North Mississippi Allstars – Still Shakin’ (New West) (13th Floor Album Review)
Still Shakin’ is the 12 album released under the North Mississippi Allstars moniker, the band founded by Luther and Cody Dickinson in Hernando, Mississippi, just a stone’s throw across the state line from Memphis, the centre of all things musical.
Their first album, Shake Hands With Shorty, set the tone 25 years ago with a collection of covers and homages to the musicians who’d made the area synonymous with the blues, gospel, soul and country inviting a host of contributions from established artists, including their dad musician and producer Jim.
Ever since, the brothers have kept true to their roots mixing up the genres but keeping the soul with a constant change of line-up and guests helping along the way.
On the current release, the Dickinson brothers are joined by semi-permanent players Rayfield “Ray Ray” Holloman and Joey Williams who add a mixture of guitar, vocals and bass interchanging the duties throughout the 11 tracks.
The Allstars wouldn’t be all stars without more guests in the line-up and are joined by musicians dripping in the legacy of the sounds of the Mississippi: Jojo Hermann on his Hammond; Robert Kimbrough (son of the legendary Junior Kimbrough) bringing his cotton patch blues guitar; Grammy-nominated guitarist Duwayne Burnside (one of L.R. Burnside’s 14 children); Kashiah Hunter a steel guitar player considered sacred in the southern United States; Trae Pierce 4-time Grammy winner bassist who’s played with just about everyone; Grahame Lesh adding more bass lines (in the footsteps of his Grateful Dead father Phil Lesh to whom the record is dedicated); and the Norman sisters, Shontelle and Sharisse, with their gospel-infused soulful backing.
With a quarter of a century under their belt, the Allstars are in a celebratory mood on Still Shakin’.
From the opening bars of the first track, a cover of Robert Johnson’s Preachin’ Blues, the tempo is up, the production is crisp and Luther’s falsetto wafts over the mix creating a sound that’ll have you out of your chair, jumping to the line “Drive my blues away…”
Stay All Night takes the pace down a little. It’s a sexy groove (“pull off your clothes, throw ‘em in the corner”) attributing the song to elements taken from Junior Kimbrough’s Stay All Night and the hopping 1945 country blues track Stay A Little Longer from Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan. Robert Kimbrough brings the voice to this mix, an evolution of song that’s so important to the genre.
That evolution keeps rolling with the reworking of Junior Kimbrough’s My Mind Is Rambling. The meandering vibe of the original is now driven by an urgent drum that breaks into a syncopated jazz rhythm, and Kimbrough’s vocals are given an extra laid-back and dreamy quality with the Norman sisters singing an octave above (the notes twice the frequency of the lower) adding depth and richness.
Prayer For Peace, one of a few originals on the album, is a cry for equality with added relevance in contemporary America. “We’ve got to teach our children to be more color blind,” Cody sings as he kicks the track along with his drumming. Joey Willams adds some backing and slick guitar while Trae Pierce works the bass line all over the county. “The innocence and love seen on our children’s face Makes me know that ignorance and hate will be erased,” is followed by a shout out across the States to “Pray for peace.”
K.C. Jones is a revisiting of Walter “Furry” Lewis’ tribute to Casey Jones, a train driver known for sticking to the timetable who came to an unscheduled end when he drove into the 109, a broken-down engine in Vaughan, Mississippi. Cody sings again with assistance from Jojo Hermann while Graham Lesh brings some grooving bass to the bottom line.
The title track, Still Shakin’ brings the whole ensemble together in a Dr. John Right Place, Wrong Time-styled groove. It’s a playful declaration of thanks for the quarter of a century passed since Shaking Hands with Shorty and a promise to “keep on keeping on…”
“It don’t matter what dirt is on my boots I’m in a Mississippi state of mind,” they sing in full party mood as the band beats out a psychedelic backdrop.
Ray Ray thumps out a slinky synth bass on Poor Boy as Duwayne Burnside pops some tasty guitar licks, probably learnt from daddy R.L. who penned the song. It’s a smooth, savoury mix contradicting the song’s theme of loss and displacement – “My baby, she’s dead and gone I’m a poor boy, I’m a long way from home World can’t do me no home”. It’ll have you sliding round the floor wishing it would last longer than the almost 5 minutes of this track. Definitely one to hear live!
And you get the feeling on this record that most of what these guys do is developed playing together – it’s one delicious jam from beginning to end seasoned in the bars and clubs of Memphis and further afield.
“We always keep one eye on the road ahead, in the moment at hand, while anticipating the future,” Luther Dickinson said ahead of the album’s release. “The other eye is on the rearview mirror, reflecting the elders and their repertoire night after night.”
Soaked in the sounds of the Mississippi and rolling toward wherever the music takes them the North Mississippi Allstars are here for a good time. Let’s hope it’s a long time too!
Alex Robertson
Still Shakin’ is released today on New West Records
