North Mississippi Allstars
NewMusicforOldFolks says …
Northern Mississippi is known as the hill country and the area has it's own musical style, the Hill Country Blues. Men like R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and Otha Turner all hailed from there and with members of their families backing them up, put the area on the musical map. A generation later, Cody (drums) and Luther Dickinson (guitar and vocals), the sons of Memphis recording musician Jim Dickinson, were soaking up the everything the older generation had to teach them. Along with bass player Chris Chew updated and branched off that sound. But they never lost site of their North Mississippi roots. The best way to see the two meet is to get a copy of 2004's Hill Country Revue: Live at Bonnaroo. Members of all three families, including R.L. Burnside himself appear in the show and a good time was had by all. It shows on that fun and wonderful album. All the NMA recordings are good, but that one is special.
Artist's Info
Website: nmallstars.com
See them live: Tour dates
See also: The Word, North Mississippi Osborne
Record company: Songs of the South Records
Genre: Blues, Jam
If you like this, look into: Anders Osborne, The Black Crowes, Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Bio (From the artists' website)
North Mississippi Allstars formed in 1996; the product of a special time for modern Mississippi country blues. Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson soaked up the music of their father, Memphis legend Jim Dickinson, and absorbed the North Mississippi legacy while playing and shaking it down in the juke joints with their blues ancestors. R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Otha Turner and their musical families were at their peak, making classic records and touring the world. Eventually, Luther (guitar, vocals) and Cody (drums, vocals) formed the North Mississippi Allstars and pioneered their own brand of blues-infused rock and roll.The North Mississippi Allstars released their debut album, Shake Hands With Shorty, in the spring of 2000. Their debut proved to be a success and earned them a Grammy nomination for "Best Contemporary Blues Album." After earning two more Grammy nominations in the same category for 51 Phantom (2001) and Electric Blue Watermelon (2005), the North Mississippi Allstars earned the reputation as one of the most intriguing acts to emerge from the loam of Southern blues and roots rock. (more)
Spotify sampler
Recordings
Most Recent
NMO (2015): The North Mississippi Allstars newest release is team effort with New Orleans Blues/Jam impresario Anders Osborne. The NMO title stands for North Mississippi Osborne. As far as I can tell, this album is only available as an MP3 digital download. It's not ideal, especially if you're like me and like to read the liner notes. I don't know why that is, but the album is excellent. It's a little mellower than the average NMA release. Osborne handles much of the vocals, but there's no missing Luther Dickinson's guitar that is front and center on most tracks. Osborne is no guitar slouch either and the interplay between the two guitars makes this an album (collection of computer files) worth looking into.
Others
Shake Hands With Shorty (2000)
51 Phantom (2001)
Polaris (2003)
Hill Country Revue: Live at Bonnaroo (2004)
Instores & Outtakes [EP] (2004)
Electric Blue Watermelon (2005)
Screwed & Chopped [EP] (2005)
Keep On Marchin' — Live In Burlington, VT (2007)
Mississippi Folk Music — Volume One (2007)
Hernando (2008)
Boulderado — Live At The Fox (2008)
Do It Like We Used to Do (2009, 2CD+DVD live set)
Live In The Hills - Bootleg (2010)
Keys To The Kingdom (2011)
World Boogie Is Coming (2013)
