LESLIE RITTER & SCOTT PETITO
Circles In Sand
Hudson Valley Records
http://www.hudsonvalleyrecords.com

Circles In Sand is a CD of contemporary folk, sometimes sounding like folk, sometimes more like Adult Contemporary...like the JP Jones I reviewed, it's in a style that is accepted as folk more by listenership than by definition. Differently, CIS is a smooth, calm album, bound to blend with Sunday morning coffee and lazy television in bed.* It features the lovely, sophisticated vocals of Leslie Ritter, with Scott Petito on frets, both from New York State.

My favorite track is their cover of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock." It's not only because I long for the days of sitting on mattresses passing a hash pipe to good looking guys, although obviously that figures in, or because Joni's writing on this song was so good, but because the arrangement is a more crisp and adventurous than on the remaining tracks; the booklet mentions David Torn on "oud and gamelan cloud." The song twists like a leaf in the wind and moves like a jazzy snake through an incense cloud. Though the other songs may employ various instruments...for instance Cindy Mangsen on accordian on track six...they remain subtle, with lite hooks. The pace varies, again, some resemble acoustic folk, others, like "Only the Rain" and the sambaesque "When the Night Spills" are slower and torchier.

The lyrics that jump out at me are on "One Person," which is about the loss of a long-term partner by death. "Different skin, but his life was my own," Leslie sings. "She Waits" is a song about the earth ("We defend and defy. She waits."), "Daybreak" is a well written song about an aging woman who plans her day and watches memories fade, and "Fallen Angel" is dedicated to Rick Danko.

My own opinion on CIS is that I don't drink coffee or watch TV and likewise this CD lives too much in American convention for me, both in terms of music and lyrics. But I do think it is a beautifully constructed album.

judith@gorge.net

The Columbia Gypsy