Tullamore, a trio from Independence, Missouri, has but one weakness -- but it's a weakness which reoccurs throughout the CD Timber & Stream.

The band is Sonya Baughman (vocals, tinwhistles, recorders, percussion), Mark Clavey (vocals, guitar) and Mary Hanover (vocals, hammered dulcimer, tinwhistle). Instrumentation and arrangements are well done and vocals are for the most part strong ... except when Clavey takes the lead. Although his backing vocals are fine, his voice strains in the spotlight, and that casts a pall over an otherwise excellent recording. When the other two band members sing, Tullamore shines.

The listener is hit with Clavey's vocals from the outset, belting out "Jackie Munroe" in a style which made me cringe. Fortunately, he shares lead vocal duties with his bandmates on this one, and they help to salvage the song. Hanover leads the way with gusto on "Step It Out, Mary," a tale of thwarted love given good service here. Baughman is equally strong on the Scottish ballad "Bonnie House of Airlie," and her recorder duets neatly with Hanover's dulcimer throughout the track. Then Clavey is back in the lead position for "Back Home in Derry," a poignant song set to the same tune as Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Clavey reins in his voice somewhat on this track, but there are still signs of strain.

Hanover does an amazing job on "Factory Girl," first entwining her tinwhistle with Baughman's recorder for an airy introduction, then providing strong, somber hard-luck vocals for another song about thwarted love. (Is there a pattern here?) Baughman's vocals on "Lowlands of Holland" follows an excellent and lively instrumental lead-in -- I wish Tullamore had included a few all-instrumental tracks here, because there's a lot of skill at work in the band and that talent deserves to stand apart from the vocal tracks now and again.

"Sullivan's John," led by Clavey, has some particular nice three-vocal harmonies. Next, Baughman steps up with an absolutely gorgeous cover of Fairport Convention's "Crazy Man Michael." Another whistle-and-recorder duet, a melancholy "Nancy's Waltz," introduces Hanover's take on the Irish emigration song "Thousands Are Sailing." After Clavey's version of "Nancy Spain," Baughman lights her recorder on fire, whizzing through a lively "Mary's March" (her own composition) before singing the cheerful "Next Market Day."

The album ends with its title track, a song based on a poem by Clavey's brother Bruce in tribute of their father, Westley. It's a lovely song, and Hanover gives it potency in her singing.

Kudos also have to go to the band for a neat, attractive and informative insert. All of the lyrics are here, along with notes about each track and photos of the band in action. I wish more CDs came this complete!

All in all, Timber & Stream comes highly recommended. Baughman and Hanover both have grand voices and I could listen to them sing for hours! The trio's musicianship is excellent as well. As I said, there's just one weakness here, and it's easily overlooked in pursuit of this band's obvious strengths.