(Blues, Folk, Folk-Blues, Southern Acoustic Gospel) Luther Dickinson & The Sons of Mudboy - Onward and Upward {Memphis International Records DOT 0223, USA} - 2009, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Luther Dickinson and The Sons of Mudboy: Onward and Upward (2009)

By DOUG COLLETTE,

Published: January 3, 2010

Luther Dickinson, a founding member of The North Mississippi Allstars and a guitarist recently recruited into The Black Crowes, is only one member of The Sons of Mudboy, an impromptu gathering of musicians offering a posthumous tribute to Dickinson's father, Jim. The group's name constitutes a further homage to the elder Dickinson, who fronted a band called Mudboy and the Neutrons in the 1970s. Jim Dickinson's solo recording career, rooted in Sun Studios session work in the 1960s, was in addition to studio and production work with a diverse list of musicians including Ry Cooder, the Rolling Stones, Big Star and the Replacements. Guitarist/vocalist Sid Selvidge and singer/washboardist Jimmy Crosthwait join Dickinson, along with Jimbo Mathus, Paul Taylor and Shannon McNally in a concerted effort to honor and extend the eclectic musical interests of their subject.

Its material comprised largely of traditional spirituals, Onward and Upward is no abstract devotional but a personal testament. The wavering pitch of the singing in "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" is, for example, simply a sign of the spontaneity at the heart of this project. "You Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley" is a celebration of the independent life (such as Jim Dickinson lived) as much as "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" is an ode to self-discipline—muted, to be sure, but all the more heartfelt as all the singers and players join in.

Playing guitar and singing, Dickinson also wrote two pieces of his own for Onward and Upward. These tunes are as full of feeling as familiar traditional numbers such as "Glory Glory." "Let It Roll" is an instance of last-minute inspiration on the threshold of recording, and refers to more than just the tape recorders capturing the performances three days after the elder Dickinson's passing. Composed upon the death of Luther's grandmother, "Up Over Yonder" is subdued, as if catching the musicians in a moment of collective reflection. There is never a moment here, however, about the participants alone; the focus is directed squarely at the object of their reverence and respect.

Captured in no more than three takes and mastered directly from the two-track recordings free of any post-production, the emotion in the music, like the impetus behind the sessions, is true to the moment, with no self-consciousness. Onward and Upward is a project Jim Dickinson would be proud to have been part of and, in a very real sense, he is.

Three days after the death of legendary musician and producer Jim Dickinson, his son, Luther Dickinson, gathered friends at the family Zebra Ranch studio in Independence, MS, and recorded Onward and Upward, an album of gospel songs, hymns, and blues spirituals, tracking directly to half-inch tape with no overdubs or embellishments, and the result was a no-frills and intimate testament of grief and renewal. Luther, long a member of the North Mississippi Allstars and also currently a member of the Black Crowes, dubbed the ad hoc group the Sons of Mudboy, a reference to his father's influential band Mudboy and the Neutrons. On hand were two original members of the Neutrons, Sid Selvidge (guitar, vocals) and Jimmy Crosthwait (washboard, vocals), along with Jimbo Mathus (guitar, mandolin, banjo, vocals), Steve Selvidge (guitar, Dobro, vocals), Paul Taylor (washtub bass), and vocalist Shannon McNally. The album itself is essentially a musical wake, a way to both honor and say goodbye to Jim Dickinson in the one way he would most certainly want, and it is full of muted gems like the gently sad opener, "Let It Roll" (which Luther wrote that day), a haunting version of "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning," and "Back Back Train," among others. Onward and Upward emerges as a moving tribute, an emotional goodbye, and an honest, loving photograph of a moment in time, a moment when music reaches past entertainment to become the very heart of the matter. ~ Steve Leggett

Living Blues (p.38) - "This moving album of intimate gospel songs, recorded straight to half-inch two-track tape and cut directly to vinyl, has all the poignancy one would expect from a session that was never intended to be released publicly."

Traditional southern acoustic gospel music recorded three days after the death of Jim Dickinson by his friends and family.

ABOUT THIS ALBUM:

Album Notes:

These recordings were made at Jim’s Dickinson’s Zebra Ranch Studio by friends and family called together by his son Luther three days after his death. To say that they were cathartic for all those participating would be to undervalue the music. Everyone understood that Jim was there and that despite his passing, the music can still survive.

To quote his epitaph, “I’m just dead. I’m not gone.”

-David Less

Editorial Reviews:

LUTHER DICKINSON/SONS OF MUDBOY
ONWARD AND UPWARD

Surely there is light beyond the darkness as there is dawn after the night.
I will not be gone as long as the music lingers.
I have gladly given my life to Memphis music and it has given me back a hundredfold.

from The Last Words of James Luther Dickinson

Just three days after the death of his father, Memphis (and Muscle Shoals and Miami) music legend Jim Dickinson, Luther Dickinson opened the doors to the family s Zebra Ranch studio in Independence, Mississippi and recorded Onward and Upward, an album of gospel songs and hymns over the course of a few hours. Luther, one third of the North Mississippi All-Stars and now a member of The Black Crowes, was joined by an ad hoc group dubbed The Sons of Mudboy (an homage to his late father s influential rock band Mudboy and the Neutrons) who were all close to Dickinson the elder and wished to address his loss in a musical way. The Sons of Mudboy include two veterans of the original Mudboy: Sid Selvidge (guitar, vocals) and Jimmy Crosthwait (washboard, vocals). Also on the session were Jimbo Mathus (guitar, mandolin, banjo, vocals) formerly of the Squirrel Nut Zippers and of the South Memphis String Band, Steve Selvidge (guitar, dobro, vocals) and Paul Taylor (washtub bass) as well as vocalist Shannon McNally.

Inspired by Dickinson pater familias, Luther and company duplicated the sound of mid-Century era reel-to-reel filed recordings, using only two microphones plugged directly into a two-track ½ inch tape recorder: no mixing after the fact. Ardent s John Fry mastered the tracks directly from the two track to the mother stamper from which (vinyl) pressings were sourced. Most of the songs were nailed in just one take with just a few exceptions and those were completed in no more than three takes. That s just how we do it, Luther muses.

Onward and Upward will be released on November 10 by Memphis International, the label for which Jim Dickinson, as his performing alter ego James Luther Dickinson, released his last three album, Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger (2006), Killers From Space (2007) and this year s Dinosaurs Run in Circles.

The songs are part of Luther s musical heritage. He grew up hearing Softly and Tenderly and Leaning on the Everlasting Arms at the Second Avenue Baptist Church in Memphis where his paternal grandmother played piano. He learned His Eye Is On The Sparrow from a hymnal that his father shared with him his mom, Mary Lindsay Dickinson, actually sang it to him in the hospital where her husband was being treated during his last days. Mississippi Fred McDowell s album Amazing Grace is the source of both Back Back Train and Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning and Luther had been known to perform them with the late Otha Turner who closed every show with Glory Glory, also included on Onward and Upward. Let It Roll is an original that sprang to Luther s mind at the moment he was loading in the analog tape machine on the day of the recordings. Another original, Up Over Yonder was written the day Luther s grandmother passed away.

The inspiration for the album s title came from the legendary Sam Phillips who wrote a heartfelt ode to Luther s dad a while back:

Shade of anticipation is the ever present glint in Jim D s eye.
Hearing strange noises that others let pass by.
Music that make you shout walk the backs of gospel benches,
Makes you moan yes, even cry
it be could it may be
it is Jim D s soul of sound bouncing off the sky.

Customer Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars - The sons of Mudboy - February 2, 2010
By: Steve Whiting
"The Sons of Mudboy" by Luther Dickinson and friends is one of the finest albums I've listened to in the past couple of years. Along with the accompanying album by the South Memphis Sring Band ,of which Dickinson is a member, those who enjoy real roots music will not be disappointed with either purchase. It is nice to see albums like these and those by Levon Helm available to counteract all the "crap" we are now being subjected to. If "Mudboy" isn't nominated for a Grammy, nothing should be. Dickinson's father must be proud.

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5.0 out of 5 stars - Deep from the heart - April 9, 2011
By: Kil Roi
I'll admit. I bought "Onward and Upward," by Luther Dickinson & the Sons of Mudboy, without knowing anything about it. What I did know was that Luther Dickinson can bring a guitar to life with a slide, so that's what I was expecting. I was disappointed with what amounted to an album of jug-band gospel.

But after reading the liner notes and giving the work a few more listens, it began to seep beneath the skin. The songs are tributes to Luther's dad, Jim Dickinson, a musician/producer extraordinaire, who had passed away only days before "Onward and Upward" was recorded. The session sounds hastily gathered, impromptu, with no over-dubs and do-overs. What a beautiful bitter-sweet album.

My appreciation deepened even further after viewing the DVD that comes in the North Mississippi All Stars' double live disc, "Do It Like We Used to Do." On that lengthy but riveting video is the documentary of the Dickinsons--their music, philosophy and humble story. In short, the DVD is a must-see to enhance your listening pleasure of anything Luther and his brother Cody ever recorded.

"Onward and Upward" is full of pain. But in a lovely way, it's uplifting. Thank you, Luther. Seldom has a soul touched music so deeply. No Auto-tune, no jumbo screens, no Grammy, no concert tour.

Just a stream of gospel standards with enough power to float the melodies up to heaven.

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4.0 out of 5 stars - Raw and Heartfelt - May 13, 2010
By: R. Rodriquez Jr.
I wasn't aware of the circumstances of the recording when I bought it, and was pleasantly surprised at the depth and range of styles. I consider it a great find and highly recommend.