CD Reviews
    brought to you by
    Blues On Stage
    "Keeping the Blues Alive Award" Achievement for Blues on the Internet
    Presented by The Blues Foundation
    music bar
    North Mississippi All-Stars
    Do It Like We Used To Do
    (Songs Of The South Records, #0031490032)
    Review Date: Oct 2009

    by Garry Weeks
    When not working with his second outfit the Black Crowes, guitarist Luther Dickinson squeezes in all the gigs he can with his own band the North Mississippi All-Stars. Jumping from one tour bus to another doesn't seem to bother him as he lives for those moments he can play on stage.

    He also serves as the All-Stars archivist. He has made it a priority to sift through hours of tapes to compile what he feels are the group's best performances. With the workload he's got, there is no telling when his band will release a cd of new material.

    The fans won't be miserable. The double cd package of "Do It Like We Used To Do" is a retrospective look at the group's career from 1996 to the present. There is enough Dixie fried, swamp rock, hill country blues on these tracks to shake your fanny too.

    The focus is always on Luther's slide guitar playing that is as slippery as a water mocassin. Supported by brother Cody on drums and Chris Chew on bass, The North Mississippi All-Stars brew a concoction of blues as heavy as bourbon and as dirty as plantation mud.

    Ranging with tracks recorded at New York' Beacon Theater to the Bonnaroo Festival, these cds document what the All-Stars do best: Playing the blues and spreading the news.

    The audience is made up of college age kids. But they love it to death when Dickinson breaks out the low-bow guitar on Charlie Patton's "Mississippi Bollweevil." The band's energy is unabatable on a fast and furious "Goin' Down South." The 2004 Bonnaroo Festival recording captures a sweat drenched "Po Black Maddie/Skinny Woman" that surely must have been a crowd pleaser as it evokes hip shaking rhythms taken from a heritage of Delta stomp.

    Although it's nice to see others jam with these guys like their father Jim Dickinson, Duwayne Burnside and R.L. Boyce, this band works best in a trio format. Taken from a Beacon Theater 2006 performance, their reading of Jimi Hendrix' "Hear My Train A-Comin" is almost letter perfect with Dickinson's leads waxing modern day psychedelia.

    And it get's better. Included is a dvd that is a documentary on the band discussing their upbringing. You see film clips of fife master Othar Turner. And a glimpse of how Mississippi Fred McDowell influenced Luther's slide guitar playing.

    Now you know what they mean when they World Boogie Is Coming.


    "This review is copyright © by the writer and Blues On Stage: www.mnblues.com, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without permission." Copyright reuse notice: If you would like to reprint or use this review please include the above copyright notice, contained within the quotation marks, PLUS this statement: "Used with permission." Then send an email to Ray at: mnblues@aol.com indicating how you are using the review or the website page address it will be appearing on. Thanks!

    Buy this CD NOW (or other CDs):
    Your purchase through the Amazon.com links at the end of each review, or by simply clicking on the Amazon banner (below) to order this or many other products from Amazon, helps to support this website as well as the featured blues artist.

    Shop at Amazon.com

    More CDs:

    music bar

    Click on this banner to get you new low percent credit card:
    Amazon.com Platinum Visa Card


    THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! You can help support this blues website by making a contribution (click on the banner below for details). Or mail a donation to: Ray Stiles % Blues On Stage, PO Box 582983, Mpls, MN 55458. Thanks!
    Amazon Honor System Click Here to Pay Learn More


    Web Hosting & Design Logo Web Hosting & Design: CLICK HERE for Web Design SPECIAL, get your own website for just $75. The most affordable web hosting and design services available. Click Here to find out how you can host your current site at Blues On Stage, or how I can help you design your own website!

    Web Hosting & Design Logo If you would like your CD reviewed, please send TWO (2) copies of your CD to:

    Blues On Stage
    PO Box 582983
    Minneapolis, MN 55458-2983

    E-mail Ray Stiles with any questions.

    music bar

    E-mail gif Ray Stiles at: mnblues@aol.com

    Table of Contents:
    [Home Page] [NEW Discussion Board] [Calendar] [Advertise Your Site] [Submit CD] [Store]
    [TC Blues Musicians] [TC Blues Clubs] [TC Blues Jams] [Blues Links]
    [New Reviews] [Live Reviews] [Interviews-Features] [CD Reviews]
    [Blues Profiles] [Site Awards] [Jukebox] [Photo Gallery] [Memorial] [Spotlight Archives]
    [Website Design & Hosting] [Featured Websites & Members]

    blues ring logo Previous | Next | List | Random
    This Blues Ring site is managed by mnblues@aol.com
    We build websites
    Find out how

    Copyright © 1995 - by Ray M. Stiles & Blues On Stage
    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. Blues On Stage is a ® Trademark of Ray Stiles.