The prolific Jim Lauderdale makes songwriting seem so easy. but he is not resting on his laurels. Game Changer is his 35th release since 1991 when he first broke on the scene. Lauderdale, however, feels that he is still evolving, still trying to write better songs and make better records.
As one views this project, co-produced with his longstanding colleague Jay Weaver, and released on Lauderdale’s Sky Crunch Records, one can’t help but notice the different co-writers that speak to Lauderdale’s storied willingness to collaborate. New blood seems vital to his process. He does adhere to certain constants though, as a telecaster and pedal steel is present in almost every song – key elements to that classic country sound. Also, the rhythm section of the core band is almost intact through these dozen tunes with Micah Hulscher on keys, Weaver on bass, and Dave Racine on drums. It’s the guitarists and pedal steel players that rotate through. Background vocalists Lillie Mae and Frank Rische are also present on most of the tunes.
The twangy guitars of Kenny Vaughan and Chris Scruggs introduce the upbeat “That Kind of Life (That Kind of Day)” a song that seems to have been written during the pandemic as evidenced by these lyrics –“ Guitars just laying there ripe for the picking/ Sounding lonely waiting to be played…Someday when finally things are back to normal but what is normal these days you can say/I hope your hopes will come through while you’re waiting/ And you’ll have that kind of life that kind of day.” On “Friends Again” Lauderdale delivers a more contemporary sonic approach but Craig Smith’s telecaster and Steve Hinson’s dobro and pedal steel keep the country thread intact. “Keep It Real,” co-written with Logan Ledger, is squarely in tradition, imbued by pedal steel player Russ Pahl, one of four who appear along with Hinson, Tommy Detamore, and Will Van Horn. Vaughn, Scruggs, and Smith share the telecaster role.
The title track is another solo write, one where the title came first, and the brimming melody and lyrics followed. Smith’s guitar intertwining with Hinson’s steel makes the perfect fill as Lauderdale dubs a newfound love as his “game changer.” The classic country ballad “Wishbone” was written by Australian singer-songwriter Adam Harvey and has an indelible line “I’ve got a wishbone where my backbone ought to be,” as the protagonist struggles to find the courage to face a troubling decision. Country songs don’t get any better than this one.
“Lighting Love” is a co-write with longtime colleague Odie Blackmon and has an upbeat pulse with strong harmonies from the Risches and Detamore’s driving pedal steel. Sometimes it’s just a simple phrase that leads to a song as in “Our Happy Hour.” Put another way, a skilled writer such as Lauderdale often needs just a little spark and the song “will write itself.” In a writing session with Faren Rachels and James Slater, Rachels used this phrase when describing a character, “Happy hour is almost over.” The song is the kind one might find in those honky tonk jukeboxes of yesteryear and hearkens back to Lauderdale’s ‘90s sound. In more contemporary terms, “We’re All We’ve Got,” with Mary Gauthier and Jaime Harris, was inspired by the discord between two songwriters, but on a more universal level, it speaks to our current divisiveness in this country and a need to heal.
He pays off this notion of moving ahead, rejuvenating a relationship in “Let’s Make Some Memories,” co-written with Charles R. Humphrey III, and featuring a nice barroom piano break from Hulscher who follows suit in the rollicking burner “I’ve Heard of That,” chocked full of positivity. The driving “You’re Hoggin’ My Mind,” written with team member Raghad Tmumen, stems from a conversation about Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. The closer “I’ll Keep My Heart Open,” co-written with young songwriter Sara Douga, has that slow classic country sound like “Wishbone” but it’s the sweet harmonies that make this feel especially warm.
Over his career Lauderdale has made strong classic country, bluegrass, and Americana records. This writer has long maintained that classic country is the best of the three. Game Changer sits among the best of his pure country recordings.
