North Mississippi Allstars – Up And Rolling (CD)

For the first single from their 10th album, North Mississippi Allstars chose "What You Gonna Do?," a song that brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson first heard on a Staple Singers album from 1965 that belonged to their dad, the late musician and producer Jim Dickinson. They brought in Mavis Staples to sing on the cover and it's a seriously rousing, funky, glorious affair—one of those tunes you could play over and over and never tire of. At some point while replaying it, though, you remember that there are 11 other tracks on the new album that also rock and roll with the same level of gutsiness and energy and, really, any of them will do the trick when you just need a reminder that real soul is still out there. Some of the tunes, like "Mean Old World," also feature guests, in this case Duane Betts and Jason Isbell, and it, too, is real and gritty—just the kind of antidote you'd want if you're having a shitty day. Some others, like "Drunk Outdoors" and "Bump That Mother," require nothing more from a listener than the desire to have a little fun, while "Take My Hand, Precious Lord," one of a pair of tracks featuring Mississippi bluesman Cedric Burnside, burns with gospel fervor. North Mississippi Allstars are inching up on their 25th year together but, somehow, even with all of that behind them, it seems like this party they've got going is just getting started.

— Jeff Tamarkin, Relix

'A forgotten roll of film was found. Shot before the turn of the century, the photographs resonate with music. The images inspired an accompanying soundtrack. The music is full of stories. The songs and stories originate in two neighboring rural counties. The cast of characters includes four families of Mississippi musicians, three generations deep, and a photographer from Texas.' - Luther Dickinson In 2017, Wyatt McSpadden found an old roll of film and tracked down members of North Mississippi Allstars to share his forgotten photographs. The images were so profound and so beautiful that they would come to inspire the latest recording, Up And Rolling. The images inspired the band to ask, 'What did the music sound like that night in 96? What does Mississippi music sound like now? What would ideally be on the push button AM/FM radio as we drove thru the hills?' The North Mississippi Allstars would return to the famous Zebra Ranch to record Up And Rolling, inspired by Wyatt's images. They gathered together, trimmed back the wisteria, and swept out the converted barn recording studio. The fired up the tube amps and old computers and began conjuring up modern Mississippi music, ancient and futuristic all at once. Telling it how it was and how they think it should be. Up And Rolling is modern Mississippi. Transcending time and space, the music reaches out into the dark of night like the wisteria vine, looking for free hearted souls to latch onto and wedge into the foundation of hate, slowly tearing down walls a generation at a time.

UPC: 607396646623
Label: New West Records
Release Date: 10.4.19
Format: CD