Disc of the day
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Magnificent late-'50s singles round-up that keeps on giving.
Features Disc of the day
Levon Helm
Electric Dirt
(Vanguard, 2009)
The Band's drumming genius continues his 21st Century comeback, in style.
Having loved 2007's Dirt Farmer - Levon Helm's first solo album in 25 years - this summer's follow-up initially passed me by, but it's fast becoming one of my favourite records of 2009. Helm's musical rebirth began after his daughter Amy suggested a return to the Cajun/bluegrass roots of his Arkansas homeland - but it was a big ask, even for The Band's indefatigable torchbearer for the spirit of the American South. A lengthy battle with throat cancer in the late '90s had left his once tough, raspy voice in tatters, and he wasn't sure if he would ever sing again. And yet, a decade and 28 radiation treatments later, one of rock's greatest drummers was once again singing and playing to weekly audiences in his Woodstock barn. Recording was the logical next step, and if the mainly acoustic arrangements of Dirt Farmer witnessed a cautious Levon dipping his toe back into rock'n'roll, then Electric Dirt's rousing country swingers (Grateful Dead's Tennessee Jed) and snaky blues covers (Muddy Waters' You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had) are the sound of a man firmly back in harness. The album's one original song - the Band-esque ballad Growing Trade, a co-write with producer and longtime Dylan sideman Larry Campbell - is best of all: a vivid reimagining of dustbowl America with Helm in the role of struggling farmer, a man who's down, but not yet out. The parallels with the Bandsman are hard to ignore. A naturally ornery character who's always preferred his music free of superfluous add-ons, Levon's lust for life is all over Electric Dirt. 30 years ago, in The Band's Last Waltz movie he recalled the funky happenings at the medecine show gigs he grew up on: "The songs would get juicier, the jokes would get funnier and the prettiest dancer would really get down and shake it a few times". That spirit is still with him, thank God.
Ross Bennett
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 15/09/2009
Further Listening
Levon Helm – Dirt Farmer (Vanguard, 2007)
Bob Dylan – Together Through Life (Columbia, 2009)
Link Wray – Mordicai Jones (Polydor, 1971)
Previous Disc of the day
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Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Magnificent late-'50s singles round-up that keeps on giving.
6:00 AM GMT 20/11/2009
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-
Isley Brothers - The Brothers: Isley
The Cincinnati siblings bed into their heavy period.
6:00 AM GMT 18/11/2009
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Lee Morgan - Search For The New Land
The trumpeter's most soulful excursion entrances MOJO messageboarder.
6:00 AM GMT 16/11/2009
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