Jim Lauderdale & Ralph Stanley: I Feel Like Singing Today

Jim Lauderdale & Ralph Stanley

I Feel Like Singing Today (Rebel)

Jim Lauderdale is an interesting character to say the least. He's had a wildly successful career as a Nashville songwriter, with folks like George Strait, Patty Loveless, Mark Chesnutt, and Vince Gill all recording his songs, while still being held in high regard by the alt.country folks (he's been singing backup for Lucinda Williams since last year). Nevertheless, nothing could have prepared fans for the joyous noise found on I Feel Like Singing Today. Hinted at with the inclusion "I'll Lead You Home," a collaboration with Ralph Stanley on the singer-songwriter's 1988 release Whisper, the pure bluegrass found on I Feel Like Singing Today is a combination of raw power and emotions. With Lauderdale leading the way, and sparkling backing from the Clinch Mountain Boys, they deliver a work that will leave a smile on your face for days. With a majority of the songs either written or co-written by Lauderdale, I Feel Like Singing Today possesses a certain amount of freshness, yet is filled with the joy, sorrow, yearning, and redemption of classic mountain music. "Like Him," an a cappella gospel duet, features Stanley soaring with his trademark vocal might and Lauderdale matching him note for note. "Joy, Joy, Joy" and the high lonesome plea, "I Will Wait for You" were co-written by Lauderdale and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, who started as a bluegrass musician with Jerry Garcia in the Sixties, thereby stretching the boundaries of the entire collaboration and closing the circle at the same time. I Feel Like Singing Today is a delightful addition to the bluegrass canon, a feat for which Lauderdale deserves the highest praise.