songwriter whose work veered from the bitterly comic to the profoundly spiritual, Richard Shindell gained attention with the Fast Folk Musical Magazine series (which previously launched then-unknowns like Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith, as well). A native of Lakehurst, New Jersey, Shindell was a former seminary student whose first musical exposure came while playing guitar in the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band alongside the young John Gorka; he began composing songs during the late 1980s, and quickly earning a word-of-mouth cult following. After a featured appearance on Christine Lavin's 1991 compilation When October Goes, he recorded his Shanachie label debut, Sparrow's Point, a year later; Blue Divide followed in 1994, and in 1997, Shindell resurfaced with Reunion Hill. He next teamed with Dar Williams and Lucy Kaplansky in the group Cry, Cry, Cry, issuing a self-titled LP in 1998; the solo Somewhere Near Paterson followed in early 2000. The rest of the decade treated Shindell well, with Sparrow's Point and South of Delia ranking among his finest work.
Wikipedia:
Richard Shindell (born 1960, Lakehurst, New Jersey) is an American folk songwriter. Shindell grew up in Port Washington, New York. He lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with his wife, a university professor, and their children.
Shindell's songwriting often involves storytelling from a first-person point of view: an INS officer and illegal immigrant in "Fishing," a World War II soldier in "Sparrow's Point," a Confederate drummerboy in "Arrowhead," an Argentine grandmother in "Abuelita," and a power broker in "Confession." His other personas include a New York City cab driver in "Last Fare of the Day," a man on death row in "Ascent," a Civil War widow in "Reunion Hill," and Mary Magdalene.
Shindell's career received a boost in 1997 when Joan Baez recorded three of his songs ("Fishing," "Reunion Hill" and "Money for Floods") for her album Gone from Danger and invited the aspiring singer-songwriter to join her 1997–98 tour.
Shindell collaborated with Dar Williams and Lucy Kaplansky to form the group Cry Cry Cry. On their eponymous 1998 album, Cry Cry Cry covered an eclectic mix of songwriters, from the well known (R.E.M.) to the lesser known (folk singer James Keelaghan). The trio toured in support of their album before resuming solo careers. While plans for future recordings have not been forthcoming, Shindell and Kaplansky often appear on stage together.
A recording of cover songs, South of Delia, was released on Shindell's website in March 2007. An album of original material, Not Far Now, appeared in 2009.
