Dirty Linen (p.76) - "Blessed with a smooth country twang, Lauderdale can summon up echoes of George Jones, Buck Owens, or Ricky Skaggs while crooning a top-drawer batch of original tunes."
No Depression (p.92) - "'Chances' comes as close to bluegrass Buddhism as you're likely to hear....Bluegrass purists will feel perfectly at home here."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[N]ew old-time songs with a contemporary edge, written alone or with notables such as JD Souther, Shawn Camp and septuagenarian Melba Montgomery, and beautifully performed."
Personnel: Cody Kilby, Shawn Camp, Clay Hess (guitar); Randy Kohrs (dobro, background vocals); Richard Bailey (banjo); Jesse Cobb (mandolin); Aaron Till (fiddle); Jay Weaver (bass instrument); Dave Evans (background vocals).
Nashville singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is best known for his "progressive country" mix of honky tonk, soul, folk, and rock, but he can't seem to get bluegrass off mind. Having already made an album with bluegrass pioneer Ralph Stanley and released the self-explanatory BLUEGRASS in 2006, he follows up with BLUEGRASS DIARIES, another all-acoustic affair full of tasty mandolin picking, keening dobro, and high-lonesome vocals. Naturally, Lauderdale's sharp, undeniably contemporary songcraft ensures that no one will mistake BLUEGRASS DIARIES for a Bill Monroe album.