Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell – Begonias

"Begonias" is a wonderful duets album from Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell. So wonderful, in fact, that I anticipate the record being one of my 10 best at the end of the year. This is a record that traditional country fans will cherish as will the built-in "alternative country" music fans.

Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell are both popular "alternative country" artists from North Carolina. In fact, they were neighbors prior to Cockrell moving to Nashville and it was in their time as neighbors that the majority of the songs from "Begonias" were written. If Cary's name sounds familiar, it should for she's also a member of Whiskeytown and Tres Chicas.

Recorded in a live studio setting like the great albums of yesteryear, "Begonias" leads off with "Two Different Things." What's immediate from this song is the beauty in Cockrell's honey-soaked vocal and how well Cary's twangy voice blends with it. "Please Break My Heart" sounds as if it could've been written in the 1960s. If it were, it'd surely be a standard track now. "Party Time" is one of those songs that just gets into your soul and doesn’t get out. "Second Option" is a mid-tempo track that really reminds me of a Whiskeytown song but with Cockrell singing instead of Ryan Adams. "Waiting On June" is one of two tracks not written by the duo, yet it is as good as anything they wrote for this record while "Don't Make It Better" is a top notch classic country song.

In a time when "duets" albums are all but a thing of the past, "Begonias" shines like a beacon into yesteryear while firmly staying entrenched in the 21st century. "Begonias" is a classic album that needs to be heard by all fans of traditional country music.