arry Diament, producer, recording engineer, chief cook and bottle washer of Soundkeeper Recordings, has released a number of excellent albums. I have many of them and have enjoyed them, even if not all are quite to my own musical tastes. All have something worthwhile to hear, and all are superbly recorded. However, with The Twain Shall Meet by the Cosmic American Derelicts, Diament looks to have married both the best musical and sonic qualities of his previous efforts into a complete whole. 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.

The Cosmic American Derelicts were founded in 1998 and include George Kapitanelis, band leader, bass and tambourine; Scott Lauro on vocals, harmony vocals, guitar and banjo; Danny Pavas on vocals, harmony vocals, guitar; Ed Rainey on harmony vocals, Dobro and guitar; and Nick Reeb on fiddle. They have toured the US and the UK, leaving a trail of fans behind. This is their fifth album, so they obviously are doing something right. As you can see from the choice of instrumentation, this is a group used to intricacies of acoustic instruments, along with the use vocal harmonies. Diament recorded this album live to the microphone and direct to stereo, and 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. Listen to the acoustic bass, hear the fingers pluck the strings and then hear the enormous cavity of the instrument excited into sound. Hear the bow pulled across the strings of the fiddle and how easy it is to tell the difference between the plucked banjo strings and those of the guitars. 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. There may only be ten tunes that run about 35 minutes total, but I am guessing you will be playing and replaying this music repeatedly, so overall length will not be an issue. Starting with the opening track, “New Half Step,” from the fiddle work to the banjo plucking, to the harmony vocals, the song will touch you, as will the balance of the tunes. Personally, I enjoyed “Whispers on the Wind” and “Oh No,” “Waylon” and “Speeding Train” for the wonderful music and superb harmonies of Lauro, Pavas and Rainey. No, the voices are not smooth and soothing, but rough, gruff, and used, which perfectly matches the music. If you ever get the chance to see these boys live, do not pass it up.