The Winstons
Coming Through

Review by Steven Stone
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  CDs like this make it impossible for anyone but the terminally and unhealthily hip argue that folk music is dead. Infectious melodies, insightful lyrics, and aurally arresting arrangements make Coming Through one uncommonly good CD. The Winstons are made up of Andy and Cheryl, husband and wife, who met while attending college in upstate New York, and now live in Boulder, Colorado. Upon hearing their vocal duets you can’t help but wonder if the synchronicity of their voices had some aphrodisiac effect on their romance.

Coming Through is the Winston’s third CD. Their first, Second Chance, came out in 1995, followed by Vignettes in 1998. Coming Through includes several members of the nationally syndicated radio show E-Town’s regular house band, bassist Chris Engleman and drummer Christian Teele. Other guest musicians include Hot Rize’s Tim O’Brien, Dobro and Lap steel whiz Sally Van Meter, Groovelily Violinist Valerie Vigoda, Ross Martin on Electric guitar, and Dotsero keyboardist Tom Capek on Hammond B-3 organ. All except one song on the album, a cover of Norman Blake’s “Ridge Road Gravel”, are original compositions. There’s one lone instrumental, "Mother's Day", a hauntingly beautiful composition featuring Andy’s acoustic guitar. My personal favorite is a rockin' number titled "Judy's on the Loose" with a hot double-stopped electric guitar solo and a killer chorus. Production values throughout this album are well above the average self-produced CD. Co-producers Cheryl and Andy chose some top talent to handle the technical side of their album. Colorado Sound's engineers Jeff Shuey and Lorne Bregitzer, along with mastering engineer Tom Capek, assembled a very lush aural landscape full of interesting percussion filigrees and well-defined spatial effects. The title cut "Coming Through", has an especially colorful sonic palette.

Like many independent productions from small record labels Coming Through will most likely NOT be at your local mall, but you can find it on Amazon or through the Winston’s web site at www.thewinstons.com. Coming Through proves that musical marriages can work beautifully.

Enjoyment: 95

Sound Quality: 90