Writing a music review should be easy, right? Sure, most of the time. All you have to do first is decide which category the album belongs to… Again, sure, easy, most of the time. Until you encounter something like the debut album by The Jerry Douglas Band, What If. And what if indeed!
Trying to define each and every of the eleven tracks here would probably use up most of the categories available on the given list! Not exactly something you would expect from one of the best dobro and lap steel players like Jerry Douglas. And yet, he was able to deliver a completely diversified cracker of an album.
But then if you take a look at the career Douglas had and who he played with, it shouldn’t be that much of a wonder. The 14 time Grammy winner has an arm’s length list of collaborations, from Emmylou Harris, Bela Fleck, to Derek Trucks and Paul Simon. And with all those appearances, this is the first recording of the Jerry Douglas Band. Better late than never.
Starting out with an almost avant-garde jazz piece in “Cavebop”, you get almost everything, and I mean everything, from a warped version of Tom Wait’s “2:19”, classically tinged title track, to a wild vocal version of Hey Joe and everything else in between. O, there’s even country in the ‘strangely titled’ closer “Hot Country 84.5”.
As could be expected, the musicianship that involves somebody of Douglas’ calibre is astounding, but the six-man band that includes a trumpet/sax horn section fully match up Douglas’ virtuosity. Well, almost. You can argue some of the choices the Grammy committee makes, but in the case of Douglas it is definitely 14 times they got it right.
So who can I recommend this album to? Well, practically anybody who likes diverse music played with virtuosity, but virtuosity that has a sense and a reason and is not just empty shuffling showing off how fast you can play. Quite essential.
