Levon Helm
Electric Dirt
[Dirt Farmer Music/Vanguard Records]
Levon Helm ain’t doing bad for a man who only a decade ago was diagnosed with throat cancer, and given the prognosis of maybe never talking again but definitely never singing again. It looks like Helm didn’t get that particular memo. With his second “post-cancer” album Helm’s voice sounds solid and strong, with only slightly more waver than he did in his late 60’s and early 70’s heyday as lead singer for The Band.
When Helm released 2007’s Dirt Farmer, the industry was knocked aback by his beautiful collection of wary, country-laden songs. He sang like a man triumphantly rising from defeat, who bears each song as a reminding scar of what he almost lost.
Electric Dirt, the follow-up to Dirt Farmer, is charged with equal parts emotion and reflection as its predecessor, but flushed out at a faster tempo and more complex arrangements. With Larry Campbell behind the console (and in various instrumental capacities) again, and Helm’s daughter Amy in tow, the record sounds like classic southern-rock fused with gospel harmonies. “Tennessee Jed” and “Move Along Train” are a perfect “1-2 combo” to open the record with. Levon’s whiskey-drenched voice meanders around melodies, and gets marinated in plush arrangements reminding us that he isn’t destined to lie back as the down trodden dirt farmer we last saw him as.
Helm's voice has never sounded as soulful as it does over the pounding blues shuffle of “Stuff You Gotta Watch”. “You Can’t Lose What You Never Had” is a mid-tempo blues tune disguised as a traditional country song, that is a sad reminder of failed relationships. And the reflective “When I Go Away” is strikingly optimistic view on death, reminding us as listeners what we were so close to losing in Helm just a few years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment