Levon Helm

Electric Dirt (Vanguard)

There’s not a whole lot electric about this album, not in the sense that Levon Helm was capable of electrifying audiences with the Band and outfits like the RCO All Stars. It’s an all-too-comfortable fit of familiar covers (Grateful Dead’s “Tennessee Jed,” the Stanleys’ “White Dove”), well-worn blues tunes (“You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had”), and a few originals (“Heaven’s Pearls,” “Growin’ Trade”) that make the listener crave something grittier Helm can sink his teeth into with characteristic bite, the way he does with “Move Along Train,” Dirt‘s best track. Lovingly produced by Larry Campbell with first-rate musicians and that gather-yer-friends-and-hie-them-to-the-studio sound, Dirt‘s mellow ambience begs for warm sunshine and cold pop. If you’re listening to this and wishing you were listening to the Band, get up and put on the Band. (6pm, LiveStrong stage.)

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This article appears in October 2 • 2009.

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