Lauderdale releases a worthy, heartfelt follow-up twenty years later.
At the age of sixty-eight, Jim Lauderdale is in top form, his voice as good as ever. The iconic songwriter, now a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, is showing no signs of slowing down, and in his own words: “I feel like I’m writing and recording more than ever, and that’s such a favourite thing of mine”. After featuring on Dallas Burrow’s The Way the West Was Won last year, Lauderdale is back with a record of his own, Country Super Hits Volume 2.
For those unfamiliar with his Country Super Hits Volume 1, released back in 2006, despite its title, it’s not a compilation of old hits, but rather a studio LP featuring a batch of songs that were new at the time. In the same way, with Volume 2, you are treated to thirteen fresh songs ready to become instant classics. Only a songwriter as respected as Lauderdale could pull off such a title (likewise, twenty years ago), but then again, his first recording dates back to 1979, long before his major-label debut with Planet of Love in 1991, so he has a long track record to back him. Moreover, after almost forty albums, you’ll be hard-pressed to find listeners who’ll challenge him on such a choice.
Volume 2 features heartfelt tracks with a honky-tonk lean, sometimes plaintive, others lively, always true. Lauderdale follows a balanced formula to create tight, catchy songs, excelling at the ballads. Regarding the album’s standout second single, Everybody’s Got a Problem, Lauderdale describes it as “the one thing we all have in common”, going on to explain that it “relates to the common experience of going through difficult times, and that very few of us are immune to that”. Volume 2 stays grounded in real troubles and ordinary experiences like those many listeners will identify with. Infused with a dose of the more wholesome side of traditional values, it’s a record that strays little from the genre’s expectations (again, the title is fitting).
Nonetheless, Lauderdale keeps things relevant with Artificial Intelligence, a timely yet somewhat unexpected title that sits conspicuously in the tracklist but otherwise blends seamlessly into the album. Who would have thought a pedal steel and country piano would accompany ponderations on a topic that seemed like science fiction only a few decades ago? Originally released as a standalone single in May of 2005, Lauderdale said of Artificial Intelligence (in his performance at the Grand Ole Opry that same month): “I don’t know if anybody’s written a song about this yet, I think it will be the first country song about this topic, but you hear about this every day”. An artist is surely still in his prime when he can maintain his classic sound while still soaking in the times. His voice remains strong and clear, and his lyrics representative of people’s real issues, from the commonplace to new existential worries.
Lauderdale will be touring extensively throughout the year in both the US and Europe, where you can catch him alongside Emmylou Harris. Together with the release of Country Super Hits Volume 2 and the bluegrass collection The Birds Know, it is a clear sign that Lauderdale won’t be stopping anytime soon. And with new releases as enjoyable as this, you can only be glad at the thought.
