Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson « Americana and Roots Music

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Record Review from web archive November 16, 2008

Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson

Rattlin' Bones (Sugar Hill)

By Steve Pick

In Australia, the marital and musical combination of Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson is worthy of comparison to George Jones and Tammy Wynette, albeit on a slightly less royal scale. Both have successful solo careers in their home country; in the U.S., Chambers has what little name recognition there is. She’s well-loved in Americana circles, but otherwise remains largely overlooked by the mainstream, beyond having a song featured in a key episode of The Sopranos a few years back.
Rattlin’ Bones is a rootsier effort than any of Chambers’ solo albums. Banjos, mandolins and dobros dominate the instrumentation, and the close harmonies between husband and wife are modeled on Appalachian traditional influences. When electric guitars, bass, and drums do appear, most notably on the title track and “Sweetest Waste Of Time”, there’s a bit of a nod to Buddy and Julie Miller as well.
If this album had appeared in the LP era, side one would probably have gotten more spins than side two. The first six songs are especially strong, with simple yet memorable melodies wedded to lyrics describing complexities of love beyond the obvious. Nicholson’s “One More Year” draws upon images from two Richard and Linda Thompson doom-and-gloom masterpieces (“Walking On A Wire” and “Shoot Out The Lights”) as it chronicles a couple embedded in an endless cycle of trying to make things better. The sweetness of the harmony on the chorus gives us hope they might succeed.

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