JIMMY GAUDREAU & MOONDI KLEIN, “Home From The Mills,” Rebel. 14 tracks.
Jimmy Gaudreau and Lawrence “Moondi” Klein both have impressive bluegrass resumes.
Gaudreau burst on the national bluegrass scene in 1969, when he replaced John Duffey in the legendary Country Gentlemen.
Duffey went on to found the Seldom Scene. And in the early 1990s, Klein replaced John Starling as the lead singer and guitarist for the Scene.
Then, Gaudreau and Klein joined forces in 1996 to create the short-lived supergroup Chesapeake with Mike Auldridge and T. Michael Coleman, two other former members of the Seldom Scene.
Chesapeake, which was only together a couple of years, played a blend of bluegrass, country, folk, blues and jazz.
Then, in 2007, Gaudreau and Klein got back together for a tour of England and Scotland.
That was followed by “2:10 Train,” a 2008 album that was well received.
And now, they’re back with “Home From The Mills.”
The title cut is a ballad about a man who leaves the New England mills to play his guitar in the city because “factory work can make a boy lose his mind.”
The album is not bluegrass and it’s not really folk.
But it’s a good sound that fans of both should enjoy.
There are a couple of Tim O’Brien songs — “Bending Blades,” a ballad that finds a man longing for the days when he was still loved, and “Rod McNeil,” a ballad about a music promoter who died some years back.
There are a couple of traditional instrumentals — “Whiskey Before Breakfast/Red Haired Boy” and “Fisher’s Hornpipe.”
There’s a Fats Waller jazz tune from the 1930s (“It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie”), a French opera number from the 1880s (“Enferment Les Yeux”) and an old Albert E. Brumley gospel song (“I’d Rather Live By The Side Of The Road”).
Other songs include Gordon Lightfoot’s “Shadows,” Townes Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You,” John Starling’s “C&O Canal” and Eric Andersen’s “Close The Door Lightly When You Go.”
Again, it’s not exactly bluegrass. But it’s probably close enough for most fans.
Can’t find it in stores? Try www.RebelRecords.com
———
Keith Lawrence: klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com