Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Record review
Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, Fri., Sept. 2, 2005
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Come on Back (Rounder)
Before you spin Come on Back, Jimmie Dale Gilmore's first solo album in five years, read the liner notes he's written. They depict not only the love Gilmore had for his father, who died in 2000, but also how his father handed down his love for music. The emotions are detailed with such delicacy and potency that the music has to be equally wonderful and, no surprise, it is. Come on Back consists of 13 songs that Jimmie's dad, Brian, was particularly fond of. They're mostly from the mid-20th century, written by Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers (the younger Gilmore's namesake), Harlan Howard, Marty Robbins, Hank Snow, Johnny Cash, and others. Gilmore has consistently been a gifted interpreter of other people's music, and these songs fit his stylish warble faultlessly. With Joe Ely in the producer's chair, the arrangements on Come on Back are hillbilly lean, yet the music sparkles thanks to the vibrancy of Flatlanders guitarist Robbie Gjersoe and the Greencards' Eamon McLoughlin, who provides his superior fiddle chops. Some of these songs have been covered many times before, but Gilmore inhabits them, has some fun with them, and ultimately pays tribute to his father in a way that's unique and unforgettable.
