Patchwork River
Thirty Tigers
Following up on their 2001 Nashville songwriting marathon that yielded more than 30 songs (13 of which ended up on 2004’s spectacular “Headed for the Hills”), Lauderdale and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter this time penned their material during three visits by Lauderdale to Hunter’s home in San Rafael, Calif.
Whereas the first album was more of an acoustic, bluegrass-flavored affair, “Patchwork’s” tracks alternately feature Kenny Vaughan, James Burton and Doug Lancio on electric guitar. Pedal steel decorates five songs, horns spice up two and fiddle embellishes one (the album’s lone overtly country number, “Turn to Stone”).
The lead-off title track is the only one to invite any Dead comparisons, sounding like a “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo” for the 2010s. Sample lyric: “Heard Joe Farmer say, ‘If I may / Serve you breakfast on a supper tray / Got no eggs, but I saved some shell / Lost the clapper but I found the bell.’ ”
“Jawbone” lives up to its name, with Lauderdale rapidly delivering his vocals and Hunter’s repetitive lyrics to portray its protagonist, set to a funky shuffle beat backed by honky-tonk piano — not unlike The Band, who coincidentally (?) had a similar song with the same title on their eponymous sophomore release.
“Alligator Alley” musically suggests the swamp of the Everglades but also has a Memphis soul sound, sort of like Tony Joe White meets Elvis Presley (whose name just happens to get dropped in the lyrics: “She said, ‘You look like Elvis Presley’ / I said, ‘I know, it tends to stress me’ “). The song also showcases fine fretwork by co-producer Lancio, who stretches out with some spaghetti-western/surf licks.
Other highlights include “El Dorado,” in which Burton’s guitar and Al Perkins’ pedal steel unite, giving extra depth to Lauderdale’s plaintive search for that figurative city of solid gold; and the melancholy “Up My Sleeve,” with its airy piano-guitar interplay supported by Chad Cromwell’s solid march drum riffs.
Tracks
1. Patchwork River
2. Jawbone
3. Good Together
4. Alligator Alley
5. Louisville Roll
6. Tall Eyes
7. Turn To Stone
8. El Dorado
9. Up My Sleeve
10. Far In The Far Away
11. Between Your Heart And Mine
12. Winnona
13. My Lips Are Sealed
Total time: 49:32
External links
artist’s website
amazon.com
iTunes Store
