By: David Schultz

Before he became known as the father of North Mississippi Allstars' Luther and Cody Dickinson, Jim Dickinson was one of the industry's most respected producers and studio musicians. You can hear him on a slew of albums recorded at Atlantic Records in the late Sixties/early Seventies and that's his piano on The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses." Last month, Dickinson passed away after undergoing triple bypass surgery. To mourn, Luther threw open the doors to the Zebra Ranch studio in Independence, Mississippi and over the course of a few hours, recorded a selection of gospel hymns. In homage to Dickinson's band Mudboy & The Neutrons, the resulting album, Onward and Upwards, will be released on November 10 under the name of The Sons of Mudboy. Half the album will be Luther playing solo on an acoustic guitar and the other half will feature Sid and Steve Selvidge, Jimmy Crosthwait, Jimbo Mathus, Shannon McNally and Paul Taylor.

"My take on it was that, as Jim often said, he didn't want to celebrate death," said Sid Selvidge, Dickinson's lifelong friend and musical foil. "So what I think you'll hear on the record is a loose, joyful musicality, rather than any wailing or gnashing of teeth. We were doing these songs because it was a cool thing to do. We were just trying to make some cool music."

Labels: Luther Dickinson

By: David Schultz

When The Black Crowes famously reunited for a week's worth of shows at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom, they selected a fine slate of artists to accompany them, including the North Mississippi AllStars. In addition to joining The Crowes for an encore of Elmore James' "Shake Your Money Maker" during that March 2005 run, the AllStars' lead guitarist Luther Dickinson (and his bandmates) rang in 2006 with the Robinson brothers at their New Year's concert at Madison Square Garden. As both bands are steeped in the southern tradition of the blues, it can't come as any surprise that they hit it off both on and off stage. No strangers to the joys and miseries of playing in a band with their brother, the Crowes' Rich Robinson and the AllStars' Luther Dickinson left their respective siblings at home to team up for an evening as Circle Sound.

While Circle Sound publicized their Friday night show at the Bowery Ballroom as featuring Robinson and Dickinson, it came with a heavy Black Crowes vibe. Current Crowes band members, keyboardist Rob Clores and bassist Sven Pipien, who is cultivating the Chris Robinson homeless hippie look, as well as former Crowes drummer Bill Dobrow rounded out the band. Aswirl with promises and rumors of special guests, expectations over surprise appearances ran amok and the presence of 2007 Hall Of Fame inductee and resident New Yorker Patti Smith sated all but the most unreasonable appetites for something exceptional.

Any hopes that Circle Sound would feature multiple guitar battles between The Crowe and The AllStar were quickly dashed. Robinson made no effort to match Dickinson's exemplary skills, providing rhythm guitars and complementary riffs instead of an old-fashioned duel. With his thick glasses and unkempt locks, Dickinson looks more like a librarian than a skilled bluesman. Bringing his customary phalanx of guitars, Dickinson switched axes every couple of numbers, notably breaking out a mandolin for a triptych of songs including Ry Cooder's "Boomer's Story," a song often covered by Chris Robinson when he sits in with Dickinson and the AllStars. Brother Rich seemed content to let Dickinson handle the leads, only once breaking out the slide guitar for a countryish version of Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight." For the encore, the two guitarists attempted some guitar theatrics on "Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz," an acoustic, Led-Zep style outtake from Amorica. Dickinson seemed to throw off Robinson at the start of the song by switching guitars and the two seemed to play at odds with each other until the end when they finally meshed.

With the exception of a take on the AllStars' "Bang Bang Lulu" and the acoustic beginning to the encore, Circle Sound pretty much avoided NMA or Black Crowes fare, using their Bowery gig as an opportunity to have some fun. Becoming the night's most skilled cover band, Dickinson and Robinson breathed life into some wisely chosen classic rock covers, some old-school blues and a few Robinson originals. The band's best moments were on gritty blues tunes like "Spoonful," "Mean Old World" and a pair of Johnny Winter tunes. They dove heartily into the slinky off-kilter beat of The Rolling Stones' "I Just Wanna See His Face" and they expertly Crazy Horsed their opener, "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere."

Robinson and Dickinson shared lead vocals throughout the set: Robinson fronting during tunes from his 2004 album Paper; Dickinson handling the swampier blues and classic rock covers. However, Patti Smith's voice resonated the most. Near the end of the set, the politically outspoken singer mesmerized the crowd with a rendition of "Smoke Signals." While Smith may be physically showing her age, her voice and stage presence remain as captivating as ever.

Opening act Langhorne Slim also provided some nice variety. Playing a revved up acoustic guitar like Ray Lamontagne on steroids, the gullible in the crowd could have been convinced that Slim was a disguised Jack White.

Circle Sound's Bowery Ballroom show was one for the band, who seemed to truly enjoy the freedom of taking a night off from their usual catalog to play a set of their favorite tunes. Far from an indulgent night, Dickinson, Robinson, the rest of Circle Sound, Smith and Slim exceeded all expectations, producing a fast-paced night of quality blues and rock and roll.

[PHOTO CREDIT TO VANARK - Check out more of his fine work HERE.]

Labels: Circle Sound, Langhorne Slim, Luther Dickinson, North Mississippi Allstars, Patti Smith, Rich Robinson, The Black Crowes