Jim Lauderdale with Donna The Buffalo
Wait 'Til Spring
Dualtone / Skycrunch Records
By B.J. Weikert
 Jim
Lauderdale likes to get his fingers into different musical pies.
He's appeared on a ton of other artist's albums and has had his
songs covered by some thirty some-odd musicians, including eight
albums by George Strait. After releasing several solo albums
that garnered fine critical reviews but never dumped him into
the mainstream, he decided to try something different. Two bluegrass
albums with Dr. Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys followed,
and were good enough to win Lauderdale a Grammy for best bluegrass
album of the year (2002) for Lost In The Lonesome Pines.
Now Lauderdale has taken a side-trip to the other side of
the country music spectrum by joining up with the jam / roots
band Donna The Buffalo. Lauderdale pens all of the songs on Wait
'Til Spring, and his country music template accepts Donna The
Buffalo's eclectic blend of rock, Cajun, zydeco and folk flavors.
Lauderdale himself considers his music country with rock, soul
and blues influences, so his compelling, authoritative traditionalism
works well in this collaborative situation. The band proves to
be a wonderful foil for Lauderdale's intelligent rootsy lyrics
and exceptional melodies. A lot of folks not on the jam-band
circuit may not be familiar with Donna The Buffalo, but let it
be known that they're very well established and highly regarded
nationally at festivals where they play. It was at one of these
festivals that the band and Lauderdale's paths crossed. After
further serendipitous encounters and get-togethers, the deal
was sealed, and Wait 'Til Spring was born.
The record shines with creativity and exuberance that only
works when orchestrated by such consummate musicians. A psychedelic
vibe runs through several of the songs that may remind you of
The Grateful Dead, or The New Riders of The Purple Sage. This
isn't surprising though, due to the fact that Lauderdale has
penned over 40 songs with Robert Hunter (Jerry Garcia's writing
partner his entire career) a few of which appeared on Lauderdale's
own albums and both albums released with Dr. Ralph Stanley and
The Clinch Mountain Boys..
The opening track "Wait 'Til Spring" really gets
the sap rising, and contains a bunch of great mother-nature-oriented
lyrics like "The crows want to take for granted / the sweet
stains of pomegranate". Donna The Buffalo features four
lead vocalists, and although they're only singing background
vocals on this album, they shine throughout, particularly on
this cut.
"Some Other Bayou" has a groovy, Cajun aura about
it that brings to mind tree moss and cypress stumps. The song's
about being on a chain gang in Angola and speaks about the hope
of release, whether through escape or perhaps death.
Third day of August
Was his worst one on the line
He could hardly swing his hammer
While the sun was getting high
He'd get a little water
But the fever drank him dry
Robert handed him a ladle
Said son, you can have some of mine
He'd say, there's some other bayou
We're gonna get to
There's more to live through
Before we chase down the hurricane
"Ginger Peach" reminds me of a 60's soul song right
out of Stax Records. With its references to tangerines, dreams,
timelessness, laughing, mermaids and honey-suckle, it's one of
the most overtly psychedelic songs on the album. Its catchy love-pad
chorus had me imagining lava-lamps and black-light posters. "Every
heart is like an open book/Travel softly when you take a look/The
waves of love surround you". Groovy.
A rework of Jim's "That's Not The Way It Works"
from his '95 release Every Second Counts takes on a new
set of cloths here, and is one of my favorite songs on the album.
A Byrds-like guitar riff runs throughout the song and gives it
a neat '70's country-rock vibe. The song's uplifting, yet guardedly
so. Lyrics like the following express this feeling:
Easy answers to the hardest problems
Peace comes quickly, justice will prevail
That's not the way it works, that's not the way it is
Someone who never hurts
That's not the way it works
Keep your spirits pointed towards the heavens
You'll know better when you get back home
You might notice things you've never seen
Not to mention all that's in between
In "Sapphire" we get a song about a quest for love
that is surrounded and invaded by funk and psychedelia. The lyrics
are shrouded with Biblical and Egyptian imagery and although
Lauderdale's immediately recognizable vocal style plants itself
firmly into this plan, it's a little too "Toon Disney"
for my tastes. "Slow Motion People" was just too slow;
"This World Is Getting Mean" was an okay gospel/blues
type number, but a little too simplistic and sounded like an
out-take or a demo.
The final cut on the album is a song entitled "Wowowo".
Now this is a fun song that would probably be a great live offering
and open to extended jamming. None of the songs on Wait 'Til
Spring are over four and a half minutes long and although
this doesn't detract from the over-all enjoyment of the album,
it also doesn't lend itself to the Jam-band design. How about
a live, double-album of Jim Lauderdale and Donna The Buffalo
live in concert, where the band can stretch-out and do what they
do best?
I can't help but wonder what will be next for Jim Lauderdale...perhaps
a western-swing album with Asleep At The Wheel? How about a hard-core
honky-tonk excursion backed up by the likes of The Cornell Hurd
Band? The possibilities are endless as well as intriguing. No
matter what waters Jim Lauderdale decides to test in the future,
We'll be sure to have something to look forward to, because he
is surely the new renaissance man of country music.
www.jimlauderdale.com
www.donnathebuffalo.com
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