Customer Reviews

Patchwork River

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Everything that is stated in the product description is true. I am so glad that Jim Lauderdale and Robert Hunter continue to work together. I think Jim is the best outlet nowadays for Hunter's works. The recent Hunter?Bob Dylan collaboration turned out kind of weak, and the various Dead-related projects can't seem to get it together enough to get very many new Hunter songs recorded. Jim Lauderdale is a very prolific artist with a wide range of styles and a very high quality standard. I believe he does Hunter the most justice. He is one of the greatest songwriters on his own, and it is a dream to see him making such delightful albums with Hunter.
Unlike Headed for the Hills, this album has hard country rock (Patchwork River), motownish-stuff (Louisville Roll and Good Together), Mississippi swamp-funk (Jawbone), a Neil Young style country ballad (Tall Eyes), catchy old-style country (Turn To Stone), and a lot more! I've only had the album a few days, so I haven't fully explored everything yet. All of the lyrics I have heard a very intriguing, and come from those special places that Hunter is so good at finding.
Standout tracks to me include: Patchwork River, Good Together, Louisville Roll, Turn to Stone, Alligator Alley, Up My Sleeve,and the whole rest of the album too. Upon each listen new elements of the songs keep popping up. I've been listening to this album quite a bit over the last couple of weeks, and it is always a captivating experience.
I hope that these two masters continue to work together long into the future.
My favorite album to come along in a long time!
(P.S. - I cannot wait for the arrival of the new Seven Walkers album with songs penned by Hunter, Papa Mali, and Bill Kreutzmann - that should be a treat!)

The second collaboration between Jim Lauderdale and Robert Hunter is a magnificent example of what brilliant artists can accomplish when they get together. Their first collaboration, Headed For The Hills, was a bluegrass oriented release. Patchwork River has a mix of country, blues, R&B. The music, Lauderdale's voice and Hunter's imaginative lyrics provide for a great listening experience. Hopefully this is not the last time these two artists will collaborate. I hope this release can gain steam and be heard by a wider audience. Get the word out!

Jim Lauderdale has been regarded as a singer's singer with artistic integrity for a long time. I have listened to most of his records and think he has created his best work with Patchwork River. To give you points of reference, this music calls to mind Workingman's Dead, Tupelo Honey, The Band, and a handful of other classics that always sound fresh and vital no matter how often you hear them. This is not to say that this record sounds like or imitates any of them, just that it resonates like them. He draws on many streams of American music to create an American classic for the ages. I bet it sounds fresh 40 years from now. Listen to some samples and you will hear what I mean.

Among other things this is a great rock'n'roll record. Half of the songs are uptempo rockers, and Lauderdale and company delve into a number of styles as they rock, including a nice Memphis feel on a couple of songs. Lauderdale always attracts great musicians to work with him and this album is no exception: the leaed guitarists include James Burton and Kenny Vaughan. The album is the second collaboration between Lauderdale and Robert Hunter, but the first album was pretty much all acoustic (only one conspicuously electric song) while this album sounds like it could have been recorded in Muscle Shoals or Memphis.
The songs are great. As with the earlier collaboration, Lauderdale and Hunter create a world peopled by southern folkloric figures, almost like tales from Uncle Remus. This is definitely my favorite album of 2010 up to this point.

I first came across Jim Lauderdale on Tab Benoit's Brother to the Blues. He had written two great songs on that album. I then bought his Country Super Hits album which is great although I don't think there are any chart hits on it. This latest Patchwork River is as good. Carefully crafted melodies that sound like classics even on first hearing. He could be the best country singer today.

The title song gets this great album off to a fantastic start, and what follows is a strong eclectic mix of mellow to mainstream country, Americana, and funky soft rock. I like it more than their first (more homogeneous bluegrass/old country) recording, and it combines Hunter's trade-mark expressive, expansive and descriptive lyrics and Lauderdale's heartfelt, smooth vocals with top notch musicianship/production throughout.

Yet, not to be too critical, it has some flaws - the lack of printed lyrics is obvious, the slip-case packaging is another (I hate having to grab/handle the CD's surface with my fingers to pull it out). On a musical level some of the lyrics and melodies verge on corny and predictable, but Hunter has always been able to pull this off, and while Lauderdale isn't as subtle as Garcia at finding a complimentary melody, he comes up with a pleasant variety of tunes. Lauderdale's vocals sound strong and a bit different (more relaxed and versatile) than I've heard him before, at times sounding like Dr John, Jackie Greene, and even Van Morrison! But this isn't in any way a derivative recording - it is a fruitful and fresh sounding collaboration from two of the best American songwriters, and highly recommended.

"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."
- Patchwork River -

I knew before purchasing this that Lauderdale+Hunter was guaranteed to be a word feast. But words can't describe the numbing disappointment of opening up the "Patchwork" packaging to find...nothing. Well, actually, there was a cd in there full of some of the most inventive country music I've ever heard, but no lyric booklet! I can only assume that the cd pressing plant messed up and that the record company wouldn't be so cruel as to withhold such an essential item. I mean, really??? We're talking Jim Lauderdale and Robert Hunter, two of the finest lyricists on the planet! Be that as it may, this cd is brimming over with great country music. I'd give it five stars, but for the crummy packaging.

This latest offering by Jim Lauderdale and Robert Hunter hits the jackpot with a strong selection of songs that are spread across the roots, honky tonk, soul and alt country agendas. Things just can't go wrong on the playing front with the likes of Al Perkins, James Burton, Kenny Vaughn, Chad Cromwell and Gary Tallent (amongst others) on board and there's an enjoyment about Jim's voice that's infectious. A mark of a really good album (for me)is to change the order of favourite songs after repeated plays with Louisville Roll, Jawbone and Tall Eyes fighting to get played first.
Where does Jim (and Robert) go from this masterwork!

If you like the Grateful Dead's albums "Workingman's Dead", and "American Beauty" then this is sure to suit your fancy!! ...what's the hurry, pull up a cat..

I bought the cd after listening to a local radio station play Alligator Alley. I was never a fan of country music before but Jim Lauderdale's Patchwork River has piqued my interest in country. Now, I will definitely be buying more of his and others' work. Great job! Was pleasantly surprised to discover that he grew up not too far from where I used to live in North Carolina.