Braver Newer World
Jimmie Dale Gilmore's third Elektra album comes as a corrective of sorts to fellow ex-FlatlanderJoe Ely's ambitious but disappointingLetter to Laredo. WhileBraver Newer Worlddoesn't quite cohere like Gilmore's brilliant 1991 discAfter Awhile, its risks generally pay off. Produced byT-Bone Burnett, the disc initially seems to indicate a full-scale embrace of hippie-ism that's perfectly in tune with Gilmore's Zen-country leanings. Sitars twang, French horns evoke sticky pop psychedelia, and the artist revives as best he can a painfully earnest folksong "Sally," by Texas pal A.B. Strehli. Gilmore's Buddhism reaches full flower here on the title cut and a Strehli ballad, "Come Fly Away," making interesting implications about his collaboration with Burnett, one of rock's most famous drunken seekers. Burnett's wifeSam Phillipscontributes one of the best songs here, "Where Is Love Now," which in turn gets one ofWorld's most adventurous treatments; the Beck-like beatbox and deep-dishOrbisonisms of (presumably) Burnett's guitar are a striking backdrop for a voice and lyric that drip high lonesomeness. Some of Gilmore's fundamental roots are also on display here, on a yowling lo-fi take on the ancient blues number "Long Snake Moan" and a version of Ely's "Because of the Wind" that, somewhat surprisingly, fails to light a real fire under the players. Still, the overall anything-goes approach makesWorldboth a good document of this period in Gilmore's evolution and a fine introduction for those who've missed him in the past.--Rickey Wright