Charlie Louvin has been singing on his own for more than four decades, but he'll still always be known above all else as the lower-voiced half of country's famed
Louvin Brothers. Every so often
Charlie -- his brother,
Ira Louvin, died in 1965 -- trots out a new album to remind fans that he's still going strong, and this time -- for his first new studio set in a decade -- he's got a lot of help to assist in making the point. Among the guests lending a hand here are
George Jones, the omnipresent
Elvis Costello,
Marty Stuart,
Tom T. Hall,
Wilco's
Jeff Tweedy, and members of contemporary rock and country bands such as
Superchunk,
Clem Snide, and
Lambchop, all invited into the proceedings by producer
Mark Nevers. As is often the case when superstars pay tribute to admired old-timers by mixing it up with them, be it
Jerry Lee Lewis or
Ray Charles or
Charlie Louvin, the innate talent of the old-timer, if egos are kept in check, only gets magnified, and that's a good thing indeed.
Louvin's voice has weathered plenty over the years, but he's still a master, and though there are little touches of rock and other contemporary sounds injected (not surprising, perhaps, because
the Louvins were among the first to use electric guitar in country), more often than not the visitors find their space in
Louvin's groove and ornament it without getting in his face. There are
Louvin Brothers classics here, including "The Christian Life," once recorded by
the Byrds, and -- with
Tweedy in tow -- 1952's "Great Atomic Power," co-written with Buddy Bain and as relevant today as it was at the start of the Cold War era.
Jones and
Stuart lend vocals and mandolin, respectively, to
Jimmie Rodgers' "Waiting for a Train," and
Stuart returns, along with
Hall and
Bobby Bare, Sr., for the oft-recorded "Blues Stay Away from Me," written by one of the other great sibling harmony acts,
the Delmore Brothers. But it's not until the album's penultimate track, "Ira," that the full emotional depth of
Charlie Louvin's singing and songwriting is fully exposed. A tribute to his late brother ("I still hear you, off in the distance, your sweet harmony"), it's touching and sweet, the perfect juxtaposition to
Charlie Louvin's voice, road-weary but still carrying the torch. ~ Jeff Tamarkin