HALFWAY DOWN UNDER: A TRIBUTE TO JIM LAUDERDALE
Over two decades and ten visits to Aussie shores, Jim Lauderdale has made Australia a second home, winning leagues of fans amongst not only music lovers but artists across the musical spectrum. Now, a star-studded group of acclaimed local artists are joining forces to pay tribute to the 2-time Grammy winning icon of Americana music with a new compilation album ‘Halfway Down Under: A Tribute to Jim Lauderdale’, out now.
The first taste of the record was two standout tracks released in February - Katie Brianna’s heartbreaking rendition of You Don’t Seem To Miss Me (the CMA winning song made famous by Patty Loveless and George Jones) and AIR-nominated singer-songwriter Imogen Clark reinventing Tough All Over into a scorching indie-rock kiss-off that sounds like Sheryl Crow by way of Billie Eilish.
With 35 albums to his name and countless legendary songs previously recorded by artists from Elvis Costello to The Chicks, few singer-songwriters can match the depth and consistency of Lauderdale’s songbook. This album features fourteen recordings ranging from classic hits like Where the Sidewalk Ends (rendered in classic country style by nine-time Golden Guitar winner Adam Harvey) and Hole In My Head (a blistering slice of Southern Rock from Blake O’Connor and Sinead Burgess) to brilliant deep cuts like Run Like You (rendered with devoted sensuality by ARIA-nominee Georgia State Line) and El Dorado (sung with aching desperation by 3-time ARIA winner Shane Nicholson), and the almost title track Halfway Down (revved up into a scorching rock’n’roll number by Killing Heidi’s Ella Hooper and You Am I’s Davey Lane).
The album moves stylistically from indie rock (Imogen Clark’s fuzzed out kiss off on Tough All Over) to disco (a total reinvention of Planet of Love by Holiday Sidewinder) to jazz (Clayton Doley and Jade MacRae harmonizing over a swinging trio and punchy horns on It’s A Trap) to Charlie Collins’ Wilco-esque take on the mournful You’ll Know When It’s Right.
The album is set to drop in the middle of Lauderdale’s latest visit to our shores, as he kicks off his biggest Australian tour to date, taking in Sydney, Melbourne, Castlemaine and performances at Port Fairy Folk Festival and CMC Rocks QLD.
Halfway Down Under was produced by award-winning producer/musician Michael Carpenter and concert promoter and documentary filmmaker Jeremy Dylan.
“This album is a testament to Jim Lauderdale’s legend and the stunning catalog of songs that have come from his pen over the past three decades,” says Jeremy Dylan. “These songs are as sturdy and beautiful as an ancient oak, and it is so thrilling to hear a new generation of artists find their own way to interpret them, from reverence to reinvention”.
“It’s a rare treat to work on a record where you know going in every song is already a classic.” says Michael Carpenter. “Working with this incredible array of artists, all united and driven by love for Jim and these amazing melodies and lyrics, has been a once in a lifetime experience - although there are more than enough incredible songs left for volume 2, 3 and beyond!”
HALFWAY DOWN UNDER: A TRIBUTE TO JIM LAUDERDALE
Blake O’Connor and Sinead Burgess - Hole in My Head
Adam Harvey - Where the Sidewalk Ends
Imogen Clark - Tough All Over
Katie Brianna - You Don’t Seem To Miss Me
Georgia Mooney - The Brighter Side of Lonely
Ella Hooper and Davey Lane - Halfway Down
Charlie Collins - You’ll Know When It’s Right
Holiday Sidewinder - Planet of Love
Clayton Doley and Jade MacRae - It’s A Trap
Georgia State Line - Run Like You
Shane Nicholson - El Dorado
Melody Pool - When Carolina Comes Home Again
Emma Swift - The King of Broken Hearts
Kevin Bennett - Headed for the Hills
ABOUT JIM LAUDERDALE
Jim Lauderdale is a 2-time Grammy winning music legend, an A-list Nashville songwriter whose songs have been recorded by George Strait, The Chicks, Elvis Costello, George Jones, Patty Loveless and more. His eclectic catalog of albums runs the gamut of roots styles, from bluegrass to R&B to his first love, traditional country music, on his 35th LP ‘Game Changer’.
From the start of his career, Jim Lauderdale has been creating his own musical world. Too expansive, eclectic and creatively curious to fit into any prescribed genre boxes, he innovated what is now called Americana music, long before there was a term for it. Everything about the man and his music is classic and timeless, but he’s a total original. The McCartney-esque melodies sung in his aching high lonesome tenor, the fiercely authentic bluegrass songs with mind-expanding psychedelic lyrics… nothing about Jim’s music can be reduced to a single influence, and no other songwriter would fuse these classic strains of tune-craft into such unexpected but immediately satisfying combinations.
It’s no wonder that artists from Willie Nelson to John Oates line up to collaborate with Jim, hoping to snare some of that Lauderdale magic. After all, his songs have helped sell millions of albums for artists like George Strait, the Chicks, Patty Loveless, Lee Ann Womack, Blake Shelton, Solomon Burke, Gary Allan and Vince Gill. Classic songs like ‘Where the Sidewalk Ends’, ‘You Don’t Seem to Miss Me’, ‘Hole in My Head’, ‘Halfway Down’, ‘We Really Shouldn’t Be Doing This’ and many more have come from his pen.