First Offering

Peasall Sisters (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B00007E8R6
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #69,737 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Debut album from "O Brother" child-stars, February 14, 2003

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The Peasall Sisters (Sarah-15, Hannah-12 and Leah-9) were heard, but not seen, as the singing voices of George Clooney's daughters in the film "O Brother Where Art Thou?" Their fame expanded with the platinum success of the film's soundtrack, and their voices were finally mated to their bodies on the subsequent "Down From the Mountain" tour.

Their solo debut combines a pair of Carter Family standards with a ten songs of faith, including gospel, hymns and contemporary Christian tunes. The sisters voices shine especially bright on the traditional tunes, backed in acoustic arrangements by some of Nashville's finest studio players. Even when backing themselves on the Carter Family tunes, the sisters' rudimentary guitar (Sarah) and mandolin (Hannah) provide a rootsy, if sometimes plodding, beauty.

Such young voices might be at odds with the heartbroken lyric of "Carter's Blues," but their traded verses and yodels are moving and effective. Ralph Stanley's "I'm Ready to Go" and an acapella take of Joseph Gilmore's civil-war era, bible-inspired "He Leadeth Me," show off the sisters' years of wood-shedding in church.

The contemporary songs don't fare quite as well. Crossing modern-day Christian vocabulary with children's voices results in precious tunes like Chaz Bosarge's "Jump" and "I'm That Sparrow." Still, even amidst the treacle, the girls voices shine, both in harmony and in solos, and Lee Domann's fiddle-based hymn, "Jesus Laughing," fits nicely with the album's traditional selections.

While the Peasall Sisters don't exhibit the outsider naivete of other child "folk" singers (e.g., The Langley Schools Music Project), neither are they the fully pre-formed Nashville child product that made a brief run in LeAnn Rimes' wake. There's an innocence in the Peasall's music, born from both the freshness of their harmonies and the faith in their chosen lyrics, leavened with just enough professionalism to elevate their work from novelty to novel.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing, October 13, 2003

By A Customer

I bought this cd for my 5-year-old daughter. Surprisingly, I have enjoyed it as much as she. The girls have very nice voices (esp.Sarah) and great harmonies. This shines through in the accapella version of "He Leadeth Me". They also play the instrumental background on some songs. This give the album a home-spun feel, in an adorable sort of way. It's really refreshing to listen to a kid's cd that is actually good music! I will definitely be buying their next cd.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Start for a Musical Trio, March 8, 2006

By	Diane S. Gross (Keystone Heights FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although this first album from the Peasall Sisters may be a bit too unadorned and simple, it does showcase the remarkably close harmonies of the three young sisters as they began their musical careers. In contrast, their newest album, "Home to You", exhibits much more sophistication and a higher level of quality in production values, while this "First Offering" album is honest and sweetly sung. I shared the album with my eight year old granddaughter, and she loved singing along with the songs she knew. Although this album is not slick or overproduced, it has a simple charm that makes the listener smile.