Jerry Douglas - Best Kept Secret (CD, 2005)

by Joel Stein, 01/11/2006

Jerry Douglas may be "the best kept secret" to some, but to countless others. he is quite something else. Jerry Douglas is a player's player -- a musician's musician -- a veritable challenge to hyperbole. His talent and musicality are intense regardless of the setting. He played a key role in defining the role of the dobro(tm) in contemporary bluegrass first with the Country Gentleman and the definitive version of J. D. Crowe's New South (with Tony Rice), and more recently with Alison Kraus and Union Station, among others. Through his work in more contemporary bluegrass, and with super group aggregations (Strength In Numbers, Douglas, Barrenberg & Meyer to name a few) Douglas helped forge what Frets Magazine referred to as the New Acoustic Music, mixing jazz and other influences into a musical language played out on bluegrass instruments. Other musical journeys have teamed him with Indian musicians and noted jazz guitarist, Bill Frisell.

Which brings us to The Best Kept Secret....Douglas' latest release. As with his more recent efforts, Douglas explores a variety of musical landscapes resulting in something of a mixed bag. From the opening track, "She Makes Me Want To Sing" with blues/jam band virtuoso Derek Trucks guesting, it's clear that Douglas intends to push the boundaries and expectaions. Douglas and Trucks duel each other with slides--Douglas achieving a great funky and distorted electric sound-- and the listener wins.

Alison Krauss shows up on one of the two vocal cuts for a southern rock blues influenced romp "Back In Love Again." Channeling the spirit of Dusty Springfield, Krauss offers her take on Memphis blue eyed soul with one of the throatiest vocal turns of her career. The other vocal track, a rousing duet take of Bob Wills' "Swing Blues No. 1" with John Fogerty steals the show. Fogerty has always mined a rootsy gumbo for his sound and in this spare duet with Douglas, the two share an intimacy with the audience.

Frisell, a guitarist of remarkable if understated talent, shows up with Viktor Kraus on a Douglas original, "Lil' Roro." In one of the quieter moments here, Douglas unaccompanied slide states the theme, before the band joins him. Frissel alternates between a muscular guitar sound with his typically subtle, though wildly imaginative playing. It is one of the finer cuts.

"Who's Your Uncle?" is, perhaps, the only track that would be comfortable on a bluegrass playlist--a fact not lost on the Grammy organization, who've nominated the cut for it's best country performance category. Featuring guest performances by Sam Bush and Bela Fleck, "Who's Your Uncle?" is an acoustic wonder with fantastic interplay from the featured guests and Gabe Witcher, fiddle and B3 in Douglas' current band. The interweaving rolls of Fleck on banjo and Douglas on Dobro drive the tune home. It's an exhilarating track.

There are other moments throughout The Best Kept Secret, but none of the tracks are as strong, or as consistently rewarding as the tracks mentioned. When a player is a supremely gifted as Douglas, it's always worth listening and the remaining tracks certainly justify attention. The Best Kept Secret may be an uneven effort, but Douglas is still among the finest musicians wielding a slide--or strapping on an instrument-- today. With a player of Douglas' magnitude, there is always a chance the revelation is in the next measure.

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