History:

Brooks and Reed were a folk duo from Pennsylvania. Rateyourmusic gives the duo a location of West Park, New York but there seems to be no evidence to back that up. The duo consisted of Tom Brooks on acoustic guitar and vocals and multi-instrumentalist Jim Reed. Reed played 6 and 12-String acoustic guitars, mandolin, and also sang. 

The duo recorded one album titled "Tears And Laughter". The album was recorded at Philadelphia based Tricom Studios in the autumn of 1974 and released in 1975. Brooks and Reed were joined by banjoist Lesley Katz on one track, Audrey Stauffer on backing vocals on another, and keyboardist Bob Trostle on electric piano. 

“Tears And Laughter” contained all original compositions by the duo performed in a folk style with a country influence. The compositions ranged from tunes about Pittsburgh, nature, and summertime love. Oddly, the duo only wrote the title track together. All other tunes were written by either Brooks or Reed by themselves. The album was privately released on their own ESC Records label and sold locally. It is quite obscure so sales were likely poor. It's unclear what happened to the duo or when they broke up. 

Review:

Tears And Laughter (1974, ESC Recordings)

Rating: 6/10

Solid folk recording with southern country tinge despite its location. I am confident that these guys were from rural Pennsylvania and that reflects in the lyrics and music. The album is split into dreamy acoustic folk rock and country / bluegrass influenced folk. “Colorado” is a nice one with shimmering dual acoustic guitar layers. I like the simple but effective folk tunes “Tears and Laugher” and “Chain Me”. Very laidback with good vocals and I like the subtle 12-string on the latter. “Sunny Day” is similar to “Colorado” in its approach but the guitar work is a bit superior and I like the vocals more. Nice tune. Rest of the album is a mediocre mix of bluegrass and country folk.