"Bill and Bonnie Hearne capture the openhearted
and independent spirit of the West in their major label debut. Their selection
includes Bonnie's originals and covers of tunes by Nanci Griffith and Lyle
Lovett, who provide harmony vocals as well. Bill's breezy flatpicking and
Bonnie's rollicking piano are backed up by the likes of Stuart Duncan's
fiddle and Lloyd Maines' pedal steel. These folks leave no doubt that contemporary
cowboy music is alive and well.
--Acoustic Guitar, October, 1997
"Bill and Bonnie Hearne have certainly paid
their dues. They had been singing together for 25 years when they finally
got the chance to make this major label debut.
"All those years of experience and struggle
-- she's blind, he's nearly blind -- are reflected in the unadorned beauty,
quiet strength and emotional honesty of the 13 performances on "Diamonds
in the Rough." The Hearnes are accompanied by such guests as Lyle
Lovett, Nanci Griffith, and Jerry Jeff Walker, but it's the couple's singing
-- a wonderful mesh of rough and smooth -- that keeps drawing the listener
back. Add them to country's long line of country duos."
--Philadelphia Inquirer, May 18, 1997
(Nick Cristiano)
"The history of country music is dotted with
recordings by great pairings -- the Louvin Brothers, George Jones and Tammy
Wynette, and the Judds, to name a few. Now Bill and Bonnie Hearne can be
added to the list purely on the strength of their major label debut, "Diamonds
in the Rough" (Warner Bros).
"He's an exceptional flat-picking guitarist
with a warm grainy voice. She's an old-timey pianist and a first rate song
writer, blind since she was a child. They harmonize beautifully, partly
because their voices naturally complement each other and partly because
they've been singing together for 25 years.
"On "Muley Brown," the tale of
a rodeo cowboy legend, Jerry Jeff Walker and Bill Hearne trade verses like
old friends swapping tales about a mutual pal. Tish Hinojosa and Nanci
Griffith take turns adding wistful harmonies to several tracks, and Lyle
Lovett contributes his narrative ballad "Walk through the Bottom Land,"
quietly sharing the tale with Bill Hearne.
"Even without the stellar cast, "Diamonds
in the Rough" would stand out, glittering with great songs, homespun
harmonies and abundant spirit."
-- Washington
Post, May 7, 1997 (Mike Joyce)
"Bill and Bonnie Hearne are Southwestern
club legends who have influenced artists ranging from Lyle Lovett to Jerry
Jeff Walker, Nanci Griffith and Tish Hinojosa."
-- Billboard, March 15, 1997 (Chet
Flippo)
"This husband and wife team play such happy music that it instantly
endears them to their audiences. Still, more memorable than watching Bonnie
pound that honky-tonk piano and Bill and strum the guitar is hearing the
two sing. Oh the sweet harmony...."
-- The Dallas Morning News
"...Rollicking thumping country soul."
-- The Taos News
"Bill and Bonnie just naturally generate excitement."
-- Denton Record Chronicle
Bonnie, too, is unclassifiable. She works her eclectic magic with churchy
chords left over from early gospel training, with echoes of Bessie Smith
and Linda Ronstadt and with a lot of what used to be known as Soul before
that term became battered by misuse."
-- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
It's hard not to adore the Hearnes...their very visible tenderness for
one another creates an extraordinary aura with their presence. Who would
guess that this quiet couple would ever let loose a rendition of Joe Ely's
"I Had My Hopes Up High" that nearly matches Ely's rendition
for rip-roaring fun."
-- The Daily Texan
The University of Texas at Austin
"Bill and Bonnie Hearne demonstrate a thorough acquaintance with most
forms of contemporary popular music, but their harmonies and Bonnie's piano
playing most readily exhibit their debts to country and gospel styles."
---Malone, Bill C. Country
Music USA, revised and enlarged, University of Texas, Austin, 1985.
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