Customer Reviews

Our Shangri-La

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A magnificent album from start to finish, and every cut is a gem. Patty Booker has an incredible voice and range from the depths of sorrow to sheer joy and the best of honky tonk. Rick Shea is an outstanding musician, song writer and vocalist. The pairing of their soulful and distinctive voices gives an added dimension to the songs that make them duets in the best sense of the word, as their voices wonderfully compliment each other. The material and performances are all first rate with outstanding original songs and terrific interpretations of classics.

Duet singing has fueled country music since its beginnings, both in family acts like the Delmores and Louvins, and superstar pairings like Dolly & Porter and Conway & Loretta. Nashville's recent duets have tended more toward marketing events than career paths, leaving those outside the mainstream to carry the torch. Shea and Booker, veterans of Southern California's honky-tonk scene, fan the flames of the country duet with a strong dose of the Golden State's recalcitrant twang.

The pair of singer-songwriters first met as disc-mates on 1992's "A Town South of Bakersfield, Vol. 3." Then, as now, they charted a course through Bakersfield, with Shea's tenure in Dave Alvin's Guilty Men adding a helping of roots-rock energy. Booker's voice is reminiscent of Rosie Flores, but together with Shea, especially on tunes like "The Bull and The Beaver," they recreate the high-low magic of The Kendalls.

Beyond a few covers, such as the trail-dusted "Summer Wine," the duo's own arrangements and songs form the album's impressive core. The spare "You Take Me for Granted" would break the heart of Merle Haggard's original protagonist, and Shea's "Just a Matter of Time" crackles with the magnetism of Johnny & June.

Shea's production keeps the voices front-and-center without short-changing the fine instrumentalists who set up the album's mood. Special mention must be given to steel player Gary Brandin, whose haunting runs, bell-like peels and weeping bends are nearly a third voice within the duets. This is an exquisite album that impresses upon first play, and reveals more charms with every spin.

Our music-if you are reading this you know what I mean-doesn't get much radio play as it falls between the niches, but in our kind of music a renaissance of glorious male female duets is taking place, and this is a prime example. Rick and Patty play off each others voices and styles beautifully; there is no way that a solo artist can make this sort of thing happen-not a bad track on the cd, hardly a bad 5 seconds. Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriquez are the current aces in this area, but that is mostly because of their totally masterful song-writing- in terms of musicality there is little to chose between the acts-and there is no higher praise than that.

I'd read a review of this CD in "Dirty Linen" magazine. It sat on my wish list for a long time. Now, six years after its release, I want to focus on this excellent set. Rick & Patty's voices play off each other well. Rick's weeper "I'm No Good Without You" has his bass voice deep & rich with Patty's filled with longing & Gary Brandin's steel guitar drenching the arrangement. The pair bring to mind the excellent blending of Lee Hazlewood's & Nancy Sinatra's voices on the cover of "Summer Wine," "Strawberries, cherries, and an angel's kiss in spring, my summer wine is really made of all these things." Rick Shea's "Just a Matter of Time" is a catchy track that puts a smile on your toe as it taps relentlessly. Pat McLaughlin's "Fewer Things All the Time" softly looks back on better times. Patty penned "You," a slow weeper with her knockout vocals, "You were not my first choice & I know I wasn't yours, but somehow I found you on these rocky shores." "Fat Daddy" swings slowly. "Our Shangri-LA" is a strong CD from this well-paired duo. Enjoy!