2017 – Sony Legacy
By Phillip Smith;
June 3, 2017
North Mississippi Allstars has been one of my favorite bands since they rolled
out Shake Hands With Shorty in the
year 2000. With their latest album Prayer For Peace, the three-time Grammy Nominated Dickinson brothers, Luther
and Cody bring another fine batch of
blues songs to the table. Recorded in
multiple studios across the U.S., while on their 2016 tour, this self-produced
album features quite the notable guest list, which includes Oteil Burbridge, Graeme Lesh, Sharisse Norman,
Danielle Nicole, Dominic Davis, and Shardé Thomas.
The driving trance beat and the
beckoning of a “Prayer For Peace” warmly lures the listener into the album. The accompaniment by guest musician,
fife-master Shardé Thomas (daughter of
Otha Turner) is the cherry on top of
this mantra for world peace. A delicious
bombardment of greasy slide guitar from Luther
grabs my full attention on the riveting hill country blues of “Run Red Rooster”.
They tackle “Stealin’”, first recorded
by the Memphis Jug Band in 1928 (and
also covered by the Grateful Dead), in
a raw stripped-down Stones fashion. Taking on another couple of cues from The Dead, they tear into an
intoxicating version of “Deep Ellum” and break out a plumb terrific jam on “Bid
You Goodnight”.
Wonderfully psychedelic licks
woven into clusters of fat electric riffs breathe new life into the
hill-country blues of R.L. Burnside’s
“Birds Without a Feather”. Another Burnside foot-stomper they take on is the
fabulous “Miss Maybelle”. They also pay
a nice homage to the great Mississippi
Fred McDowell, injecting a fortified soulful groove into “You Got to Move”
which segues very nicely into a smoking rendition of “61 Highway”.
The Dickinsons
valiantly do their part to make sure the blues are not forgotten by keeping the
music alive in their performances. Their
taste in music is extraordinary as is their interpretations of it. Prayer For
Peace continues their tradition.
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