COUNTY SALES
Floyd, VA
- "The World's Largest Selection of Bluegrass And Old-Time Music."

JIMMY GAUDREAU & MOONDI KLEIN
"2:10 Train"
Rebel Records.
13 tracks.

A few years back the short-lived group Chesapeake came out with three interesting albums, which _though uneven_all contained some gems. Klein and Gaudreau were the major forces in that group which also included Mike Auldridge and T. Michael Coleman. What Jimmy and Moondi are doing here as a duet is very reminiscent of the Chesapeake recordings, except the material is all well-chosen and appropriate to their style. Klein_who was lead singer for the Seldom Scene for awhile_has a good voice and a very distinctive manner of presentation, and he is complemented beautifully by Gaudreau's tasteful mandolin playing and equally strong vocals. (Klein adds some excellent lead guitar work too). Offset by a couple of lovely slower pieces like Harley Allen's HIGH SIERRA, the songs are mostly sprightly pieces that move along nicely: BLACK JACK DAVEY, SWEET SUNNY SOUTH, COLLEEN MALONE, LAST THING ON MY MIND and Harvey Reid's DREAMER OR BELIEVER all stand out, as do the two mandolin-guitar instrumentals (DIXIE HOEDOWN and an ARKANSAS TRAVELER/SOLDIER'S JOY MEDLEY). The music here is different, distinctive, relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable.