From the first bit of fiddling on
Worries on My Mind,
Karl Shiflett and company seem to know what they're about. The guitar, banjo, and dobro jump right in, followed by
Shiflett's backwoods vocals and a distinct blend of harmony on each chorus. Some would just call it old-fashioned
bluegrass and leave it at that, but there's a flavor that strikes a well-met balance between
Jimmy Martin and
blues-flavored
country.
Andy Ruff's dobro occasionally sounds like a laptop steel out of an old
Hank Williams song, and a number of banjoist
Jake Jenkins' songs mine the
honky tonk terrain like there's no tomorrow.
"If I Could Take You Home" is a rousing ode to true love and infidelity, while
"Turn Around" will make the listener long for an old scratchy
Ernest Tubb record. Even the instrumentals --
"Bobo's Boogie" and
"Hoss Fly" -- impress, and the band's cover of
"I Still Miss Someone" is raggedly fresh. The odd track out is
"How Wrong a Man Can Be," sung by
Jim Lauderdale. It isn't a bad song, and
Lauderdale's a fine singer, but his style seems much more modern than
Shiflett's. It's easy to get the impression with so many retro bands -- be they
bluegrass,
rock, or
jazz -- that the players are simply going through the motions. The moment the laser hits the disc on
Worries on My Mind, however, it's evident that
the Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show are the real deal. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.
