On July 9th '99 we met with bassist Jim Whitney, engineer Alan Williams and musician/producer Tim O'Brien at Peaks Island, Maine, to record the second Rust Farm CD. We set up a portable digital recorder, some fine microphones, and played all the music live, with Chris singing, in a living room up in Tolman Heights. In five days we finished twelve tracks. John overdubbed harmony vocals, but everything else was played live, with no overdubs, splices, fixes or trickery.

Tim was kind enough to play fiddle and bouzouki on several tracks. One piece, the haunting Snows of March, features a trio of mandola, bouzouki and mandolin.

...some flash playing, but the main focus is the songs. Moore is simply an amazing songwriter. You have only to hear the Carol Noonan Band's version of"Only Witness"to know how amazing. It takes a special song to stand up to such dissimilar treatments.

He is also an amazingly versatile writer. Without imitating, he consistently creates new songs that seem to have the timeless quality of the best traditional songs. While he often works with subjects that are familiar in traditional songs, there is always a twist. "Rust Farm Fire"is not so much a song about a natural disaster as it is a warning about the temporary nature of life. "Six Foot Pine Box"is at least superficially about a funeral, but it turns out to be much more about life. "Two by Two"has some almost gospel-like opening lines but is really a love song...You are drawn to the songs again and again, each time you get a little more out of them..Not Nashville, not bluegrass, not oldtime..

...and that is one of the greastest strengths of Rust Farm. Just as The Band created music that was definetly based on rock and roll which echoed the South during the Civil War and just past, and Gillian Welsh and David Rawlings have transplanted the Stanley Brothers from Clinch Mountain to the Hollywood Hills and somehow made it sound natural, Rust Farm has created a sound so complete that it ought to have a name, but doesn't. It is decidedly American but it is certainly not a melting pot. You can hear all of the influences distinctly and, best of all, you can hear them all at once- Dave Palmater

...refreshing energy and casualness through a mix of styles...casual yes, but laid back, no...excellent songs, all with something unique in the structure to give them integrity...they stamp their music with a reality and appeal that's hard to deny...a rock energy that helps make their debut ÇD the treat it is.

Country Music People, July 1998- FIVE STARS (better than Reba and Garth):

"...Tight band, but it is (John and Chris) who captivate with unusual, widely spaced harmony singing, strong lead parts, some first rate picking, a set of interesting songs and one excellent instrumental.

There is an acoustic feel to the album, at times one of the finest blends I have heard of an acoustic front line, and a straight drums and bass rhythm.

The opening cut, "Until I Know Her Name", heralds something special. Lyrically, a straight ahead country song- "But don't let her leave this honky tonk, until I know her name"- but the tune moves around in a far from straight way, and a hot electric guitar/mandolin split break sets the pace for what follows.

"Rust Farm Fire"is quite stunning and offers hot acoustic and electric guitar breaks from McGann, whilst "Rose's Bar and Grill"is a great honky tonk song. Contrast with "Belfast", a straight mandolin-led instrumental with a strong melody that reminds me of Monroe's minor key compositions.

Every track has something to commend it. Different, exciting and the more you play it, the more you like it..." John Atkins

You can order the RUST FARM CD - $15 US postpaid, $20 overseas airmail.