Alathea
consisting of Mandee Radford and Cristi Johnson performed at Grand Island
New York's Trinity United Methodist Church on April 30th. For
fans of Alathea yes there was one name missing that of Carrie Theobald who
got married in 2005 and has now retired from the group.
Alathea's greatest strengths rest with the seamless harmonies created by Radford and Johnson combined with Radford's superb song writing skills. Although Radford and Johnson hold their own on the acoustic guitar and mandolin respectively the melodies are an accompaniment to their vocals and don't serve as the main attraction.
As they sang a cappella the words, "All the way my saviour leads me…" it was eerie how you were transported to the mountains of eastern Tennessee. When you hear someone sing without musical accompaniment and they are as talented as this duet you sit up and take notice. The audience did and showed their appreciation with a resounding applause.
Alathea performed a fourteen song set plus an encore. They played many fan favourites from the CD What Light Is All About. "Broken Down" was introduced by Radford as she shared some of her own personal struggles and how in her brokenness she always returns to the Lord for strength. "Emmanuel" had a rather unusual beginning as Mandee sought to console herself with a tub (not a bowl!) of Moose Tracks ice cream, eventually found her Bible and started reading the nativity account. She ended up penning this beautiful song. Other favourite tunes that Alathea's fans were treated to included "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go" and "Indian Creek" named for the creek that runs by their circa 1920's white log cabin in the mountains.
The petite Radford walked onstage in a brown sweater, blue jeans and bare feet. The taller, slim Johnson wore a mauve shirt, beige sweater highlighted by mauve flowers, brown jeans and matching brown boots.
While both ladies possess an ever present smile and southern charm Radford was born to be in front of an audience. She pokes fun at her own singleness with stories about her mother saying she can't meet any men living in the mountains. Radford's response to her mother was, 'We have hunting season'. Radford said the next Christmas everything her mother sent her was bright orange! To hear her tell of her adventures as a substitute teacher are worth the price of admission. This lady ought to be moonlighting making comedy CDs. She even has a way of describing difficult times in her life with humour. Radford exudes that Dolly Parton like charm and southern hospitality that leaves you with no choice but to love her.
Johnson is the antithesis of Radford. She is outgoing but in a more quiet and tranquil way that I am sure leaves her friends feeling at peace when they are with her.
Too often the music of Alathea has been categorized as Blue Grass by those who really don't understand that genre or comprehend folk music. While there are shades of mountain music Alathea is much more than that. A more accurate description of their music would be folk-pop. If you think of the earlier days of people like Simon and Garfunkel, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan you will be a lot closer to the style of music these two create.
They are set to head back to the studio towards the end of May. This time they are funding their own project as independent artists. The work on the CD has to be done in stages and Alathea is funding the album through presales of the new CD. You can play an active role in producing a CD by logging onto their website www.alathea.com and reordering your CD now.
In discussing their work with Compassion Radford said, "I get overwhelmed by not knowing what to do to make the world a better place." Cristi and Mandee you already have made this world a better place. Just keep living your lives the way you are.
Photo By: Joe Montague ©
When: April 29, 2006
Where: Trinity United Methodist Church, Grand Island, NY
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