Comments on: LEVON HELM > Electric Dirt http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/07/levon-helm-electric-dirt/ American Songwriter Magazine Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:05:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: Matthew Zuckerman http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/07/levon-helm-electric-dirt/comment-page-1/#comment-3114 Matthew Zuckerman Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:25:40 +0000 http://www.americansongwriter.com/?p=16232#comment-3114 Levon's family worked the land with their bare hands and he surely needs no approval from the Americana police to sing about what is important in this world to him. The album has a much wider focus than Dirt Farmer, which was focused on the music he inherited from his folks. Golden Bird and White Dove would have sat comfortably on that album, but this is not just part two. The recycling of the word 'dirt" is a nod in that direction, but the title also embraces "Electric Mud", the late 1960s Muddy Waters album, and the blues is much more prominent on this album. (including two songs by Muddy). Complacent? Tapping age-old themes is a life-long challenge that is the enemy of complacency. Three cheers (and four and a half stars) to Levon for fighting the good fight. Levon’s family worked the land with their bare hands and he surely needs no approval from the Americana police to sing about what is important in this world to him.

The album has a much wider focus than Dirt Farmer, which was focused on the music he inherited from his folks. Golden Bird and White Dove would have sat comfortably on that album, but this is not just part two. The recycling of the word ‘dirt” is a nod in that direction, but the title also embraces “Electric Mud”, the late 1960s Muddy Waters album, and the blues is much more prominent on this album. (including two songs by Muddy).

Complacent? Tapping age-old themes is a life-long challenge that is the enemy of complacency. Three cheers (and four and a half stars) to Levon for fighting the good fight.

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