Jim Lauderdale - The Bluegrass Diaries

Several years ago my father-in-law, Easy Carroll, played me a video he was excited about and wanted me to watch. Easy, a World War II vet, has a passion for all kinds of music, but still the thought occurred to me: “What am I getting myself into?”

So we settled into his basement den and, being the dutiful son-in-law, I watched “Cotton Patch Gospel” with him. This turned out to be no laborious task at all. My attention was drawn to a young man who played several parts in the film and was also one of its primary musicians. I checked the credits and discovered it was a guy by the name of Jim Lauderdale.

I decided to chase after some of his solo material. I found several CDs in the local pawn shops and record shops and discovered the incredible talent this man possesses. I also discovered he had written several hits out of Nashville, including some of the big ones done by George Strait.

Forward to the present, in my hands I proudly hold the 16th Jim Lauderdale CD I currently possess, “The Bluegrass Diaries“. No longer do I scrounge the pawn shops for his stuff because I rush out and buy it immediately. This new CD is in no way a disappointment, just like every CD he puts outs.

Jim Lauderdale

In a recent conversation with Lauderdale at a festival in Bean Blossom, Ind., he told me he had this CD coming out, as well as another one or two. Another upcoming CD is a co-effort with Robert Hunter, the Grateful Dead lyricist, as they have teamed up before on the CD, “Headed For the Hills.”

Back to “The Bluegrass Diaries.” This is some fine musicianship under the guidance of Randy Kohrs on production duties. Kohrs has captured a great sound on this disc and also contributed some great dobro licks while he was at it.

As on any Jim Lauderdale disc, the highlight for me is the depth of songwriting abilities he displays. There is no shortage on this disc either. He teams up on a couple songs with Melba Montgomery, who is George Jones’ and Charlie Louvin’s old duet partner. Lauderdale also teams up with J.D. Souther for a couple of songs. Souther teamed up with writing credits on several of the Eagles’ biggest hits. On one of the songs from this disc, “Ain’t No Way To Run,” Montgomery, Souther and Lauderdale all put their heads together and wrote a classic.

This CD fits right alongside the two discs that Lauderdale did with Ralph Stanley. It would be difficult to find any better bluegrass than this being made these days.

Cia Cherryholmes contributes a great vocal backup on the song, “I Wanted To Believe.” It’s nice seeing her spread her wings on other projects besides the music with her family.

One of my favorite cuts is “One Blue Mule.” All the musicians involved absolutely let loose and tear this up. This is a barn burner!

“Can We Find Forgiveness,” is one of those ballads that showcases the depth of Lauderdale’s songwriting prowess. He is definitely capable of putting a tear in your eye if you allow his songs to touch you that deeply.

I am here to proclaim, there are absolutely no, bad Jim Lauderdale CDs. This one is no exception.

It would be great to see him do more of this kind of material and to see it performed live. He promised the audience this past summer to come back to Bean Blossom and bring his bluegrass band. I, for one, cannot wait.

If you like bluegrass and don’t know about Lauderdale, do yourself a favor and pick “The Bluegrass Diaries” up. After that, I’m sure you’ll be scouring the record shops looking for his older stuff.

By Rickey Lamb