I met Peter McLaughlin long ago when he was playing guitar with Laurie Lewis. Before that, he had won the national flatpicking guitar contest in Winfield, Kansas. I met Chris when he was touring with Alice Gerrard and Jim Watson in the Piedmont Melody Makers, but I had previously heard him with the Oregon bluegrass band Kentucky Rose in which he recorded “Mason’s Lament” and then later when he released his wonderful solo album, “Wanderlust,” which also included “Mason’s Lament.” The musicians on that CD became the band Perfect Strangers. Chris gave me a copy of this latest CD at the Parkfield Bluegrass Festival. Both Chris and Peter sing. Chris plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass, and shaker. Peter plays guitar and mandolin. Both are skilled flat pickers, and they have been performing together as a duo for many years. There are also six guests on various instruments and vocals on this recording.

The 14 cuts include five original songs by Peter, some co-written with Mark Brinkman, and four by Chris, two of which were also co-written with Brinkman. In addition to those, they do Kate Wolf’s “Across the Great Divide,” which was written for the KPFA radio show of the same name, “Six White Horses” by Clyde Moody, “Pastures of Plenty” by Woody Guthrie, “Girl in the Blue Velvet Band” by Cliff Carlisle and Mel Foree, and “You Gave Me a Song” by Alice Gerrard, who sings harmony on that song.

“Take Me Back Where I Was Born,” by Peter, is a song about longing for home. Chris sings lead on “Across the Great Divide,” which also features his expressive fiddling. He also sings “Six White Horses” in a swing arrangement. The title cut, co-written and sung by Peter, is another love for home song where home is in the desert and the mountains of Arizona. Chris’ powerful vocal is featured in “Pastures of Plenty.” “Another Trip Around the Sun” features Hollis Brashear on harmony, Duncan Stitt on piano, and Alvin Blaine on pedal steel. Peter’s “Footprints in a Song” is a song about songwriting. Chris’ “21 on the Border” uses Chris Haynes’ plaintive accordion to evoke the border deserts of the southwest and the travails of the undocumented. “The Girl in the Blue Velvet Band” is a bluegrass standard which suits Chris’ tenor voice and mandolin. “Run Little Hank” is a sprightly fiddle tune by Chris. Peter’s “The Right Time of Year” is a wintry love song. “You Gave Me a Song” is a duet by Chris and Alice about leaving home with strong memories. “The Day I Was Set Free,” written and sung by Chris, is about the painful transition from prison to freedom. Peter’s “Before I Get Home” is about the travails of life.

Chris Brashear’s CDs

Peter McLaughlin’s CDs