Grace Pool

Although critics generally had nice things to say about upstate New York alterna-folkies Grace Pool, the quartet was done a disservice by the immediate and myopic comparison to 10,000 Maniacs that invariably showed up somewhere in every feature and review. With their shared home, the largely acoustic instrumentation, and the fact that both bands had female lead singers, Grace Pool and 10,000 Maniacs had almost nothing at all in common. In many ways, Grace Pool was the superior act, as Elly Brown's lyrics avoided the preciousness of Natalie Merchant's, and Bob Riley's keyboard-heavy songs were more atmospheric and abstract than the genial guitar pop melodicism of 10,000 Maniacs. An early version of Grace Pool (obscurely named after a minor character in Charlotte Brontė's Jane Eyre) formed in 1983, but Riley temporarily put the project on hold when he joined Hoboken's Rage to Live. When Riley left that band after their first album, he and Brown hooked back up and re-formed Grace Pool in New York City. Drummer Frank Vilardi, guitarist Terry Radigan, and keyboardist Cliff Carter joined the duo, who signed to the newly re-activated Reprise label and released a self-titled debut in 1988. Although it garnered respectful reviews, the album did not sell particularly well. Radigan and Carter were replaced by guitarist Beki Brindle and keyboardist Andy Burton; Brindle's vaguely Chicago-style playing and Burton's fondness for the vintage organ sound of a Hammond B-3 made 1990's Where We Live a somewhat earthier listen that better supported Brown's increasingly bluesy vocal style. Sadly, this record followed on the debut's path to obscurity, and Reprise dropped the group in 1991. Grace Pool broke up the following year. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide