New album: World Boogie Is Coming
Artist: North Mississippi Allstars
Label: Songs of the South
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Just when it looks like the blues as a genre is ready for the history books, the North Mississippi Allstars come along and let it shine through a different light.
Although they’ll never get the hipster vote because they’re so bourgeois they actually have a bass player, the NMA should be as popular as the Black Keys and Jack White. Luther Dickenson (guitar/vocals), Chris Chew (bass) and Cody Dickinson (drums) have found a way to keep the blues fresh while retaining the beautiful rawness that original crawled out of the Delta all those years ago.
Mixing in original tunes and those by the likes of Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside, “World Boogie Is Coming” is dripping in tasteful bluster. Robert Plant even contributes some scorching harmonica to “JR” and “Goat Meat”. Throw in plenty of studio chatter and field recordings of whatever happened to be happening, and you’ve got the best blues rock album of the year.
Blues standard “Rollin’ and Tumblin’ ” is reworked into a futuristic gallop, sounding as if it’s some sort of new folk tune written years after all the computers shut down for good. R.L. Burnside’s “Snake Drive” is given a smoother, groovier reading than the original that is chill bump inducing. Kimbrough’s “Meet Me in the City” rides on a groove of Jimmy Reed proportions, and Luther Dickinson’s “Turn up Satan” slams and punches in equal parts swamp and punk. Sharde’ Thomas turns in a sultry vocal for Willie Dixon’s “My Babe”, and if Radiohead were to play the blues it’d probably sound like the version of Bukka White’s “World Boogie” that’s included here.
“World Boogie Is Coming” is all good all the time. Do your ears a favor and pick up a few copies.
Classic album: Viva Hysteria — Live At The Joint
Artist: Def Leppard
Label: Frontiers Records
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
As far as middle of the road pop rock goes, Def Leppard’s 1987 album “Hysteria” might as well be “The Dark Side of the Moon”. There were lots of hairspray and a bit of spandex involved, but these songs are crammed with more hooks than a fish with short term memory issues.
Def Leppard’s 1983 album “Pyromania” made them worldwide superstars, even in a year when The Police (“Synchronicity”) and Michael Jackson (“Thriller”) were hitting their respective career peaks. Before the band could follow-up “Pyromania,” drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a drunk driving accident. Instead of replacing Allen and moving on, they gave him time to recuperate and develop a new drum kit that would allow him to remain in the band.
A four-year absence in the entertainment industry was an eternity even in the pre-information overload of the late 1980s. By the time “Hysteria” finally came out, an “Apocalypse Now”-ish myth had built up around the turmoil surrounding its creation.
The first track released to radio was “Women,” a hard rock song that seemingly picked up where earlier hits like “Photograph” left off. Although “Women” is a great song, it didn’t automatically propel “Hysteria” to stratospheric sales.
It wasn’t until “Pour Some Sugar On Me” was released the following year that “Hysteria” became a commercial juggernaut and brought the band droves of new female fans. If there can be a downside to a worldwide hit single, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” also began the erosion of Def Leppard’s hard rock fan base. Almost overnight, Def Leppard went from being perceived as a great rock band to a pop band.
Old school Leppard fans may have winced at “Hysteria” tunes such as the power ballad “Love Bites”, but at the time they were gargantuanly outnumbered by the millions of new fans who ate up them with very large spoons. Eventually seven singles would be released from the album, including a remixed “Rocket”, “Animal” and “Armageddon It”. Robert “Mutt” Lange’s tedious, multi-layered production style was an updated version of Roy Thomas Baker’s work with Queen. “Hysteria” possessed a powerful, almost mechanical punch that inspired Bono to revamp U2’s sonic palette.
The “Viva Hysteria” album/DVD set is a well-executed live run through of the classic album with a few “Pyromania” tracks and rarities thrown in for good measure. The band is in great form, and not being locked in to Lange’s maniacal perfectionism in a live setting makes the songs sound a little more human. Joe Elliot is still in great voice, and guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell expertly recreate the album’s signature musical passages.
Who knows if Def Leppard have another “Hysteria” in them. Until that verdict is in, this is a very entertaining package that any longtime fan of the band will enjoy.
Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase Jon’s book “Making Gravy in Public” at Amazon.com and jondawson.com.