Review: Jim Lauderdale Returns to His Roots with 'When Carolina Comes Home Again'

Jim Lauderdale is a musical chameleon. Or, more accurately, he is a man of many influences. In recent years, Lauderdale has released an album of songs co-written with long-time Grateful Dead writer Robert Hunter, a countryfied tribute to the British Invasion, and a collection dedicated to the soul and rockabilly sounds of Memphis, all of which filtered through his Carolina roots base. He's also one of music's most prolific artists, releasing 32 albums since 1991. His 33rd, When Carolina Comes Home Again, is a completely unvarnished love letter to North Carolina.

To produce his album, Jim Lauderdale called an impressive group of friends to co-write songs with him, including Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Oates, Robert Hunter, Steep Canyon Rangers' Graham Sharp, and Americana star Logan Ledger. He also tapped some of Carolina's best pickers (and there are a lot to choose from) for instrumental help, including members of Balsam Range, Cane Mill Road, John Stickley, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Town Mountain.

The album opens with one of its strongest, the title track. Co-written by Oates, the song showcases the full range of Lauderdale's versatile twang. It's also a showcase for his instrumentalists, beginning with a slow burning Southern gothic guitar riff before ramping up to a full-bodies bluegrass jam, anchored by Sharp's hyperkinetic banjo work.

But anyone who has seen Jim Lauderdale, either in concert or as the longtime spokesman for the Americana Music Association, knows, he's at his best when he's letting his playful side go. When Carolina Comes Home Again features plenty of that. Album single “Cackalacky”, co-written by Si Kahn, is a toe tapping good time number celebrating not only North Carolina's “home sweet home” attitude, but also its sense of musical fun. “You've Got This” is a song that was almost certainly written before the current world situation, but could serve as an anthem for perseverance, with Lauderdale drawling “you've made it, you've done it. I promise, you've got this.”

But the ultimate fun song on an album full of them is “Mountaineer.” A rare solo write for Lauderdale, it's pure Jim, full of wordplay like “mountaineer, mountain there, high up in the mountain air” before taking a left turn into the absurd with baby bears riding deer and sister mandolin and brother fiddle. You spend half the song wondering what in the world Lauderdale might have been smoking when he wrote it and the other half realizing that it's perfectly easy to enjoy the silliness without any sort of chemical enhancement.

If you like the music of Jim Lauderdale, or even the rich musical community of North Carolina, When Carolina Comes Home Again is going to be an album that speaks to your soul. You can feel how much it speaks to Lauderdale's. While his various trips into other musical influences has been fun, for Jim Lauderdale, there truly is no place like home.