North Mississippi Allstars - World Boogie Is Coming (2013)

> The album

21st century vintage boogie

Take some old vintage Mississippi blues, preferably Hill Country style, put them through modern rock technologies filters like quasi systematic reverb, saturated amps and synthesizer effects, with pinches of DJ hip-hop style and psychedelia here and there, you've got NMA. The modern tech sound will appeal to rock audiences but the vintage spirit of Hill Country will not turn off blues aficionados. The same recipe has been applied by Fat Possum Records to the late albums of R.L. Burnside in particular, and used by some of his sons.

NMA is a flexible band, built around the core Dickinson brothers , Luther and Cody, sons of the late famous Memphis producer and musician Jim Dickinson. They were of course raised in a musical surrounding. If Luther is the one who's attracting the spotlights, Cody is no less interesting as a multi-instrument player in charge not only of drums and percussion but also quite at ease on guitar or keyboards.

Luther (left) & Cody Dickinson ►

The Dickinson brothers must live a hectic creative life that doesn't leave them with much sleep hours. Cody is also a documentary movies maker and film scores composer, and set up the side project band Hill Country Revue. Luther multiplies the musical ventures : he played guitar in several bands like the Black Crows (from 2007 to 2011), The Word (an instrumental, sacred steel and gospel blues jam band with pedal steel player Robert Randolph and keyboardist John Medeski), The Wandering (with Valerie June, Amy LaVere, Shardé Thomas and Shannon McNally), and nowadays leads The Cooperators (featuring again Shardé Thomas) and The Sisters of the Strawberry Moon. In addition to his own solo albums (like the acoustic instrumentals collection "Hambone's Meditations"), he worked on different projects with Robert Hiatt, the South Memphis String Band (with ex-Squirrel Nut Zippers guitarist Jimbo Mathus and Alvin Youngblood Hart), Jon Spencer, and as a guest player on albums from Calvin Russell, Jimbo Mathus or Jim Lauderdale among many others. He also became as a preservationist of traditional Mississippi folk music by producing "Otha" Turner's two albums : "Everybody Hollerin' Goat" and "From Senegal To Senatobia".

◄ "Otha" Turner & and his Rising Star Fife and Drum Band

Hill Country blues kings Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside and "Otha" Turner are largely paid their dues in this album, though the treatment given to their songs might surprise more than one : heavy greasy sound of the saturated guitars and bass, thundering drum beat, electronic effects and background sounds (hard rain fall, talking and clapping...) blended with real rustic traditional North Mississippi drums and fife. And the most amazing thing of all is that this daring mix doesn't sound artificial a bit ! It appears almost as naturally authentic as a joyful Mississippi pic-nic jam. Here appears the Dickinson's talents as musicians, leaders and producers, and the excellent musicianship of their guests.

Rhythm is the master word of the album and one can feel the strong influence of the Mississippi Hills drums and fife rhythmic pattern. Most tracks are killer boogies : the thundering "Rollin 'n Tumblin", the shaking 'n rolling "Boogie", the electro hip-hopish "Snake Drive", the double "Shimmy"/"My Babe", Bukka White's "World Boogie", "I'm Leaving" with Luther's psychedelic guitar solo, the short judiciously titled "Cuttin' Shorty" (!), and the outstanding 10-minute long hypnotic version of R. L. Burnside's "Jumper On The Line", certainly the summit of the album.

◄ Shardé Thomas (on fife)

 The rest is as rhythmical, from the stormy slide versions of "Goin' to Brownsville" from "Sleepy" John Estes and "Furry" Lewis, and of Fred McDowell's "Back Back Train", to the strange bluegrass-tinged "Hodown" featuring a tuba-like sound, or the heavy acoustic rural folk "ML (Goin Home)" that concludes this fascinating opus.

The moral of the story is that tradition and modernity are far from being  incompatible… provided the blend is cooked by talented chefs. And the Dickinson brothers and their pals surely are. ■

Who wrote what

"Otha" Turner & young Shardé

01. "JR" : Junior  Kimbrough
02. "Goat Meat" : Luther Dickinson, Steve Malcolm
03. "Rollin 'n Tumblin" : Traditional
04. "Boogie" : Traditional
05. "Get the Snakes Out the Woods" : R. L. Burnside, NMA
06. "Snake Drive" : R. L. Burnside
07. "That Dog After That Rabbit" : Othar Turner, NMA
08. "Meet Me in the City" : Junior Kimbrough
09. "Turn Up Satan" : Luther & Cody Dickinson, Chris Chew
10. "Shimmy" : Othar Turner
11. "My Babe" : Willie Dixon

 12. "Granny, Does Your Dog Bite" : Othar Turner, Shardé Thomas
13. "World Boogie" : Booker T. Washington White aka Bukka White
14. "Goin' to Brownsville" : John Adam Estes aka "Sleepy" John Estes, Walter E. Lewis aka "Furry" Lewis
15. "I'm Leaving" : Junior Kimbrough

◄ R.L. Burnside

16. "Jumper on the Line" : R. L. Burnside
17. "Cuttin' Shorty" : Cody Dickinson, Steve Malcolm
18. "Crazy Bout You" : Junior Kimbrough
19. "Back Back Train" : Fred McDowell
20. "Hodown" : Traditional
21. "Brooks Run To The Ocean" : Fred McDowell
22. "ML (Goin Home)" : NMA

► NMA official site : https://www.nmallstars.com/

► NMA YT channel : https://www.youtube.com/c/northmississippiallstars

Free audio downloads
● NMA's live concerts free of rights can be downloaded in Flac quality on : https://archive.org/details/NorthMississippiAllstars

Interviews

● ITW of Luther & Cody Dickinson about NMA's 2019 album "Up & Rolling" on Blues Kitchen TV : https://youtu.be/8oduHSksF-Q

● Luther Dickinson discusses how he has stayed busy during the Covid pandemic : https://youtu.be/C2w-e_bleSE

Extra long live shows videos

● At the "Belly Up" Tavern in Solana Beach, CA, in 2022 : https://youtu.be/iWZJ35lWHNs
● At Hadden Lake Park, GA, in 2021 : https://youtu.be/U0WsmQQ02TI
● At Tuffy's Bottle & Lounge Club in Sanford, FL, in 2021 : https://youtu.be/_l9ulRU0cGI & https://youtu.be/wsq6WVwV8Oc
● At Antone’s in Austin, TX, in 2020 : https://youtu.be/mQ1DyN2k7f8
● In Fort Collins, CO, in 2019 : https://youtu.be/3qB8jaddTIQ
● At the Copper Country Festival in Copper Mountain, CO, in 2019 : https://youtu.be/qpj6uwJLZRI
● At the Boathouse, Newport, VA, in 2019 : https://youtu.be/ODFvJNkz73A

● At Jannus in St. Petersburg, FL, in 2019 : https://youtu.be/HlmrmwL0Uf4
● At Knuckleheads Garage in 2018 : https://youtu.be/YLwrdFWyUmM
● At the 4 Peaks Music Festival in Bend, OR, in 2018 : https://youtu.be/8ASBGTHWwRg
● At the Puistoblues Fest. in Finland in 2017 : https://youtu.be/SrVaYjmIzwo
● In Atlanta, GA, in 2017 :
→ set 1 (acoustic) : https://youtu.be/orrLdeT5wHo
→ set 2 : https://youtu.be/D42_RM6BVuI
→ set 3 : https://youtu.be/f5WJ8PZjbq4

● At the l Lockn' Festival in Arrington, VI, 2015 : https://youtu.be/rFsuS3Sr8Og & https://youtu.be/k4CrlQ2yeZw
● In San Francisco, CA, in 2014 : https://youtu.be/rVah_47Qi44
● At the All Good Music Festival in Legend Valley, Thornville, OH, in  2013 : https://youtu.be/yXqaYtR7__8
● In St. Louis, MO, in 2012 :
→ part 1 : https://youtu.be/PWJ0fJ-njxw
→ part 2 : https://youtu.be/QxjEgXrakEw

● In Birmingham, AL, in 2012 :
→ part 1 : https://youtu.be/w9pl8LViJkg
→ part 2 : https://youtu.be/stss7xBKvhk
● In Brooklyn, NY, in 2012 :
→ part 1 : https://youtu.be/tEn0wuReg7s
→ part 2 : https://youtu.be/qmc5c5jv3g4
● In Hattiesburg, MS, in 2012 :
→ part 1 : https://youtu.be/N9u74s-vWD0
→ part 2 : https://youtu.be/uiuBOFpgkOw

● At the Azkena Festival in Spain in 2012 : https://youtu.be/fEavWRfKS6w

● In Boulder, CO, in 2008 : https://youtu.be/-dm-nEb47-o

● In Burlington, VT, in 2005 : https://youtu.be/v0or-0oxoQo
● Acoustic show at the Univ. of Southern Mississippi in 2001 : https://youtu.be/7JZULS6ypGQ

Luther with his father Jim Dickinson on keyboards

Luther & Lightnin' Malcolm

___________________________________

Luther & Cody

Luther blowing in the coffe
can that carries a didley bow

Chris Chew

____________________________________

Tom Feldmann - Lone Wolf Blues (2012)

> The album

Goldfinger(s)

With his eternal clean cut student face, short hair and fancy cow-boy shirts, Tom Feldmann looks like almost anybody but a rock star. But as the proverb says, you can't judge a book by its cover. When Feldmann picks up his acoustic or steel resonator guitar, he could make a lot of so-called guitar hero and other six-string slingers look like beginners ! This guy has ten golden fingers and knows how to use them to deliver one of the best finger-picking and slide styles of the world, on acoustic regular, slide or steel guitar. Folk and/or country blues, gospel blues, Delta or Piedmont style, solo or with a three-piece acoustic band, he can play anything provided it's "interwar" music (1920s-1940s).

Tom was born in May 1978 the youngest of four boys. He started to learn how to play guitar as an autodidact at the age of 17 listening and studying old legendary bluesmen like Bukka White, Lightnin' Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, Fred McDowell and many other Delta musicians. A year later, at 18, he was already good enough to perform at local Minneapolis venues. For three years, he worked so hard at sharpening his guitar and vocal skills that when he stepped into a studio and recorded his debut solo acoustic blues album, "Lay It On You", he was just 21 !

Feldmann, who settled in Montrose, Minnesota, unfortunately doesn't tour as much as he could due to family reasons : his wife Naomi, who gave him two children, has serious cardiac problems. To make up for this, he's devoting a big part of his time teaching guitar through workshops, videos and numerous instructional DVDs, particularly for Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop, by contributing articles to magazines like Acoustic Guitar and Vintage Guitar, and also working alongside Jorma Kaukonen at his famous Fur Peace Ranch guitar training center.

As years went by, his unique ability to perfectly replicate a song note-for-note by first deconstructing it, then reconstruct it piece by piece, chord by chord, string by string, has made of Feldmann, soon 44 and over 15 albums in his basket, a blues historian and preservationist but not a hardcore purist : in his interpretations he favors the spirit of the songs rather than a strict shortsighted note-for-note copy-cat rendition, arguing that their original creator were far from always playing them in the same monolithic way. "Many people have a view with a very clear hard line that the original musicians probably did not hold, he explains on "The Country Blues" Web site. Just because they recorded these songs one way, does not mean that they always played it the same way, or that these were the only types of music they played. Most of these musicians in the 1920s and 30s played all types of genres and styles. Most did not themselves draw a hard line. Many opinions that people today hold are simply based on fallacy."

He also explained a few years ago to Vintage Guitar Magazine that though he has a fair amount of rag songs in his repertoire, he "learned to play from the Delta side more than anything else. I really don’t mess around much with the Piedmont players, as they never hit me as hard as the Delta ones". When asked what are for him the best "interwar" bottleneck players, he answers : "Son House, Charley Patton, Sam Collins, Bukka White and Fred McDowell. They really shaped how I play. Also check out Black Ace, Casey Bill Weldon, Tampa Red, and Oscar 'Buddy Woods' for a more “city” style."

Lone Wolf Blues clearly shows what Feldmann calls "the gospel sides of [his] blues influences", adding that this album "joins country blues with gospel, two forms of early American music that have always walked hand-in-hand".
Before going any further, let's point out the outstanding technical quality of the recorded sound : it's just amazing and serves magnificently both Feldmann's fine slide and finger-picking work and his gritty voice.

Through the sixteen tracks of this album, he takes us along for a throw-back spiritual voyage from the Mississippi Delta to the hills of the Piedmont region and to Texas : from Bukka White (the excellent "Special Streamline", "Sic Em Dogs"), Fred McDowell ("Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning"), Mississippi John Hurt (the outstanding "Here Am I Oh Lord Send Me") to Son House (the great slide version of "Shetland Pony Blues"), Sylvester Weaver ("Guitar Rag") and Muddy Waters (through a rhythmic slide medley), from Barbecue Bob ("Yo Yo Blues") to Blind Boy Fuller ("Homesick And Lonesome Blues" in a version that already announce what will later become rock'n'roll) and Rev. Gary Davis ("Oh Glory How Happy I Am"), from Blind Willie Johnson ("God Don't Never Change") to Oscar "Buddy" Woods ("Lone Wolf Blues", a lesson of steel resonator guitar slide style).

He even proposes three of his own gospel compositions as tributes to these great elders who inspired him so much : "We Have Overcome", "Ever Flowing Fountain" and "Level The Hollow". Any listener unaware of this would take Feldmann's songs for old spirituals from the interwar era.
And then there is his beautifully moving version of the traditional "Delia" showing, if need be, his mastery of fingerstyle and his vocal ability to express the feeling of deep sorrow of the song.
What else to say to conclude ? That this is a really great and precious album ? It's an evidence. That all lovers of old country and gospel blues should listen to it closely ? It's an evidence too. That Feldmann takes us with him for a magnificent tour back in the golden era of rural blues ? What else ? ■

Tom Feldmann discography

● 2021 - Brothers in the Mud (with Noah Levy)
● 2017 - Dyed in the Wool
● 2015 - Spanish Fandango (feat. Don Flemons)
● 2015 - Stocktime (feat. Mikkel Beckmen)
● 2014 - Delta Blues & Spirituals
● 2012 - Lone Wolf Blues

● 2008 - Tin Roof Sky (with the Get-Rites)
● 2007 - Pedal Steel Heaven (with the Get-Rites)
● 2007 - Side Show Revival  (with the Get-Rites)
● 2005 - Driven To My Knees (with the Get-Rites)
● 2004 - The Night That Johnny Died (tribute to Johnny Cash – single)

● 2004 - Live From Studio One
● 2003 - Blues Stomps, Honky-Tonks, Jigs and Reels
● 2001 - Live...Last Night
● 2001 - Prelude to a Fistfight
● 2001 - Cedar Falls Session – live
● 2001 - Drunk Man's Dream
● 1999 - Lay It On You

▲ The Get-Rites are Tom Feldmann (guitar/vocal), Jed Staack (drums), Paul Liebenow (upright bass) and Jed Germond (pedal steel guitar).

Tom on the Web
● https://tomfeldmann.com/
● https://www.facebook.com/tomfeldmannmusic/

Albums (audio only)
● "Delta Blues & Spirituals" : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nB1FQtQv_yrQvsJRKsL3zeK7Se2ANsFx0
● "Brothers In The Mud", full album by Tom Feldmann (guitar/vocal) & Noah Levy  (drums) : https://youtu.be/6dnEQEWmVRQ

● Tom Feldmann & the Get-Rites albums :
→ "Side Show Revival" : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nQiBVxwslLrl7Qukl2yugHNk9uKxRMZms
→ "Tribute-The Gospel sides of..." : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mg1upOnNslL9gDZ53ammc4JaQiUfLzHUA
→ "Tin Roof Sky" : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kCVn3b7ZVPSq8E4AAMq-PvTJ9H8MsmcTI
→ "Pedal Steel Heaven": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mveeCprvZOfyDhMy_z-Jp3VijCwFYODbE

The Master

Most of TF videos available on YT are devoted to teaching finger-picking and slide guitar techniques. The three following sites are real Ali Baba caverns, full of fascinating pieces !
● Tom Feldmann YT channel : https://www.youtube.com/c/PlayCountryBlues/featured
● Tom Feldmann on GtrWorkShp : https://www.youtube.com/user/GtrWorkShp/search?query=tom%20feldmann
● Tom Feldmann on Vintage Guitar : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaynhNdfLBF70iOu3mqj4yoPb2pn8xRxY
● "Moanin' The Blues" on Fingerpicking.net : https://youtu.be/6RGSoag9D7M

The Performer

● At Jorma Kaukonen's famous Fur Peace Ranch :
→ Goin' Away Baby (Jimmy Rogers) : https://youtu.be/QTomAkMh3H8
→ Southside Boogie (Tom Feldmann) : https://youtu.be/La0LtsB3geE
→ "God Don't Never Change" (Blind Willie Johnson) : https://youtu.be/pvUL3kyIwy8
● On "Horses Sing None of It" in 2014 : https://youtu.be/8qsqPIOMNBU

● "Sunday Morning Blues" at MerleFest 2016 : https://youtu.be/ISF_asIt460
● Muddy Waters Medley at the LumberJam Americana Music Festival : https://youtu.be/wxf7g_mL4wY
● "Fast Living, Slow Suicide" at the Red Dragon in Baton Rouge in 2011 : https://youtu.be/MP9VuvsQkAQ
● At Folk Night At HeBrews in 2010 : https://youtu.be/x7i2SbsAHyY

Tom Feldmann & the Get-Rites

● On Wisconsin Public Television's 30-minute Music Hour :
→ "I'd Rather Have Jesus": https://youtu.be/AMUqQWJjpwA
→ "Gypsy Russian Rose" : https://youtu.be/YmuP6SPWGvk
→ "10,000 Chains" : https://youtu.be/HTv_bucDCHY
● At the Dunn Brothers coffee house in Excelsior, Minnesota, in 2008 :
► TF solo :
→ "Level The Hollow" : https://youtu.be/9uv86U9Q1A4
→ "I Can't Be Satisfied" (Muddy Waters) : https://youtu.be/IKpf44qzook
→ "Converted" : https://youtu.be/OMy-qbINbXg
► With the Get-Rites :

→ "Save our Souls is Save Us All" : https://youtu.be/6WBECAzBYk4
→ "Stand Your Test In Judgment" : https://youtu.be/WxLRUcSdCes
→ "Psalm" : https://youtu.be/bcjmAVmLnqg
→ "Run to the River is Redeemed" : https://youtu.be/gndSFbpV6iI
→ "Salvation" : https://youtu.be/4cYZbCXlC0o

→ "Christian Cowboy" : https://youtu.be/AE0p21WvMkQ
→ "Sing, Dance, Shout" : https://youtu.be/p6W7IcPQGRQ
→ "Seven Trumpets" : https://youtu.be/4qiP7UXx3Ng
→ "10,000 Chains" : https://youtu.be/WVZj3ZEYFrg
→ "Turn Around" : https://youtu.be/Q0GhvF7Dl0U
→ "Life to the Dying" : https://youtu.be/sf3TIf6-Jr4
→ "Pedal Steel Heaven" : https://youtu.be/r5FH5L2OE_Y

 
________________________

Brother Magnum & The Razor Bumps - Feel Like A King (2010)

> The album

Who the hell is the real Brother Magnum ?

That's the big question ! Some will answer very logically that he is the leader of the Texas blues band Brother Magnum & The Razor Bumps. What perspicacity ! Some will assert it's the nickname of a Texas bluesman. Oh… really ? ! Some other smart ones will explain that "Brother" is the way an Afro-American call a fellow black person : "Hey brother, wa go on  ?" Maybe true, but still doesn't answer the question : who is Magnum ? Is it the real name of the guy or… Oh, come on, shut up ! That's nothing to do with the TV series ! Neither with an extra-size bottle of Champagne nor with a famous ice-cream ! Not with the Böker-Magnum knives brand either ! Pffff ! We're talking of music ! Blues, RnB, funk, soul… MU-SIC ! Y'understand ? ! Arrrgh ! I'm close to getting nuts ! Oh damn, forget it ! Who cares anyway ?!!

All we do know about the guy is that he was born in California, but we don't know when, and raised among seven siblings, a military father with Afro-Cuban roots and a mother of Native-American lineage. His father's military career took the whole tribe from California to Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia and Florida… An itinerant youth that exposed the mysterious Magnum to different social, cultural and musical facets of America, and certainly explains the blend of styles that characterizes his music.
If we don't know his real name, we do know yet some of the ones he gave to his guitars, all Stratocaster-types : "Child", his special favorite, a black Strat baptized "Domino", a blue custom one named "Ms. Kandi" specifically built for him by Jason Spradley from Jason’s Guitars…
We also know he's based in Austin. And that's all ! The rest remains to be discovered...

As for this album, apparently his third one as Brother Magnum, after "Tales From A Bad Man" in 2001 and "Meet Me In My Daydream" in 2008 (also available on Blue Dragon), it features a kind of catalog of different ways to approach contemporary Texas groove : rocking blues, rhythm'n'blues, funk, Texas swing, straight blues… always with a solid dancing beat, soulful vocals and no other aim but to bring a good time to people. All eleven songs are originals written by Magnum.

Magnum's mix of styles will certainly sound very appealing to many listeners, from the rocking "Amen-Try Again" and "Addicted To You" to the judiciously titled R'n'B "Funky Foot Woman" (probably the outstanding track of the album) and the equally funky "The Divorce Song", from more classic blues like "Bad Apple", "Paying Dues, Playing Blues" to songs more difficult to classify like the soppy soul "King", the popish "Gambler And A Preacher" or the mellowish "Mountains And Rain Drops" despite its interesting guitar weaving.
The nice-sounding acoustic version of "Cocaine Sheila", a track originally released on "Meet Me In My Daydream", is another great moment, as well as the so-called hidden track "One Drunk Apple", a jolly piece of studio jam fun.

◄ Mike Barnes

But the real noticeable thing about this album is Magnum's voice texture itself, a warm husky vocal style that I understand is much appreciated by Blue Dragon's high priests, our friends Blue DeVille and Lou Cypher. As for the Razor Bumps, they're all putting their good swinging spirit in the job, with a special mention for the excellent work of Mike Barnes on lead guitar.
Personally, though I haven't been really convinced by the global atmosphere of this package, I wouldn't dare diverting members of the BD community to listen and enjoy it. ■

Interviews

● A series of itws with BM gathered on SonicBids : https://www.sonicbids.com/band/brothermagnum/

Album
● Other album available on Deezer
→ Fire And Steel : https://www.deezer.com/en/album/1189620


Live videos

● Most of the available videos from BM with The Razor Bumps and with his former band Dysfunkshun Junkshun, are on this Magnum151 YT channel : https://www.youtube.com/dysfunkshunjunkshun/videos


● In studio at a local TV station in Sept 2010 :

→ "The Divorce Song" : https://youtu.be/qJ-AYh-fdko
→ "Cocaine Sheila" : https://youtu.be/1Na0GSpjBTM
→ "Funky Foot Woman" : https://youtu.be/EQsqMLlzt2Y
→ "Addicted to You" : https://youtu.be/vTWd3fWik_0
→ "Good Lovin' Feeling" : https://youtu.be/rplqUUH3SFk
→ "Mexico" : https://youtu.be/jlYNRvUW1KQ
→ "Have A Good Time" : https://youtu.be/-xoLSCKS4M4
→ "Love Me Woman" : https://youtu.be/rplqUUH3SFk

● At Antone's Club in Austin : 
→ in 2008 : https://youtu.be/NeaDNFV5S34
→ in 2013 : https://youtu.be/tYT21YAo5-4 & https://youtu.be/8SDP6HuQKFI

● At Maggie Mae's in 2008 (Pat Myers : guitar, lead vocal - Selton Cole : bass, vocal - Bob Fulton : keyboards - Roland Perez : sax - Will Chomycia : drums - Mike Barnes : guitar) : https://youtu.be/9CtJBtdc7nY & https://youtu.be/b1WrUa04Kx0 ("Bad Apple" )

● "Nee-Mo Money" : https://youtu.be/klH8QgihcCc

● The making of… "All The Time" : https://youtu.be/erglrqo7Rns

● "Fire and Steel" : https://youtu.be/gwtrGvLiPiE

Discography
→ 2001 - Tales From A Bad Man
→ 2008 - Meet Me In My Daydream
→ 2010 - Feel Like A King
→ 2011 - Fire And Steel
→ 2013 - Electrified Soul

What Brother Magnum is not

😜
 _________________________________