Roots66: Music: Reviews: Mary and Mars - Mary and Mars

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Bill Yates Webmaster, Roots66.com 1911 Arlene Avenue Oxnard, CA 93036-2704	or	Erika Harding Roots Productions 60 South Anacapa Street Ventura, CA 93001
Please note that we review music in the categories listed in the links above. CDs submitted for review are not returnable and no guarantee is made that a CD will be reviewed.

	CD Review
	Mary and Mars Mary and Mars Mary and Mars Sharon Gilchrist - vocals, mandolin Ben Wright - guitar Josh Martin - bass
	(* = sample tracks on pre-release CD) 1) Walking Through the Dark (root 5 music) 2) Cold Dark Ground (root 5 music) 3) One Less Fiesta (root 5 music) 4) Cold Rain and Snow (P.D.) 5) Shouldn't Get Used To You (root 5 music) 6) I've Been Burned (root 5 music) 7) Sitting Alone in the Moonlight (Bill Monroe) 8) Glad It's Night (root 5 music) 9) Ireland's Green Shores (P.D.) 10) Somehow Someday (root 5 music) 11) Will You Fall In Love With Me (root 5 music) 12) Walk About (root 5 music) Review by Bill Yates, Roots66.com Mary and Mars is a new trio from Santa Fe, NM, which is making waves in the area and whose whose reputation should be spreading wider soon, if this release is widely heard. Sharon Gilchrist, vocalist and fine mandolinist, Ben Wright, a very good guitarist, and Josh Martin, whose vibrant bass keeps everything going, make up Mary and Mars. This CD is their first effort and was recorded in Nashville. The sound is very good and the performances thoroughly professional. All but three of the songs are products of the trio. I was only able to listen to the four tracks on the pre-release review copy but if these are any indication, I want to hear the rest. "Walking Through the Dark" starts the CD off with an uptempo song of hope in the future and features a nice lead vocal by... one of the guys (it's not noted on the pre-release copy). Wright provides some excellent guitar work. Gilchrist takes the vocal lead on the mournful "Cold Dark Ground" with more nice guitar from Wright. Martin's steady bass is important here. "One Less Fiesta" is a lament for the loss of the past with a nice Mexican flavor. "Cold Rain and Snow" is a traditional song. "Shouldn't Get Used To You" and "I've Been Burned" are by Mary and Mars while "Sitting Alone in the Moonlight" is a Bill Monroe tune. It's followed by another Mary and Mars song, "Glad It's Night". The traditional "Ireland's Green Shores" adds a Celtic flavor to the album. The trio supplied the rest of the songs on the CD including "Somehow Someday" and "Will You Fall In Love With Me". "Walk About" is a blazing instrumental which shows off each member in turn. The fiddler is not credited here but is very good. Gilchrist is extremely good on the mandolin - very fine picking. If the pre-release tunes I've heard here are any indication, this is a very fine group. Their original music is well-crafted and equally well-executed. Mary and Mars have been regularly playing the Cowgirl Hall of Fame since their formation in April of 2002, and they tour in the SouthWest. Get the album. One day you can say, "Mary and Mars? Oh, yeah, I got their first album." Copyright 2003 William Theron Yates 2/20/2003 This review is copyrighted but may be quoted in whole or part provided credit is given such as "--Bill Yates, Roots66.com". If you post the review on a web site, please link to http://www.roots66.com if you can.

Last updated 2/22/03.
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