Levon Helm
Electric Dirt
(Dirt Farmer/Vanguard)
First Appeared in The Music Box, September 2009, Volume 16, #9
Written by John Metzger
Thu September 10, 2009, 06:15 AM CDT
In the wake of Rick Danko’s death in 1999, the surviving members of The Band quietly went their separate ways. Garth Hudson issued a handful of low-key solo sets before settling into life as a hired hand, while Levon Helm focused his attention on The Barn Burners, a solidly satisfying but ultimately underwhelming blues-based outfit that he had founded several years earlier with his daughter Amy. Helm’s gambit never really took flight, though, partially because throat cancer had robbed him of his voice. For a while, it seemed almost certain that The Band’s glory days were gone for good.
Not surprisingly, Helm’s recovery was a long, slow process, but reinvigorated by his brush with death, he began holding a series of regular concerts on his property in Woodstock. This led directly to the recording of Dirt Farmer, his first solo effort in 25 years. More often than not, the album fared quite well, as Helm delved into the sorts of roots-oriented song structures that had fueled The Band’s output for decades. Still, it was clear that Helm’s ordeal had left him in a weakened state. Although Dirt Farmer signaled that a full-fledged comeback was a possibility, the collection hardly provided an indication that it was lurking just around the next bend.
Where Dirt Farmer was a triumph for Levon Helm, the cancer survivor, its sequel Electric Dirt is, without a doubt, a triumph for Levon Helm, the recording artist. By blending together a wealth of styles that range from folk to blues, gospel to country, and bluegrass to soul, the collection traverses the same Americana-bred terrain as its predecessor. Yet, the amplified instrumentation combined with Helm’s forcefully emotive vocal delivery gives Electric Dirt an enthralling sense of urgency that is too great to ignore. In effect, the frailty that had clung so tightly to Dirt Farmer has been swept away, making it sound as if Helm and producer Larry Campbell merely had been testing the waters when they pieced together the earlier endeavor.
Electric Dirt’s highlights come early and often. The steamy, gospel-blues hue of The Staple Singers’ Move Along Train is given a weary but determined ambience, and spiced by an Allen Toussaint-arranged horn section, Helm’s brawny rendition of the Grateful Dead’s Tennessee Jed sounds like a lost classic from his days with The Band. Filled with a mixture of regret and compassionate understanding, Growing Trade relays a tale about the plight of American farmers, one that mirrors the melted dreams of a country that has become mired in financial distress and the moral dilemmas that come with it.
Electric Dirt’s momentum dips slightly when, halfway through the
endeavor, Helm settles into a series of comfortable blues tunes, namely Stuff
You Gotta Watch and You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had.
Fortunately, they are surrounded by some other first-rate tracks. Randy Newman’s King Fish, for example, is slathered in brassy inebriation. Meanwhile, a
punchy rendition of I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free as well as
Campbell’s delightful When I Go Away — which boasts a salvation-seeking,
gospel-embracing coda — serve as celebrations of life after death. Through every
aspect of Electric Dirt — from its lyrics to its music — Helm sends a
simple message: He isn’t afraid to die, but for all of the troubles that are
thrown his way, he isn’t ready to pack his bags yet either. 
52nd Annual Grammy Award Winner:
Best Americana Album
Of Further Interest...
Randy Newman - The Best of Randy Newman / The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol. 1
Various Artists - The Gift: A Tribute to Ian Tyson
Electric Dirt is available from
Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2009 The Music Box