LARRY CAMPBELL & TERESA WILLIAMS - LARRY CAMPBELL & TERESA WILLIAMS

By Wesley Hodges

After years of various musical collaborations, husband-and-wife duo Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams deliver their first collaborative album, a gratifying collection of harmonious roots-based tunes and three covers laid down way up in the mountains at Levon Helm’s mythical Midnight Rambles refuge. The opening “Surrender To Love” exudes a joyous, lived-in connectivity, setting an inherently personal theme as man and wife trade passionate verses over a twangy, steady groove. Helm’s transcendent presence is felt, as the late Band drummer can be heard on the stirring “You’re Running Wild.” Throughout the record, there’s a poignant sense of intimacy in both the lyrics and the emotive, soulful delivery of the two singers. Williams’ resounding voice is downright moving at times, taking the lead most notably on “Another One More Time,” a tune one wouldn’t be surprised to hear on Nashville radio. Alternately, the decorated Americana legend Campbell belts on the trudging and contrite “Down on My Knees.” Moments where the duo cut loose in unison are scattered throughout and Campbell and Williams burst with exuberance on the spirited rocker “Ain’t Nobody for Me.” Finally, a soaring, gorgeous cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Attics of My Life” (with Amy Helm) finishes off the album—it’s a tune that fittingly counterpoises the duo’s intimate, in-the-flesh reality with the spiritual realms that undoubtedly helped shepherd this album to the finish line.