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Earlier this year a couple of my favorite Broadway Divas headed Off-Broadway to appear in the mostly charming country music revue Good Ol’ Girls which has recently been released on CD. Sally Mayes (She Loves Me, Urban Cowboy) and Teri Ralston (Company, A Little Night Music ) headline this compilation of cute and clever tunes by Nashville songsmiths Matraca Berg and Marshall Chapman that have been interwoven with the down home stories of Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle (as written and adapted by Paul Ferguson).
While the tales tended to be somewhat stereotypical and drag down the momentum the songs were overall pretty fantastically fun and touching and have been captured here in a what is a most enjoyable listen that can sit proudly on your shelf next to Pump Boys and Dinettes, Cowgirls and The Great American Trailer Park Musical. Rounding out the cast of good ol’ girls, each a gem in her own right, are Lauren Kennedy (Sunset Boulevard, Spamalot), Gina Stewart (and her mean guitar!) and sassy mama Liza Vann.
The standout track here is undoubtedly Ms. Maye’s wonderful and wailing “Late Date With the Blues” giving her full reign to tear into a number, hootin’ and howlin’ as only she knows how! Ms. Ralston does a lovely job with the heartbreaking “Appalachian Rain” as well as the gorgeously true to life tale of a high school beauty turned beauty parlor matriarch, “Alice in the Looking Glass”. This song by the wonderfully gifted Ms. Berg 
(with Gary Harrison) and another, “Lying to the Moon” (Berg with Ronnie Samoset) have long been familiar to me as they both appeared on Ms. Berg’s delectable debut album back in 1990. “Lying to the Moon” would surely be counted one of my very favorite country ballads but sadly here it has been reimagined as some sort of pop/country hybrid for Ms. Kennedy who would have been better off with a far simpler reading befitting this tender tune. There are many pleasures to be found along the way with each gal given her chance to shine in a solo number or two, gangbuster guitar work from Ms. Stewart and a truly terrific band guided with gusto by marvelous maestro musical director Karen Dryer. Despite a couple missteps here and there these are definitely some good ol’ girls that warrant a two-steppin’ spin on your trusty ol’ cd player!
Order here: http://www.amazon.com/
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