Identical twins singing harmony... talk about a great publicity hook. Okay, I'll (sound)bite and make a contribution to their collection; the voices of Chris and Meredith Thompson singularly entwine. Their harmonies are truly familiar, yet nearly impossible to duplicate.
Clearwater is their fifth release and it's as polished, professional and well-produced as anything out there this side of Brittany and the other kids with unlimited major label expense accounts. Reading through their nicely designed CD booklet, one learns that Chris plays acoustic guitar while Meredith contributes congas and other percussion, along with a bit of flute. On Clearwater, they are joined by a handful of guest musicians who add drums (Doug Plavin), bass (Richard Gates), acoustic & electric guitars (Duke Levine and Jim Henry), here a mandolin or banjo (Henry again), there an accordion and somewhere an organ (Seth Farber). While there is no specific information to confirm this, either on the CD or the Thompsons' Web site, my guess is they perform with their guests regularly, as the sound achieved has the nuance, energy and balance that generally come from a "band" rather than a couple of rehearsals before the session. If it is the latter, then kudos to all.
The songs on Clearwater are all penned by the twins, except for their takes on "Amazing Grace" (done a capella) and Dave Carter's "Tanglewood Tree." The sound of the opener, "Wildest Sea," reminds me a bit of Laura Love, riding as it does on a nice rhythmic bed of drums and percussion. The title track tune, "Clearwater," celebrates the famed Hudson River environmental consciousness-raising sailing vessel. "Neruda" goes to Santiago with nylon string guitar and Latin tinged percussion to honor the martyred poet. "Ontario" rocks out (in a folkie way, of course) and speaks about the cold. "Harvest Moon" -- which I take it from the song lists of earlier CDs on their Web site is a 'signature' tune -- is given a nice a capella treatment here.
The Thompsons' take on Dave Carter's "Tanglewood Tree" is mighty fine, but it illuminates what is for me (and I 'fess up to being tough to please) one of the sisters' weaker links. "Tanglewood Tree" is at once evocative of a long tradition and yet utterly singular, an inspired song. The Thompsons' material takes me back to the days when AM radio ruled and songs were carefully crafted to fit that 3 minutes and a few odd seconds of allotted time; once you hear the first four bars you know by 'the sound' which artist it is. By the time it ends, the song has you humming the melody and repeating the hook.
In all there are an even dozen pieces on Clearwater. A couple crack four and half minutes, another couple don't make it to two. In short, the sisters are exceptionally strong on craft, but a wee bit lacking in that ineffable quality we deem art. My two cents of advice to the twins for their next writing session is this: throw out your rule book, forget about whatever it is you think your fans expect, and just see what happens.
I heartily recommend without reservation Chris & Meredith Thompson's Clearwater to anyone who enjoys vocal duet harmony singing and well made songs. This disc should get plenty of folk show radio airplay and deservedly so.
