The Record

Don't be fooled by the apparent simplicity of Proof of Love.

Chris (Old Man) Luedecke's third album is direct, immediate and unpretentious, but it's not simple.

Luedecke plays claw-style banjo, the style of the mountains, and acoustic guitar. And his voice is warm and unadorned. Yet listen closely to his lyrics and you catch a hip, contemporary sensibility lurking behind the old-timey musical facade.

Producer Steve Dawson, who plays all manner of stringed instruments, brings out the best in Luedecke and has assembled a crackerjack group of guest artists including John Reischman on mandolin, drummer John Raham and bassist Mark Beaty, both of The Be Good Tanyas, in addition to fiddler Adrian Dolan (The Bills). The late John Hartford is surely smiling from his heavenly perch.