Persimmons by Jim Lauderdale

Jim Lauderdale leads two lives. As a songwriter, he has come up with some of the catchiest, smartest mainstream-country material of the '90s. His songs have been the highlights of albums by George Strait, Patty Loveless, Mark Chesnutt and Mandy Barnett. His songwriting has made him rich, and his poorly-selling solo albums have made him a critics' hero. His two lives have rarely intersected. They finally do on his new album, "Persimmons." Upstart, a subsidiary of Boston's independent Rounder Records, invited Lauderdale to pick out his 15 favorite unreleased song demos. He chose mainstream country ballads and jittery rockabilly; hard-edged country-rock and Chicago blues. He's good at everything he tries, and "Persimmons" provides the best available overview of his talents. It also includes a handful of country hits just waiting to happen.

Jim Lauderdale is a 2-time Grammy-winning Americana icon, a singer-songwriter who is a symbol for creative integrity and prolificacy for 35 albums over decades of recording. He’s an A-list Nashville songwriter whose songs rule the country charts while recording an eclectic catalogue of albums that run the gamut of American roots styles.

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