Way Back Home: Live From New York City

Disc 1 CD
1. The Good Kind
2. Love Me Like That
3. Way Back Home
4. Damn That Radio
5. Crazy People
6. Cigarettes
7. My, Oh My
8. Different Truck, Same Loser
9. Tennessee
10. Lay Me Down
11. Leave The Pieces
12. Stand Still, Look Pretty
13. Rain
Disc 2 DVD
1. The Good Kind
2. Love Me Like That
3. Way Back Home
4. Damn That Radio
5. Crazy People
6. Cigarettes
7. My, Oh My
8. Different Truck, Same Loser
9. Tennessee
10. Lay Me Down
11. Leave The Pieces
12. Stand Still, Look Pretty
13. Rain

Talk about an emotional rollercoaster! One minute into either the audio disc or the companion DVD of this intimate concert recorded at New York's Bowery Ballroom in 2007, and the ride begins. Happiness comes when Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp's corduroy-and-silk vocal blend--wrapped around their tuneful rockin' pop, folk-country songs ("My, Oh My," and "Tennessee")--sound so splendidly organic. Their harmonies sound even more seamlessly hand-in-glove live than in the studio. But there is sadness, too; sadness over the realization that the Wreckers--the first female duo to hit #1 on Billboard's Country chart with their debut single ("Leave the Pieces") in 50 years--have split up to continue their solo careers. What a pity. It's not often one comes across such a natural blend of voices and complementary songwriting skills from Nashville-based female acts. For one of the two new songs on this well-paced set list, they chose "Different Truck, Same Loser," a tune as deep-dish honky tonk as Dwight Yoakam. The other new offering, "Damn That Radio," rocks like a country barnburner. The DVD, which also offers a five-minute interview not available on the CD, shows the two--backed by a tight five-piece band that includes Branch's husband, bassist Teddy Laudau and Harp's fiancé, fiddler Jason Mowery--having a blast onstage; at times sharing a microphone or singing back-to-back a la John Lennon and Paul McCartney. So listen, watch, and wave goodbye to the Wreckers, who now take their own place among the pantheon of bands who wrecked our worlds for an all-too-brief moment, and were gone.-–Alanna Nash