Old Man Luedecke – She Told Me Where to Go (Deluxe Edition): Album Review

By John Barlass on 28th November 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Two-time JUNO Award-winner, Old Man Luedecke, revisits his most recent album release, reworks a few songs and adds a couple more. Result: Increased intensity and altered perspectives

Release Date: 14^th November 2025

Label: Outside Music

Formats: Digital

CLASSIC FORMAT OF BANJO AND VOICE

Old Man Luedecke (we’ll refer to him as OML from here on in…) is the recording name of two-time JUNO award-winner and Polaris Prize nominee, Canadian singer-songwriter Chris Luedecke. Known particularly for his high-energy banjo stompers and his engaging lyrics, OML has been soundtracking his life for many years now, in fact since his 2003 debut album, Mole in the Ground.

Last year, OML released his tenth and most recent album, She Told Me Where to Go and here’s where things get particularly interesting or, perhaps confusing…

Because, whilst a decision was taken during the sessions for She Told Me Where to Go to exclude OML’s banjo from the instrumental lineup, that’s a decision that OML has now reconsidered. In fact, he’s been back to the studio to re-record three of the tracks (including the title track) from the original album, in what he describes as his “…classic format of banjo and voice.” Not only that, he’s also recorded a new lead single, Five and Ten, and – and this is where things get REALLY interesting – a stunning cover version of Cat Power’s The Greatest. But I’ll come back to that in due course…

FIRST – THE ORIGINAL ALBUM

At The Barrier missed out on She Told Me Where to Go when it was released in May 2024, so a consideration of the originally-included tracks will be worthwhile, and will help add perspective to the banjo/voice re-recordings. So let’s start there.

A sleazy, dirty, bluesy, guitar lick is joined by OML’s equally sleazy, dirty, bluesy vocal, to get the album’s title track underway. But, despite the sleaze, it’s also bright and sparkly, and foot-tapping – or, if you’re feeling energetic, stomping – is not an option. Poppy and easy going, with a country-road-song feel, Guy Fieri is pleasant, with a summery flavour. So much so, in fact, that it’s easy to miss the “Say f*ck it, with the booze and the smoke” bit of OML’s lyrics and concentrate, instead on the joyful “All the things that go around, they come around again” refrain.

A LOT OF LYRICAL CONTENT…

The country flavour is retained for the tight, accomplished, Going on the Mountain – in fact, that flavour is enhanced by the addition of a few pedal steel licks, and listeners will surely be enticed to sing along with the slightly odd-sounding backing vocals.

OML’s tasty guitar licks are the memorable feature of the reflective The Quiet Good, before things take a turn onto harder, rockier, ground for The Raven and the Dove, one of several genuine album highlights. Resonant bass is prominent and the backing is laced with electronic effects as OML half-sings, half-raps his quickfire lyrics. And there’s a lot of content in those lyrics for the listener to pick over…

DEVIANT TONES

The drumbeat sits in pole position for Shine on Love, another excellent track, in which OML makes softly-cynical observations on the pervasive qualities of gospel music. The backing vocals assume a somewhat deviant tone and snatches of slide guitar add to that mood.

I’m instantly reminded of Steve Miller’s The Joker by the tone and structure of My Status is the Baddest – a song that is, perhaps, my pick of the original album tracks. The song is instantly likeable, with great lyrics and a soaring guitar passage to round it off. And, fast-paced and brief, Dreadful Wind and Rain is given a 60s-retro feel by OML’s chiming guitar licks.

ECHOES OF DYLAN

Lyrics like “When I was younger, I had a hunger; I had a passion for growth and change” typify the reflective mood of Misfits in Old Clothes, a melodic ballad with a rich, full, sound, before the pace – and tone – are cranked back up for the rocky Red Eye. Sonorous bass, solid drums, strident guitar and swirling organ call the shots and OML’s voice has echoes of Dylan, particularly as he sings the “In on the Red Eye, out on the night – to the bar we used to go” refrain.

OML condenses the story of his 20-ish years as a songwriter and performer into a brief three minutes, for Our Moment in the Sage. Twangy guitars provide a counterpoint to the song’s predominantly electronic backing and OML’s introspective lyrics, before the anthemic Holy Rain brings the original album to a close. Lyrics like: “I’ll muscle through, though I don’t take rejection like I used to do” offer a powerful message and the unusual guitar sound is something that listeners will return to on a regular basis.

NEW SONGS AND RE-RECORDINGS

The five banjo/voice additional tracks that raise this version of She Told Me Where to Go to ‘Deluxe’ status are kicked off by Five and Ten, the lead single to this edition. Described as: “An ode to older, simpler times,” OML says: “It’s a song about the passage of time, both melancholy and tender, that touches on love and ambition.” Setting a mood that prevails throughout the additional tracks, it’s intense, intimate and captivating.

The focus is squarely upon OML’s lyrics for the re-recording of The Raven and the Dove. OML’s banjo is pared right back, allowing the listener to enjoy such sage lines as: “People on the internet say dumb shit – almost all my anger is directed at it.” Amen to that. Similarly, title track, She Told Me Where to Go, proves to be perfectly suited to the banjo/voice treatment. This acoustic version is just as bluesy as the band version that opens this album, but the treatment also brings out the folkier elements of the song.

A rework of what may be the original album’s strongest track, the banjo/voice arrangement of My Status is the Baddest is also, arguably, the re-recording that comes off best. It’s completely different to the original, but equally refreshing.

A STUNNING COVER VERSION

#Speaking of Cat Power’s song, The Greatest, OML says: “As a lyrics guy, I didn’t really know what this was about but felt its melancholy resignation so deeply and the release in the tag line for many years. Earlier this year, I saw a moving Cat Power performance at Port Fairy Folk Festival in Australia that was affecting and highly theatrical and which infiltrated my subsequent dreams. Looking for a song that would be a challenge, I found myself listening to this on repeat, around a visit to a Bavarian restaurant in rural New Brunswick. On the morning of the session [to record this cover version] I called my friend, Willa Owen, to help me out as I was leaving for the studio. She helped a lot, and this happened…”

Well – the banjo-only accompaniment works a treat and adds real significance to Cat’s song and her lyrics, and Willa’s voice adds a light sweetness, without deflecting any of the song’s intensity. It’s a great version of the song and a great way to conclude this deluxe reissue. I’d also suggest that, with The Greatest, OML has found the perfect encore with which to round off his upcoming run of shows in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Listen to Five and Ten – one of five songs newly recorded for this deluxe edition of She Told Me Where to Go – below: