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Not that this was Inara and Van Dyke’s first introduction. Inara’s father, Little Feat frontman Lowell George, and Van Dyke were great friends and collaborators. And when Inara was born in 1974 in Baltimore, Maryland (where her family had come for her birth while Little Feat recorded Feats Don’t Fail Me Now) Van Dyke was there to welcome her into the world. And even after the death of her father in 1979, Inara and Van Dyke continued to stay in touch throughout the years.

As Inara began to forge her way into a musical career, Van Dyke was always close at hand to offer sage advice and encouragement. And for both, there was a real desire for some kind of collaboration. In the past few years Inara has found her stride as a member of the band The Bird and the Bee (on Blue Note Records) and with the release of her first solo album, All Rise, (on Everloving Records). Both projects caught the attention of critics worldwide. And as Inara geared up to make her second solo record, an opportunity emerged for her and Van Dyke to finally make something together.

In 2002, Inara introduced Van Dyke to Mike Andrews, producer of All Rise and An Invitation. Mike had admired Van Dyke’s work with The Beach Boys, Harry Nilsson, The Byrds, and Joanna Newsom (just to name a few), and had always hoped to engage his arranging abilities in some capacity for Inara’s next record. But then Inara asked, ”What if we have him do the entire thing?” They asked, and Van Dyke accepted. And after months of preparation, the orchestra was recorded in a daring and excitement filled two-day live session at LA's historic Sunset Sound studios.

"There are different characters in each piece, but it all feels like a connected event," says Van Dyke. "There are certainly different scenes on the record, and that's what I like. And I think that takes real talent, as a writer, to fictionalize a reality the way Inara has done." An Invitation begins with an overture, echoing the sun-dappled landscapes of Aaron Copeland, filtered through the widescreen lens of Van Dyke's neoclassicist sensibility. Inara's voice enters in the second track, "Right As Wrong," on a cloud of hushed strings, and carries the record through a series of vignettes that contrast the smoky poise of Chet Baker and Kurt Weill with the wide-eyed optimism of Leonard Bernstein.

Throughout the record, Van Dyke's cerebral (psychedelic, even) arrangements twist the music into multiple directions at once, a swirling canvas suspended over the sonic mantelpiece of Inara's songs, bewitching and perplexing, a truly organic achievement among friends in an era of artificial pleasures.

"There was more love going through the glass with Inara and Van Dyke than any other record I've worked on," says producer Mike Andrews. "It was a family love. Very real."

AN INVITATION - Inara George featuring Van Dyke Parks:

“…dreamy, creamy wonderland…the album’s light-fantastic orchestration, courtesy of famed songwriter and composer Parks…enchanting…A-” -Entertainment Weekly

“Ms. George muses on love, yearning and separation in lyrics that can be ingenuous or surreal…meanwhile Mr. Parks surrounds her ballads and waltzes with a nonstop counterpoint of melodies and of allusions…” -New York Times

“(Parks) surrounds George in a florid orchestral fantasia that flickers like a luscious, precisely gardened flower bed teeming with hidden fauna. If butterflies could dance, this would be their soundtrack.” -Spin

“…uncommon, illuminating and elevating…” -Blender

“It is lush and loquacious, detailed on every level… “ -Daily Variety

“…Parks and his newfound protégé George go together like rambling through the park and shadowboxing in the dark – or taking a kayak to Quincy or Nyack. It’s a March/October love match that definitely demands an early encore.” -Blurt

“An ‘invitation’ long in coming.” -LA Times

"It’s a song cycle, and dances along as if on the head of a pin, with precise arrangements teeming with string quartets and pianos, muted trumpets and floating flutes. It’s gorgeous." -LA Weekly

"…this is a really lovely record... it finds George’s quizzical LA hipster setting out her tentative, playful, touching dreams: 'I want to have regrets, because I want to do absolutely all I can,’ she sings, and the prettiness and ambition of An Invitation come right into focus." -Uncut