Wait 'Til Spring

1	Wait 'Til Spring 4:07
2	Different Kind of Lightning 3:29
3	Some Other Bayou 3:51
4	Slow Motion Trouble 3:43
5	Ginger Peach 3:49
6	That's Not the Way It Works 3:25
7	Sapphire 4:26
8	This World Is Getting Mean 3:34
9	Awake Now 2:46
10	Holding Back 3:33
11	Wowowo 4:29

Barnes & Noble

In recent years, Grammy winner Jim Lauderdale has struck up a professional and personal friendship with members of the roots-rock band Donna the Buffalo (some of whom have played on his solo albums), a union that's yielded tasty fruit in Wait 'Til Spring. Here, Lauderdale's exquisite songwriting and soulful mountain voice find a scintillating complement in Donna the Buffalo's shambling rootsiness, which embraces country, country blues, bluegrass, Cajun, southern soul, mid-'60s rock, and jazzy jams with an improvisational feel. Plus, the group boasts one of contemporary music's never-ending delights in fiddler Tara Nevins, whose singular, attention-getting playing is both tradition-rooted and progressive in style. Highlights include "Slow Motion Trouble," a grinding, Allmans-like blues groove featuring Lauderdale doing his best world-weary Gregg Allman blues growl. At the other end of the spectrum, "That's Not the Way It Works" has a '60s rock feel, with soaring harmonies behind Lauderdale's expressive vocal and a jangly, Byrds-like guitar ringing throughout, lending an edge to Lauderdale's metaphysical lyrics beseeching nature to save his soul. In "Holding Back," the band take off into the ether, working out a dance-happy hoedown rhythm and even offering a taste of improvisational spunk to ratchet up the energy level before closing out the disc with another up-tempo blues wailer, "Wowowo," which falls somewhere between Memphis and New Orleans in sensibility and style. Wait 'Til Spring is another unadulterated triumph for Lauderdale, and it ought to bring the assured eclecticism of Donna the Buffalo some well-deserved kudos for an outing that's as unpredictable as it is invigorating. David McGee

All Music Guide

It's difficult to pigeonhole musicians like Jim Lauderdale. He's been called "country", but that seems more of a convenient label than an accurate description of his talent. Lauderdale, after all, recorded an album with Ralph Stanley in 2000, and joined with Donna the Buffalo in 2003 for Wait ‘Til Spring. Country singers, after all, don't make a habit of associating with jam bands (imagine Merle Haggard recording with the Grateful Dead). The combination, however, works remarkably well here. Lauderdale obviously wanted a sonic twist to his homegrown songs, and Donna the Buffalo obliges. The six-piece band, in fact, has a bewildering arsenal of instruments, ranging from fiddle, accordion, electric guitars, and an organ, and also helps out on background vocals. Lauderdale delivers a lovely, soulful vocal on "Ginger Peach," while Jim Miller and Jeb Puryear's guitar work lovingly underlines the melody. The upbeat, reggae flavored "

Sapphire" seems custom-made for serious dancing, and "This World Is Getting Mean" cuts a bit deeper than the average country song. Interestingly, Donna the Buffalo's work here, sandwiched between Lauderdale's three and four minutes songs, seems more focused than usual. Both artists take a leap of faith on Wait ‘Til Spring and come up with a finely executed album that should please fans on both sides of the aisle. Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.

Entertainment Weekly

Imagine the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Dead both living long enough to tangle at Bonnaroo. (A-) Chris Willman