Jimmy Gaudreau & Moondi Klein
2:10 Train

Review By Steven Stone
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  Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Klein have been playing together for more than ten years. The first met when T. Michael Coleman, Mike Auldridge, and Klein asked Gaudreau to join them in their group Chesapeake. When Chesapeake disbanded in the late ‘90's Gaudreau and Klein got together occasionally to play casual concerts in the DC area where they both live. 2:10 Train is an outgrowth of this collaboration.

Stylistically 2:10 Train is a throwback to the old-time brother string band duets of the 30s and 40s. The lead vocals are combinations of solo and harmony singing with a strong emphasis on the tenor parts. Gaudreau and Klein's voices meld together as well as any true brother act. Their similar vocal timbres and seemingly innate sense of each other's vocal rhythms and phrasing sound as if they've played together all their lives. This uncanny simpatico extends into their instrumental work as well. Their rendition of the old chestnut "Arkansas Traveler" sounds as spontaneous as if it was freshly penned. Most of the material on 2:10 Train are covers of other songwriter's material. Many musicians have recorded Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind" or Harvey Reid's "Dreamer Believer." But Gaudreau and Klein's versions don't sound like merely covers. Their unadorned style hones down these songs to their purest essence.

Recorded by Stuart Martin at Stonebridge Studios in Leesberg, VA, and mastered by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering in Boulder, CO, this disk sounds as natural as the proverbial cool mountain stream and as relaxed as well-worn suit baseball cap. The recording captures all the subtleties of Guadreau's hybrid mandolin style and Klien's smooth flatpicking. One guitar and one mandolin and two voices; do you really need anything more to make great music? Nope.

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