The DanberrysGive and Receive
Reviewed by: Geno Thackara
Dorothy Daniel and Ben DeBerry sure sound like they have a good life. Sharing an almost lifelong history, happily married for a decade, able to travel and explore the music they love, they’re willing to put their whole lives into what they do and the music shows it. It’s a mix of classic Americana full of laughter and moonshine, taking the back roads from the heartland prairie to the delta swamps.
That background lends a little extra depth to lines like “I want to spend all my days singing with you,” but you don’t have to read their bio to hear the chemistry at work. In the rootsiest folk tradition, these are simple and sometimes eloquent offerings that celebrate the good things in life while recognizing and accepting the sadness too. A couple pieces could have used more fleshing out (the quick low-country chant of “Life Worth Living” sounds like a loose sketch that never got developed), but most are already lived-in enough to have you feeling road dust in your shoes and catching a whiff of fresh cornbread.
Daniel’s clear singing voice is a selling point by itself, though it’s the whole mix that gives Give & Receive some real staying power – soothing harmonies, guitar or mandolin strums, banjo picking and down-home fiddle all make for a rustic soulful tone somewhere between old-fashioned and timeless. Even so, it wouldn’t go down nearly so well if the performances weren’t so clearly heartfelt. From lively bluegrass to barn-dance country or simple soul, it’s all familiar, comforting and most of all, real.
Rating: Sweet
