Marie Sisters (Republic/Universal, 2002)

There certainly is no scarcity of sister acts or other unrelated groups of female vocalists. The problem seems to be how to get a new act to stand out from the crowd. The debut CD by the Marie Sisters begins as if the duo had found a way.

The first three songs, especially the opening number, "Real Bad Mood," gives the Marie Sisters' sound a real edge not that prevalent on today's country landscape. Heck, Chaz and Kessie even snap at each other a couple of times before that song has completed its run. Now there's nothing wrong with changing tempo and even dialing down the attitude for a while from that roaring opening. But once this disc slows down, it never regains the momentum or recaptures its opening edge again. The Marie Sisters actually lean a bit to the pop side. Their voices not only are complimentary, but rich, full and expressive, easily filling the song up with all the emotion needed for the often-sentimental expressions. Since the girls aren't writers, selection of material becomes important and to that end the pair seems well connected with some of Nashville's better writers.

This disc may not really set the Marie Sisters apart in the way that the first few songs of this outing promise, but the slower, more thoughtful Maries are also very pleasing as well.