Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album

iTunes Review

Making a career U-turn, Joe Diffie heads back to the bluegrass sounds he loved as a child on Homecoming. Diffie enlisted the talents of singer/multi-instrumentalist Rhonda Vincent, banjo player Charlie Cushman, guitarist Bryan Sutton and the Grascals (among others) to give the tracks an authentic ring. He cuts loose on such high-spirited numbers as “Tall Cornstalk” and his own “Tennessee Tea” (a tune dating back to his Special Edition days) with obvious gusto. He likewise connects with the emotional desolation of “Lonesome and Dry As a Bone” and wistful yet jaunty spirit of “Stormy Weather Once Again.” Freed from Nashville constraints, Diffie lends his mellow deep tones to such intriguing story-songs as “Fit for a King” (a portrait of a ragged street preacher) and “Rainin’ On Her Rubber Dolly” (a poignant childhood vignette). As an added surprise, he delivers a galloping, harmony-filled take on Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle.” From first cut to last on this well-realized album, Diffie sings with the assurance of a man who’s come home to what he loves.