| Order | Get the album |
| About the album | The Twain Shall Meet |
| About the artist | Cosmic American Derelicts |
| Personnel | The players |
| Tracks | Hear samples |
| Critical Acclaim | Quotes from reviews |
| Session Photos | See photos and videos from the recording session |
| Blog Entry | Read about the session and the gear |
| Teasers | See the prerelease teaser videos |
Where else could the Cosmic American Derelicts record this country music album but in the country? A barn built in 1820 and located among farms in the hills of northwestern Connecticut served as the venue, providing a warm acoustic to complement the songs and performances. The Twain Shall Meet was recorded "live" (for the microphones) in a single session.
George Kapitanelis: bandleader, bass, tambourine
Scott Lauro: vocals, harmony vocals, guitar, banjo
Danny Pavas: vocals, harmony vocals, guitar
Ed Rainey: harmony vocals, dobro, guitar
Nick Reeb: fiddle
"...This is, to my ears, the finest album I have ever heard from Soundkeeper and among my favorite albums, period. It is a recording that I cannot imagine anyone not enjoying. Combining elements of bluegrass, country, folk, Southern rock and Americana, the Cosmic American Derelicts have recorded an album that finds and pulls on the heartstrings of a listener's musical soul... I don’t care which version you listen to, the CD, or one of the many downloaded forms, you will be startled by the "liveness" of the sound. The CD had me checking its provenance again, so startlingly good was it. Then the 24-bit/192kHz WAV files took the excellent CD sound and ratcheted it up about ten notches. But no matter which one you choose, you will get the absolute best sound that particular format has to offer. Voices sound like they're in the room, and the room sounds like the recording barn/studio. Instruments are set in their own acoustic space, and those instruments have a sense of realness I have rarely encountered... I consider this some of the absolute best sound I have ever heard... But the real stars here are the songs. Each one rings true to its deep roots... The Twain Shall Meet is, to my ears, Barry Diament’s greatest achievement to date. It marries totally enjoyable music to sound that will display all of the realism your system is capable of producing. I am also willing to bet this becomes a go-to disc to demonstrate why we audiophiles spend so much time and money putting together a stereo system: to hear music and sound like this."
- Read John Crossett's review at The Audio Beat
"It’s rare to find an album recorded with an audiophile process that’s musically compelling. Barry Diament has struck the balance consistently on his Soundkeeper Recordings label... The musicians—George Kapitanelis on bass and percussion; Scott Lauro on vocals, guitar, and banjo; Danny Pavas on vocals and guitar; Ed Rainey on dobro and guitar; and Nick Reeb on fiddle—are all experienced pickers, and the music is not simple or pat. Three guitars, a fiddle and an upright bass with three-part vocal harmony can weave quite a sonic tapestry. The recording technique keeps each sound distinct, and each musician precisely located in space ... it’s real music..."
- Read Tom Fine's review in the June 2022 issue of Stereophile
"...Demonstrating a complete mastery of and affection for the music they play, it would be a clear cosmic dereliction of duty not to seek it out."
- Read Mike Davies' review at FATEA Records from the UK
"...The album is a nice blend of tunes, excellent musicianship, great finger-picking, and nice vocals. The band plays together with excellent blending and support of the various musical voices throughout. I really enjoyed the variety of instruments used throughout to create variety and increased musical interest. This is music-making with vitality and integrity. It is music-making to enjoy!... As I first listened to this album, my immediate reaction was: Oh, indeed yes. Something very right is going on with this recording… This sounds real, it is authentic. It sound fresh and clear and open and very much a real performance in a real space. "
- From Rushton Paul's Soundkeeper Recordings - Bringing The Live Performance at posi+ive feedback
"The reflective and melancholy songs are well crafted, and very well performed...the album is a joy to listen to... With the mainstream music business churning out ever more material that has more to do with technical wizardry than the talent of the artist, there is a small but noticeable backlash with smaller companies like Soundkeeper Recordings producing the equivalent of what we call Real Ale here in the UK... Straight away, I noticed the real impression that I was listening to something that is as close to being at a live performance as we can have from a recording... As I listened I could feel myself in a wooden cabin, somewhere in the mountains, a wood fire warming the room, and the band playing away in front of me. Not many recordings I have heard over the years, have done that anywhere near as well as this recording."
- Read Nick Whetstone's review at TNT-Audio
"Cosmic American Derelicts somehow succeed in drawing your Old Scribe's attention to the Scottish, French & Irish influences (direct or via Canadian, Cajun journeys)... Unrequited love, rage & revenge are key lyrical themes, reinforced by musical syntax that invites coherent responses with the key signatures, modes & cadences behind the words & vocal melody... Your Old Scribe may be biased, but no amount of cortisol raising descriptive bloodshed & panic will ever substitute for the adrenaline of wide dynamic range & an unexpectedly interrupted cadence. The Soundkeeper Recordings preserve more of the dynamic range than the typical mainstream loudness wars of CD's & radio edits. The arrival of the physical format CD version exemplified this... The higher resolution download is worthwhile, especially as it better reveals the extraordinary care taken to capture the performance accurately in single takes."
"This is a highly recommended recording of fine musicians making an original contribution to the great American songbook."
- Read Mark Wheeler's review at TNT-Audio
"It’s notable that the recording method encourages a careful choice of music and venue. And attentive listening takes you there and then. There’s a palpable sense of situated musical event... Real music, not engineered by machines. Restrained and honest, in both the musical performance and the way the recording is done. That’s what I hear from this 10-song album... Justice would see this music find its way into many listening rooms. If the band’s name strikes up some curiosity, the musical experience will be both surprising and rewarding... This is an enjoyable tasteful addition to the Soundkeeper Recordings catalogue that will immediately appeal to those of us who are fans of Barry Diament’s signature clean and dynamic "real" sound (I’ve written enthusiastically about it in earlier reviews).
[Ed. An earlier review]
- Richard Varey
Outside the barn
Up in the rafters
Ground control
Nick warms up his fiddle
Whispers on the Wind
(Sound for this video via camera mic)
After a nice take of "Whispers..."
George
Nick
Danny
Ed
Scott
Scott about to sing "Yankee"
George and Ed warming up "Yankee"
Danny and Nick ready for "Yankee"
Nick, Scott, and George ready for "Yankee"
Scott and George ready for "Yankee"
Derelicts about to cut "Yankee"
Nick takes a short break
George
Scott
Ed picking some fine guitar
Ed
Danny before recording "Woods and Water"
George ready to record "Woods and Water"
The band warms up "Woods and Water"
Woods and Water
(Sound for this video via camera mic)
Ed on Dobro
Danny, Nick, and Scott before recording "Lighthouse Keeper"
Scott ready to sing "Lighthouse Keeper"
Ed just before recording "Lighthouse Keeper"
First take of "Oh No"
(Sound for this video via camera mic)
Scott before recording "New Half Step"
Nick waiting on the "Speeding Train"
George waiting on the "Speeding Train"
Ed waiting on the "Speeding Train"
Scott waiting on the "Speeding Train"
All aboard the "Speeding Train"
(Sound for this video via camera mic)
B with CAD