For Gregson & Collister, tour is their `Last Word'

As a farewell, the Clive Gregson-Christine Collister swan-songtour falls somewhere between the Who and what.

For the uninitiated, Gregson & Collister joined together in 1985and quietly released five acoustic pop albums that are replete withharmony and rich in melody. The duo is best known for touring withRichard Thompson.

In the early 1980s, Gregson was the guiding light of the Englishpop band Any Trouble. Although her roots are in folk music,Collister sings with a smoky blues timbre reminiscent of ChristineMcVie.

The duo's new record is appropriately titled "The Last Word."

Gregson & Collister make their final Chicago appearance at 8 and10 tonight at the Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont (312-281-4444).

"We thought about quitting a year ago and put it off," Gregsonsaid last week in a conversation from San Francisco. A couple ofyears ago, they broke up as a romantic couple.

"We felt we ran out of steam (as a musical duo), but we wantedto make a final record and tour to give people one last chance to seeus if they wanted to," he said.

"The Last Word" is depressing, sounding as if it were cultivatedfrom old "Oprah" topics. Most of the ballads are about breaking up:"This Broken Home," "I Could Be Happy" and "I Don't Want To Lose You"are dark interpretations of splintered relationships.

That brings up the irony that colored Gregson & Collister'scareer. Their live shows are more uptempo. In past concerts,they've reinvented originals and dug up engaging covers like CarlPerkins' "Matchbox" and Louis Prima's "You Rascal You."

"We do the same songs live, but essentially, it's more to dowith the way we present them," Gregson said. "On a record, you canselect songs and listen to them, and yes, there is a fairly downbeatatmosphere. Whereas, in concert, we try to liven them up a littlewith our personalities. There is a sense of humor."

One exception on "The Last Word" is the tongue-in-cheektearjerker "Close Down This Bar," which Gregson wrote with BooHewerdine, the founding member of the Bible. Gregson's cynical twangon "Close Down This Bar" makes it sound perfect for Merle Haggard.(Gregson & Collister used to cover the Hag's "Mama Tried.")Hewerdine wrote "Love Is a Strange Hotel," which was the title trackof the last Gregson & Collister album.

"It was Boo's idea, and he kind of pushed me into it," Gregsonsaid. "I was skeptical at first. When I write on my own, I have alot of ideas, and I'm ruthless in self-editing. Working with Boomade me write with different parameters. I had more of an openmind.