Lefty's Old Guitar
At the age of 69, J.D. Crowe enters his fifth decade of recording surveying the past and the present--and seeing nothing but pure bluegrass. Even when employing nonstandard instruments like pedal steel (played by Nashville genius Doug Jernigan) or breaking the rules of Scrugg-style banjo all over again, Crowe continues to draw on the sound and style that made the first New South album (Rounder 0044) a landmark. The low- and high-tenor blend of Rickey Wasson and Dwight McCall echoes the classic harmonies of Tony Rice and Ricky Skaggs, and the instrumental brilliance is always subordinate to good songs--contemporary in feel yet indebted to an honest, rural-based lyricism and durable, flexible old-time traditions. The band rocks through the public domain "Roving Gambler," jumps freights nimbly on "I'm a Hobo," and then subverts the myths on "In My Next Life," a devastating portrait of rural, working life and dreams. Cindy Walker's chestnut "Blue Bonnet Lane" is a showcase for McCall's sugary-smooth high lead singing and, of course, Crowe's wicked little banjo fills, while the title track, a highlight of New South live sets for years, is especially welcome. The album's only stumble is "You Can Be a Millionaire with Me," which makes an unfortunate equation between capital accumulation and soul salvation. Ultimately, music this rich doesn't need saving.--Roy Kasten