Santa Monica Concert

For five years, at the heart of the folk revival, Bud & Travis served as one of the premiere duos on the scene. The Santa Monica Concert travels back to 1960s at the beginning of their career and re-imagines the singing partners' first release, In Concert. Instead of just reissuing the beloved original, Folk Era decided to return to the actual Santa Monica show and present the concert in full, with stage patter and songs spread out over two generous discs. Bud & Travis set themselves apart from their folk peers in several ways. First and most obvious is their wonderful harmony, bringing a full-bodied resonance to songs like "They Call the Wind Mariah" and old standbys like "All My Sorrows." One also notices the duo's lively stage routine, more akin to the Smothers Brothers than your average folk act. Between each song they tell stories, jokes, and introduce the next piece, cracking up their audience with genial absurdities. Perhaps the most unique thing about Bud & Travis is their eclectic choice of material, running the musical gauntlet from traditional folk to jazzy pop to ethnic Mexican songs. There's the lovely original "Cloudy Summer Afternoon," a fun singalong ("E La Bas"), a folk version of "La Bamba," and a nice take of "Sloop John B." recorded six years before the Beach Boys' version. Fans of Bud & Travis, and anyone who wore out his or her original copy of In Concert, will not want to bypass this extensive set. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.