Roots

Latest CD releases reviewed

DELBERT MCCLINTON
Cost of Living New West ****

Delbert McClinton is in bus pass territory now, but he still sounds as if he could give any of the younger guns a run for their money - provided, of course, that the track was of his choosing. That track is resolutely southern, whether it be country regret, blues shuffles, honky tonk rock'n'roll or soulful stories. This is a cracking, if rare, album from the Lubbock, Texas man with a lived-in voice. Most of the 13 songs are written by McClinton with members of his band, and they sound as if they just stepped out of the bar to record them. It's goodtime bar music with the odd dose of pathos thrown in for good measure. www.delbertmcclinton.com Joe Breen

JIMMIE DALE GILMORE
Come on Back Rounder Records ***

This is Jimmie Dale Gilmore's tribute to his father, who, to judge by Gilmore's sleeve notes, was a regular good guy and a fine part-time musician. He passed on his love of music to his son, who in turn has given many great pleasure with his high lonesome voice and his take on country music, both as a solo artist and as a member of the seminal country band, The Flatlanders. For this deeply felt session he is joined by another ex-Flatlander, Joe Ely, and others, as they travel through the 1950s and '60s for songs that his father loved, songs like Harlan Howard's Pick Me Up on Your Way Down, Slim Willett's Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes and Hank Williams's dark I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive. These songs mean a lot to them, but to me many of them evoke an Ireland forever steeped in drabness. This is one nostalgia trip I'll pass on. www.jimmiegilmore.com  Joe Breen