THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 31, 1995 TAG: 9501310059
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICKEY WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
HOW MANY albums can claim liner notes with references to both George Strait and Captain Beefheart?
Thanks to Jim Lauderdale, there's at least one: His 1994 ``Pretty Close to the Truth.''
``I wanted to thank George Strait because he's recorded so many of my songs,'' said the singer/song writer, who will open for Nick Lowe on Wednesday night at the Nsect Club.
As for Beefheart, the creative force behind uncategorizable discs such as ``Trout Mask Replica'' and ``Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller),'' Lauderdale said: ``I think that he's like one of the great geniuses of our time. I feel like I owe him some thanks; he's been such an inspiration.''
``Pretty Close'' doesn't sound much like Beefheart, but it's easy to understand how Beefheart's unfettered creativity could affect Lauderdale. The record marries Buck Owens and Marshall Crenshaw influences to a sensibility that's definitely not shy, and often even wild-eyed. By the final cut, ``When the Devil Starts Crying,'' Lauderdale is hollering a testament to the ghosts of the blues while his band shoots out all the lights in the barroom.
It's a mixture that hasn't sold many records - yet - but has earned much critical acclaim. Spin magazine and USA Today both named ``Pretty Close'' among the 10 most unjustly ignored releases of the year.
``I kind of feel like things are just taking off for the album,'' Lauderdale said by phone from his California home. ``There was a limited pressing of the album at first, so that not too many stores had copies of it. I was playing places and not finding it; that's frustrating.''
Now Atlantic Records has put more CDs on the racks, and Lauderdale is continuing what he foresees as three years of nonstop touring. He's a favorite of some people at the label, including executive Tom Carolyn, who's responsible not only for Lauderdale's being there, but Stone Temple Pilots, Lemonheads and the ``Crow'' soundtrack as well.
Lauderdale has built up plenty of Nashville credibility, too. Strait's cuts of a half-dozen of his tunes, as well as tracks by the likes of Mark Chesnutt and Carlene Carter, have contributed to the financial well-being that allows him to pursue other audiences.
His goal: ``Just to make music that you really enjoy. I think if you enjoy it, other people will, too.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jim Lauderdale is on tour for new album.
by CNB