LAURIE and KATHY: Sing the Songs of Vern & Ray
LAURIE and KATHY
Sing the Songs of Vern and Ray
Spruce and Maple Music 1012
Laurie and Kathy are Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick. They have known each other and played together at least since their 1991 collaborative album Together. Their chemistry is palpable and makes a delight of whenever they get to play together. This new album is their first as a duo since that CD.
Vern and Ray are Vern Williams and Ray Park. They were, as Laurie put it in her notes, “the acknowledged masters” of the San Francisco bluegrass scene of the early ’70s. This album collects 18 songs Vern and Ray loved playing.
Opening with a sprightly take of “Oh Susannah” they then play several traditional songs (“Little Birdie,” “Black-Eyed Susie,” the instrumental “Flying Cloud,” “Down Among the Budded Roses”) and a pair of Carter Family songs (“Cowboy Jack” and “My Clinch Mountain Home”) and several more as well as five Ray Park originals, one of these a co-write with Williams.
Throughout the performances are spirited showing profound love of the material. Joining Kathy on guitar and Laurie on fiddle and string bass are Tom Rozum on mandolin and Patrick Sauber on banjo. Guests include Sally Van Meter with slide guitar on three, Keith Little’s banjo on 5 plus guitar on the solemn closer “Touch of God’s Hand” and Annie Staniec whose fiddle joins Laurie for twin fiddling on 2.
Any time Kathy and Laurie get together to make music is a special occasion, and the results are bound to be most special, warm and compelling. This one feels extra special as the project is clearly a labor of love revisiting songs they have loved and played for decades and breathe vibrant life into them. This is home-made bluegrass at its best.
— Michael Tearson