Elizabeth LaPrelle's concert 12/2 at the Delaplane Art Center in Frederick, MD., was mighty fine. Elizabeth's considerable vocal talent is augmented by an unerring taste in songs just right for her style.
    Outstanding among her songs for me were Little Darling Pal of Mine, a Carter family tune, and a emotionally-charged rendering of Jean Ritchie's West Virginia Mine Disaster that left me feeling that Elizabeth had SUNG that song, well and truly. This song appears on her CD, Rain and Snow, where she is also accompanied by her mother Sandy and Jim Lloyd, as well as Amy Davis and Jon Newlin, two fine old time players who are Elizabeth's aunt and uncle.

    Satisfying in all respects, one aspect of Elizabeth's performance particularly remains with me this morning, and that is the pleasure to see an artist emergence with so much promise in a style I can embrace.

    Sandy LaPrelle's harmonies were well-crafted and her voice, naturally complementary, interwove beautifully with Elizabeth's. Sandy's happiness in singing with her daughter was a joy to behold. One standout was Sandy's harmony on My Dearest Dear, a song of Sheila Kay Adams.

    Jim Lloyd, resident bon vivant of Rural Retreat, Virginia, lent sparkling banjo accompaniment on a variety of vintage banjos, and a fine old 1933 Gibson guitar rounded out the instrumentation for Carter Family songs. He contributed some choice old time tunes,
several from his CD,One Night Only including The Man with the Horn and an old time arrangement of Fats Waller's Feet's Too Big.

The recordings of Elizabeth and Jim Lloyd are available on Old97Records. On the website http://www.old97wrecords.com/
The honest, down-home sincerity of these folks from Rural Retreat will restore you faith, go see them if you can and buy their CDs either way.

Chance Shiver