Produced and engineered by Bob Dick, who also plays acoustic bass and sings
harmony, Moonbone is a mixture of country, bluegrass, blues, folk and whatever
-- in short, just the kind of round-hole album you can't stick a square peg
into. It's ALL ACOUSTIC, with 13 original songs, sung mostly by Valerie (whose
voice was variously termed "exquisite," "angelic," "mellifluous" and so on in
reviews of their first album) with plenty of lead guitar work by Walter (whose
guitar playing was termed "wizard-like," "fleet-fingered," and "super-nifty"
in a blizzard of hyphen-laden adjectives in the same set of reviews).
Also picking on the album are Roger Williams "the New Hampshire Fireball" on
dobro, Fran McConville on mandolin, Mark Manuel on piano, Dave Dick on banjo,
Chet Williamson on harmonica, Michael Allard-Madaus on percussion and Billy
MacGillivray on snare drum on two cuts (in a desperate attempt to garner some
airplay to the right of 92 on the FM dial). These guys are players. And with
the exception of Dave Dick, who joined Salamander Crossing around the time the
basic tracks were being recorded, they all are part of the roving cast of
characters who make up Valerie & Walter Crockett's backup band, the Oxymorons
("We'll drive you to a frenzy of catatonia").
Moonbone is available from Valerie & Walter Crockett, 32 Maple Tree Lane,
Worcester, MA 01602 ($15 CD, $10 tape, $1.25 postage) or at their gigs, about
which you can hear by e-mailing BrufusC@aol.com. It will soon join their first
album, Unbutton Your Heart, in being available online from NOMA at songs.com.
(1-800-BUY-MYCD)
Happy trails,
Valerie & Walter Crockett
p.s. Please excuse the use of the third person.