3rd Coast Music gives Western Country Four Stars
CALEB KLAUDER WesternCountry
(West Sound Records, ****)
Should really be ‘Northwestern Country,’ as Klauder’s based in Portland, OR, but, fair enough, since the mass exodus of California country luminaries like Mike Stinson, Portland and Seattle do seem to be the new West. While enjoying a fair amount of success as vocalist/mandolin player with old-timey Foghorn Stringband, Klauder’s also been pursuing a parallel solo career, exploring early honky tonk and bluegrass styles, though his first album, Sings Out (Padre, 2000) seems to have been swept under the rug. His second, Dangerous Mes & Poisonous Yous (Padre, 2007), a very fine piece of work, got some attention but he didn’t start promoting it until earlier this year, when he signed on with the same Pacific NW outfit that brought us the fabulous Zoe Muth of Seattle (a recent Muth/Klauder doublebill must have something else). Klauder’s inspirational timeframe for his six splendid originals can be gauged from the six covers, Satisfied Mind, a #1 hit for Porter Wagoner in 1955, Charlie & Ira Louvin’s My Baby Came Back, GB Grayson & Henry Whittier’s Joking Henry, What Was I Supposed To Do? and Deep River by Paul Williams, who played mandolin with Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys in the 50s, and bluegrass pioneer Bill Reid’s In My Heart I Love You Yet. What makes this package special isn’t just Klauder’s dusty, authentic vocal styling—he’s been compared to Hank Williams, Charlie Monroe, Dwight Yoakam, Townes Van Zandt (?) and Doug Sahm, though what I’m hearing is a healthy dose of Lefty Frizzell—but also his superb production. This album just plain and simple sounds right, as close as you’ll get to a 50s LP without actually touching vinyl. In an odd coincidence, I just learned that Klauder recently teamed up with Joel Savoy (see cover story and editorial). John Conquest, 3rd Coast Music, September, 2010