Interplay & chemistry: two of my favorite words when discussing what works (and doesn't) on a record. Sometimes it's a fairly concrete set of things: Bo Ramsey's reverb-laden guitar winding its way around Greg Brown's gravelly baritone. Other times it's the sum of parts racing far past your expectations: at their live Cry,Cry,Cry shows, Richard Shindell, Lucy Laplansky and Dar Williams produced some otherworldly, tear-inducing harmonies.

Sometimes though, it's both.

Ellis Paul and Vance Gilbert have been best friends for quite a while now. Boston folk scene-watchers have known about them since 1990 or so. I discovered both guys in exactly the same way: while listening to Emerson College radio during the morning drive (thank you WERS...the list is amazing: Ani DiFranco, Loreena McKennit, Dar Williams, Lori McKenna, Mary Lou Lord, Catie Curtis...). As Ellis and Vance have grown and flourished, us long-time fans have been keeping our fingers crossed for a full-on collaboration.

Well, Side Of The Road came out this year and we were not disappointed. Ellis and Vance have put together some covers of their favorite artists' songs along with a few new tunes. With selections from artists as diverse as Lucinda Williams (the title track), Neil Young (a gorgeous "Comes A Time"), Woody Guthrie ("This Morning I Am Born Again") and Van Morrison ("Comfort You"), Side Of The Road's heart seems to be concerned with the current state of the world:

This project was the logical culmination of a few years of shows that we've done together - side-by-side, sharing the stage, chiming in on each other's songs - and a thirteen-year friendship. As we thought about what our "duo" album would sound like, we found ourselves reflecting on these troubled times.

We have more than once been the friend that the other ran to when times were hard...These tunes are like that as well..They are written by artists who somehow managed to speak our minds and say things we often thought, but could never express ourselves. They remind us that we are not alone.

More than just a pretty-sounding record, the combination of these voices (plus some beautiful & sparse instrumentation) produces a kind of musical alchemy. It doesn't matter who takes the lead, who brings the harmonies. These old friends shine in each others' presence....and it seems effortless.

The folk music record of 2003.

(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)