JIM LAUDERDALE
& DONNA THE BUFFALO
Wait 'Til Spring (Dualtone)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Jim Lauderdale has, among many other things, penned hits for George Strait, written some 40 tunes with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and won a Grammy in collaboration with Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys. That's only a slight indication of his range as a songwriter and performer, but it's enough to tell you that it takes a pretty special band to match the breadth of his talents.

Donna The Buffalo is exactly the special band that it takes to bring out the best of Lauderdale, and Lauderdale provides exactly the kind of material, both in stylistic diversity and high quality, that it takes to bring the best out of the roots rock/zydeco/folk/funk/ whatever-it-takes character of DTB. I've been a fan of both the singer/songwriter and the popular jam band for a while now, and I'd love to claim it's a match-up I've been waiting for, but frankly, this one came at me right out of the blue. It probably shouldn't have, since they've been sharing stages for awhile now at festivals and such, but if it's a surprise, it's a real pleasant one.

Whether it's the sultry southern soul of "Ginger Peach," the funky shuffle of "Sapphire," the Delta flavor of "Some Other Bayou" or the bluesy rock of the title cut, the band provides the perfect foil for Lauderdale's songs and the perfect complement to his voice. This is just about as good a Jim Lauderdale album as I'd hope to hear, and just as fine a Donna The Buffalo album as I've ever heard. In short, it's a stellar collaboration, every bit the equal of the award winning Lost In The Lonesome Pines project with Ralph Stanley.

Track List:

Wait 'Til Spring * Different Kind Of Lightning * Some Other Bayou * Slow Motion Trouble * Ginger Peach * That's Not The Way It Works * Sapphire * This World Is Getting Mean * Awake Now * Holding Back * Wowowo

© 2003 - Shaun Dale