Album Review

Levon Helm’s voice is nothing short of a national treasure. It should be protected by the government as if it’s an endangered species. Hearing it again on Electric Dirt, the new album that’s a continuation of the miraculous comeback Helm has made following throat surgeries that left him barely able to talk about a decade ago, is as inspirational an experience as you’re likely to find on record in 2009.

The voice amazes because it essentially sounds the same no matter the song, and yet subtle variations seem to express the whole range of human emotions. A grunt here, a snarl there – it can suggest lust, greed, any of the seven deadly sins you can name. Yet when it cracks on its way skyward, you can feel the intense longing of a wounded soul or the sudden grace of one that has been rescued.

That voice is so astounding that the material Helm chooses to showcase it is almost, well, immaterial. Yet Electric Dirt, like its Grammy-winning predecessor Dirt Farmer, is full of songs that Levon can inhabit seamlessly: bluesy ramblers, beatific ballads, and the occasional story-song that lets Helm’s acting skills come to the fore.

Although Helm has now proven himself to be a master interpreter of all shapes and sizes, don’t make the mistake of assuming you’re getting a spare, quiet set of tunes to highlight the singing. The man who once drummed for The Band, perhaps the greatest bunch of instrumentalists in rock history, has assembled an excellent crew around him to give this set vibrancy and power. Larry Campbell plays everything but the kitchen sink as a multi-instrumentalist and shows exquisite taste as a producer. The harmonies are predictably sensational, with Helm’s daughter Amy, of well-regarded throwback group Ollabelle, chipping in. And at the center of it all is Levon’s inimitably herky-jerky drumming, which pumps every song it graces with a potent rhythmic boost.

Also along for the ride on a pair of the album’s best songs is Allen Toussaint, who famously arranged horns for The Band’s seminal live album Rock Of Ages. He adds that magic touch to album-opener “Tennessee Jed,” with Helm sinking his teeth into the Grateful Dead warhorse and adding a country kick to the rambling narrative. And on a cover of Randy Newman’s “Kingfish,” those horns evoke New Orleans while Helm plays the role of Huey Long with playful relish.

Listen to “Tennessee Jed”
Listen to “Kingfish”

For blues fans, the band takes on a pair of Muddy Waters’ tunes with solid, if unspectacular, results. The slow numbers fare a little better and provide a nice change of pace from their rowdier cousins. “Golden Bird” shows off Helm’s heartbreaking touch on parable-type songs, while a cover of Ollabelle’s “Heaven’s Pearls” is movingly rendered.

Listen to “Golden Bird”
Listen to “Heaven’s Pearls”

But the showstopper is a song that Helm penned himself with Campbell. “Growing Trade” tells the tale of a frustrated farmer who resorts to desperate measures to provide for his family. No one does resilient indignation better than Levon, and fans of The Band will recognize the clear musical references to classics like “The Weight” (in the acoustic guitar and bass drum interplay) and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” (in the mournful piano chords.) That the new song can hang in the same breath with those two gems says all you need to know about it.

Listen to “Growing Trade”

By the end, with Helm leaving on a joyous rendition of “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free,” his voice scatting mischievously around the horns, you get the feeling the man can do about anything. Electric Dirt is an effortless combination of beauty and grit, the sound of one of rock’s true living legends adding to a staggering legacy.

No Comments »