Helm Back with More ‘Dirt’
Levon Helm is at the helm again with the follow-up album to his 2007 Grammy-winning Dirt Farmer release. Where Dirt Farmer was rugged, rocky and steeped in American traditional music, Electric Dirt (released June 30) has more gospel, blues, soul and interesting cover selections, including the opener track, “Tennessee Jed” (Grateful Dead) and Happy Traum’s “Golden Bird.”
Although there are obvious similarities between Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt (both released on Vanguard and produced — or co-produced — by multi-instrumentalist, producer extraordinaire and former Bob Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell), the new album, which has already been hailed by music critics — including a four-star review from Rolling Stone — gives a more “expansive” impression of the former drummer/vocalist for The Band.
Says Campbell, “We knew we couldn’t just remake Dirt Farmer; it had to be something different. Because as great as that record was, as convincing as Levon was and as pure as his impulse was to make it, that’s just one aspect of what he’s about. I knew that we had to keep that [organic] vibe but build on it — get more expansive.”
The 11 songs on Electric Dirt also include “I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel To Be Free,” Randy Newman’s “Kingfish,” the Helm original “Growing Trade” and a pair of Muddy waters tunes, which were cut during the sessions for Dirt Farmer: “Stuff You Gotta Watch” and “You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had.”
The Levon Helm Band will be at the Borgata Aug. 29 opening for the Black Crowes.
Here’s a YouTube clip from Helm’s Web site on the making of the new album.
Tags: Black Crowes, Bob Dylan, Borgata, Levon Hel, The Band, Vanguard