After a two-year break from the spotlight, singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale crashes back on the scene with two new releases and a new record label. The first of the two releases, alphabetically speaking, is Bluegrass, a collection of songs penned by Lauderdale and a variety of co-writers.  A bubbling Dobro kicks of the album on the lead track, the rollicking �Mighty Lonesome� before rolling into �Time is a Looking Glass� co-written by Joe Henry. �I�m Still Living for You� and �I Shouldn�t Want You So Bad� couple to drive the lonesome factor up a few notches as the band slows down and settles into a slower groove that allows Lauderdale�s lyrics to take center stage. �Who�s Leaving Who?�, co-written by Leslie Satcher, is the story of the aftermath of an argument of which the singer isn�t even clear what happened: �I�m so confused/Tell me the truth/I don�t know if I�m leaving you or if you�re leaving me.� Satcher returns as co-writer on �There Goes Bessie Brown,� a song that brings to mind the swamp-funk groove of Charlie Daniels� �Legend of Wooley Swamp� and tells of the whispers around the town as to why she stays in the mysterious house. Fans of the Derailers will be interested to hear �It�s So Different� which is co-written by Tony Villaneuva.  This track strays a little from the traditional Bluegrass with the lush background vocals providing a bed for Lauderdales� Jones-esque lead. The backing band Lauderdale has assembled includes such top-notch Bluegrassers as Bryan Sutton (Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Jerry Douglas), David Talbot (Larry Cordle, The Grascals) Shad Cobb (John Cowan Band) and Jesse Cobb (Adrienne Young, Melonie Cannon).  With Bluegrass he proves to skeptics that he can carry a Bluegrass album on his own and produce memorable songs that may be turning up at Bluegrass festivals in the near future. Country Super Hits, Vol. One, the second of Lauderdales� Yep Roc releases, includes the catchy choruses and melodies that Lauderdale is known for and the songs are firmly in the honky-tonk tradition.  Odie Blackmon, who co-produced the album, and is perhaps best known for writing the song that brought Lee Ann Womack back to her traditional Country roots (�I May Hate Myself in the Morning�), co-writes eleven of the thirteen songs featured on the disc. �Honky Tonk Mood Again� sets the mood of the album telling us that his girl is in a �honky tonk mood again� so there is no way he are staying home but rather tagging along with her.  The songs and production of this album will put you in a honky tonk mood calling to mind the traditional country strains of years past.  While many of the themes are tried and true Country themes of love, loss and heartache, there is nothing clich� or predictable about Lauderdales� writing. Hailed by many as one of the few torchbearers of Traditional Country, songs like �Playing on My Heartstrings� and �Two More Wishes� underline the claim.  Many of the songs on Country Super Hits make me wish they were around to be recorded when George Jones or Lefty Frizzell were at their peaks. Intentional or not, �Cautious� serves as an answer track of sorts to the aforementioned Blackmon hit for Lee Ann Womack.  Sharing a similar melody and instrumentation, �Cautious� speaks of being a fool in love with someone who they perhaps shouldn�t fall for so they move into things slowly. �If You Never Seen Her Smile� and �Right Where You Want Me� are both songs about a man in love before dipping back into the well of heartache in �Are You Okay?� and �Single Standard Time.� One of my favorite songs on the album sees Leslie Satcher return as co-writer on �I Met Jesus In A Bar�: �Man or angel, Son of God/He did not tell me who he was/But I knew.�  Salvation is a recurrent theme throughout Country music history and this song stands high among them as it tells the story of a man in a bar who discovers his forgiveness during a chance meeting: �I met Jesus in a bar/I guess you just can�t fall too far/I was pouring whiskey in an empty heart/When I met Jesus in a bar.�  �That�s Why We�re Here� is a beautiful love song which is a standard in the making with it�s soulful vocals and subtle organ and piano backing, while �Change� and �You Can�t Stop Her� plunge back into the honky tonk sounds and themes.  �She�s Got Some Magic Going On,� co-written by Shawn Camp, caps the album off with a pulsing Bakersfield sound. Bluegrass and Country Super Hits, Vol. One are two shining examples of Jim Lauderdales� great sense of melody and turn of phrase and should bring Lauderdale even more recognition in both Americana and Bluegrass.  As Mainstream Country artists continue to mine his catalog for songs, they should look no further than these two albums.