Dix Bruce & Julie Cline's new CD, Look at it Rain, includes a mixture of traditional and original songs arranged to showcase their duet singing and instrumental sound. Little Birdie. Julie sings lead, Dix sings harmony, on this up-tempo traditional song, punctuated with hot guitar and mandolin solos. Little Birdie has been played by folk, old time, and bluegrass musicians for many generations. Making Believe. This moving ballad from the mid-1950s was one country music queen Kitty Wells’ greatest hits. Dix and Julie turn Making Believe into a country duet in the classic style that tells of love lost, again with Julie singing lead. Take this Hammer, lead singing by Dix on this new arrangement, features close instrumental interplay between Dix, on guitar, and Julie, on mandolin. I Get Blue was written by Dix and it’s a fun, up-tempo romp, a tongue-in-cheek mediation on wasted love. It has an acoustic rockabilly feel with Dix’s muted guitar solo and the flat out rock ‘n’ roll of Julie’s hot mandolin lead. There’s More Pretty Girls Than One is a waltz with duet singing throughout, Dix on lead. The title speaks for itself. Fair and Tender Ladies offers heart felt warnings about love. Julie sings lead on this beautiful melody and lyric. Shady Groves. This new arrangement by Dix and Julie combines the modal sounding version of the traditional folk song Shady Grove with an energetic, up-tempo bluegrass version of the same song. Hence the title “Shady Groves,” plural. Dix sings lead on the modal version, Julie sings lead on the major key version with harmony throughout. Darling, Will You Ever Think of Me? was composed by Dix as an homage to the Carter Family. It’s a duet with Dix singing lead. The chorus of the song features Julie singing a descant or counter-melody to Dix’s lead part. Look at it Rain, another original by Dix, is an up tempo, bluegrass-style, song about… well…rain. But rain in the metaphorical sense. Look at it Rain is the title song of the CD. The Banks of the Ohio is a beautiful instrumental arrangement of the popular traditional song. Both Julie, on mandolin, and Dix, on guitar, explore different ways of playing the melody using flatpicking and crosspicking. Just Someone I Used to Know is one of the best country songs ever written about the pain of breakup and moving on. Jack Clement’s moving song has been recorded by Porter Waggoner and Dolly Parton, Emmy Lou Harris, Rhonda Vincent, and others. Pretty Polly, which PBS described as an “eternal song” originated hundreds of years ago in the British Isles. This American version tells the gripping and timeless story of a relationship that ends in murder. Dix and Julie’s vocal duet and unique two-mandolin performance captures the stark drama of this brutal story. Frogs for Snakes. Both Dix and Julie love the sound of traditional blues played on mandolin and guitar. Frogs for Snakes was written by Dix and he and Julie give it the old time/bluesy acoustic string treatment. I am a Pilgrim, with Julie singing lead on a new arrangement, is a well-loved old song that’s been performed by countless musicians in a variety of styles. Where the Soul Never Dies is another old song with a hopeful message. Dix sings lead with Julie on harmony throughout. As with “Darling, Will You Ever Think of Me?” Julie sings a descant or counter-melody to Dix’s. Look at it Rain by Dix Bruce & Julie Cline. Wonderful duet singing and playing, great new songs and arrangements, beautiful guitar and mandolin playing.