BY BILL BENTLEY
Luther Dickinson & Sons of Mudboy, Oneward And Upward, Memphis International Records
New Years is a good day to think about death, because it is also a prime time of new beginnings. It is a chance to look at the world with fresh eyes and renewed hope, and see it as a continual changing from one form to another. Memphis musician and producer Jim Dickinson passed on last summer, but not before creating a whirlwind of sound and feeling for over half a century, and affecting those who truly love music in ways they may never even know. And that’s because Dickinson, the son of an Arkansas match salesman, knew from a very young age that there were miracles to be pulled out of the air, and that songs were the vessels that allow mere humans to convey those moments of magic for others to discover. His oldest son Luther invited a roomful of the players who had grooved mightily with his father, and they went into the family studio, Zebra Ranch at Independence, Mississippi and turned on the two-track 1/2-inch tape recorder. What flowed out of the hands and hearts of these humans is a moving celebration as well as an outpouring of grief, honoring what Jim Dickinson had shared with each of them over the course of his life. In many ways, it’s a harkening back to a time of field recordings throughout the South, a style all present have been influenced by as they learned their early lessons. But like all true artists, none of these people are locked into the past. That is not what music is about for them, but rather it’s a chance to mix all the elements up in a big bowl and see what occurs. What happens here is a peek into the land where so much of this sound began, inspired by the spirituals in Baptist churches sometimes sung by slaves, and other times written in the moment. Jim Dickinson was a founding member of the infamous Bluff City band Mudboy and the Neutrons, supplying keyboards and other less tangible combustibles to an outfit not known for extensive live appearances but rather one who gave followers reason to believe in the continued goodness of rock & roll. Now Luther, also now a North Mississippi All-Star as well as Black Crowe, is joined by Neutrons Sid Selvidge and Jimmy Crosthwait along with Jimbo Mathus of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Paul Taylor and Steve Selvidge as well as vocalist Shanon McNally to raise the Zebra Ranch roof and make a joyful noise for their father, friend and mentor. And what a noise it is. As Sun Records’ founder Sam Phillips once said of the dearly departed, “It is Jim D’s soul of sound bouncing off the sky.” Listening to “Learning on the Everlasting Arms,” Softly and Tenderly,” “Where the Soul of a Man Never Dies,” “Glory Glory” and all these other instances of immortality is to be in the presence of Jim Dickinson, who wanted it said of him, “I’m just dead, I’m not gone.” Shine on.
Shelley King, Welcome Home, Lemonade Records
It all makes perfect sense, how a young Arkansas singer can be named State Musician of Texas in 2008, gaining the heart of Austin listeners over the course of several years and winning the ears of other singers who show their respect by recording Shelley King’s songs and passing her name around as someone to listen out for. That is no small shakes in the place that proudly calls itself “Live Music Capital of the World.” And who are we to argue? For this new album, King fulfilled a longtime dream and recorded it with most members of New Orleans’ pride and joy the subdudes, and Lordly what a stroke of smarts that was. Together they’ve captured the essence of music, kind of like lightening in a bottle, and shown us just what joy there is in the sound of people pouring the souls out in sound. The woman’s voice is as natural a wonder as you’re likely to hear today, coming from that place where feelings run deep and without affectation. She obviously has some kind of direct line to greatness, because on songs like “Summer Wine,” “Asking Too Much” and “Grain of Sand,” there is a wisdom that cannot be learned; rather it must be lived from birth. the subdudes’ members—John Magnie, Tim Cook and Steve Amedee–have an instantaneous ESP running from their spirits that lets them connect to these songs almost by osmosis. There are no overwrought solos or extraneous shenanigans in their playing at all, of course. It is all sweet and special and perfectly attuned to what King is singing. For fans of music that feels like it is inspired on back porches in Southern climes, Welcome Home is a perfect fit. That this is the woman’s fifth album and she may still be a new name is our loss and her gain. Either way, this is a sound we’ve been waiting for awhile, and the beginning of 2010 is just the right time to invite Shelley King in. To stay.
Animal Collective, Fall Be Kind, Domino Records
Imagine how the music Brian Wilson made might have sounded if he’d stayed out of his sand box in the early ’70s and played around in the garage with some semi-petit power tools run through an early Moog synthesizer. Like maybe he had incorporated some surging rhythms underneath the dense orchestral beauty he had become known for, and even used the pulse of a band saw to supply the percussion. That is the vibe conveyed on Animal Collective’s new five-song release, and it couldn’t come at a better time. The group has led a wave of imaginative rock groups into a land of jam that doesn’t involve endless riffing or outrageous testifying. There is true subtlety at the heart of the Collective’s sound, even if it’s amplified into the ozone and then processed through mushroom tea. And the form the musicians use to build “Graze,” “What Would I Want? Sky,” “Bleed” “On a Highway” and “I Think I Can” shows a mastery of blending heart and sonics. That’s what it takes to get to the depth of this music: it must come from the inner sanctum or it’s not going to sound real. Luckily, the band has unlocked what feels almost like a magic potion. Each member adds just the right mixture of an elemental component, and without that exact contribution the whole structure could fall apart. Onstage, the keyboards fuel the ride but on disc there are so many more colors of sound one could get lost in the forest and never mind. Fall Be Kind arrived at the very end of 2009, maybe to signal the wonders to come and throw out a rope of hope to those still believing music can be a healing force, and a beacon of light to a new land. It is likely no accident Animal Collective samples the Grateful Dead’s “Unbroken Chain” on “What Would I Want? Sky.” Don’t forget: the Dead attempted to t record heavy air for their sophomore album Anthem of the Sun. Now the progeny are simply borrowing the inspiration in returning the favor.
Bill Bentley is a writer, musician, publicist, record producer and A&R director. He once played drums with Lightnin’ Hopkins. For more reviews and music news, go to www.sonicboomers.com
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