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For the sake of context, I am in my late sixties, and am an unrepentant Deadhead and Allaman Bros., Dylan, Band/Levon, and Blues type of guy. But I've always tried to remain open to new things, and have flirted with various younger bands over the years. And The North Mississippi Allstars are the ones that stuck. They had me from that night I saw them doing "Black Maddie" on Leno a couple of decades ago, and they haven't let me down since. And most recently, I've enjoyed Luther's tendency to collect a musical family around himself; I've had the privilege of seeing a couple of iterations of that trend at Levon's barn in recent years, and it has always been wonderful, imaginative music (check out "Blues and Ballads" for a great example).
Luther has also extended that musical family concept to the Allstars, and this new album is a wonderful example of that. Not only has he expanded the basic lineup to include, most notably, the vocalist and cane-fife player Sharde Thomas, he has a roster of guests including none other than Mavis Staples. And the sound here is what you expect from them - a foundation of Hill-Country Blues, with some Southern Rock, Gospel, Jamband, Blues, and whatever thrown in. It's a pretty unique stew, and if it's familiar, it's comfortable and versatile, too.
There is nothing less than good on this album, but two songs stand out to me as remarkable. "Call That Gone", the opening track, took me right back to that "Blues And Ballads" album (and a memorable Ramble at Levon's), with Luther and Sharde trading vocals and instrumental licks. As in slide guitar and cane-fife! It heats up pretty nicely, and is a rousing start to this set. And then late in the set comes the old chestnut, "Precious Lord", and...wow! It starts off in an uptempo blues shuffle, with a subtle slide guitar playing that quickly becomes the recognizable melody. This guitar may be Luther, or it may be guest Cedric Burnside, who also sings the song along with (probably) Cody. And there's some wonderful guitar dueling between Cedric and Luther, too. In the end, it's thrillingly original, respectful, even spiritual, and is one of the better covers of any song I've heard in quite a while. Lastly, I'll add that while I've enjoyed seeing Luther's shows with his varied "family", I think Cody is a wonderful drummer with a lot of that Hill Country Fife And Drum feel, and having the brothers together again is a treat.
The Allstars have never released a subpar album, and a handful of them are brilliant. "Up And Rolling" falls into the latter group. Buy it, sit back with your "refreshment" of choice (I recommend Blue Dream and Lagavulin 16), and enjoy!
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One of the Allstars Best - Nothing But Hill Country Love
This review is for the vinyl release. I normally avoid colored releases.... but I couldn't resist this one. It means something. It means everything. Luckily the SQ isn't affected at all. This press sounds absolutely fantastic. Punchy and deep bass, nice crisp highs and the vox are buttery. This album cooks. One of their best, and I've been listening since I shook Shorty's hands.And I have to a few more words about this album... I think plenty of folks have picked this up and plenty of them like what they hear, but I don't think many (not enough) have picked up the actual CD or the LP and really taken it in. Y'all should, because this thing is a photographic, musical and lyrical love-letter & testament to hill country blues and to everyone, past and present, that turned these guys into what they are and shape what they continue to become. This album is more special than any you've picked up recently... Grab it, listen to it. look at it, read it, feel it..... It's just love. Thanks Luther, Cody and all of you. Love.
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