Bringing The World Home To You

© 2024 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862

91.5 Chapel Hill 88.9 Manteo 90.9 Rocky Mount 91.1 Welcome 91.9 Fayetteville 90.5 Buxton 94.1 Lumberton 99.9 Southern Pines 89.9 Chadbourn

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

If Jim Lauderdale Is A Song, More People Should Hear It

Fresh Air | By Ken Tucker

Published July 9, 2014 at 2:33 PM EDT

Jim Lauderdale's new album is called I'm A Song, a title that suggests his deep
immersion in songwriting. His compositions have been covered by singers ranging from George Strait to Solomon Burke, from the Dixie Chicks to Elvis Costello. Since his debut album in 1991, he's recorded more than 25 albums for a variety of record companies, and I'm A Song contains a generous 20 songs. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Lauderdale's career is at once admirable and somewhat puzzling.

Ken Tucker

Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.

See stories by Ken Tucker

Stories From This Author

Beyoncé bucks the country industry establishment with sprawling 'Cowboy Carter'

Ken Tucker

While Beyoncé's new album suggests the country-music industry's problematic history of excluding Black artists, the collection as a whole is as much a celebration as it is a critique.
Tierra Whack springs to the forefront of hip-hop creativity on a new album

Ken Tucker

The Philadelphia rapper and singer is known for her playful side, but she widens her subject matter on World Wide Whack, with emotions ranging from ecstatic happiness to the deepest despair.
'Untame the Tiger' represents a high point of Mary Timony's adventurous career

Ken Tucker

The indie rocker's guitar playing conveys a confidence in making music — even when the songs themselves detail doubt and vulnerability. Untame the Tiger is her first solo album in 15 years.