Luther Dickinson’s concept for Dead Blues is not all that implausible. After all, in the earliest days of the Grateful Dead, blues constituted a healthy proportion of their repertoire, most of which stage presentations were led by the late Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKernan. And even as the psychedelic warriors morphed over time, songs sourced in the genre were regular setlist inclusions, both in original form (“U.S. Blues”) and as covers (“Smokestack Lightning”).
Thus, in this Strolling Bones Records release, lively readings of songs by Bo Diddley a/k/a Elias McDaniel (“Who Do You Love”) reside comfortably next to those of Willie Dixon (“Little Red Rooster”), among others. As with the latter blues icon’s “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” there is no caricatured singing from featured vocalist Datrian Johnson.
Johnson admirably refuses to succumb to histrionics anywhere on Dead Blues and thus avoids self-parody even when he interprets a tune so over-played as the aforementioned “Who Do You Love.” The team of Mem Mod Productions cements the favorable impression(s) with uncluttered instrumentation there, reinforcing how the varied array of material mirrors the range of contributors to this thirty-eight-some minutes.
Alongside The Hold Steady’s Steve Selvidge on guitar and Royal Studios Memphis’ Boo Mitchell on synth, Luther Dickinson himself integrates guitars, bass, and keyboards into the mix, while his brother Cody drums. Plus, the two siblings’ current North Mississippi Allstars bandmate, Ray Ray Holloman, twirls lines from a pedal steel on “Mystery Train.”
On “Sitting on Top of the World,” Datrian Johnson adroitly integrates his vocals with the ghostly omnichord of Paul Taylor and Grahame Lesh’s lead guitar. Luther’s singing co-star on this outing, a renowned Appalachian who’s shared the stage with Warren Haynes and John Medeski, also fully asserts himself during a busy arrangement of “One Kind Favor,” where the horns of saxophonist Art Edmaiston and trumpeter Marc Franklin add to the genuinely earthy nature of the performance.
Throughout, the connection is palpable between the musicians and the songs. While these recordings boast no frills, there’s a definite presence to the audio, an antique quality befitting songs from the Thirties, as mixed by Luther and mastered by Justin Perkins.
And while some of these takes, like “Minglewood Blues,” with New Memphis Colorways, may not sound recognizable from Grateful Dead setlists, the lively musicianship is informed with authenticity anchored in Luther’s twisting, turning slide. As a result, by the end of the ninth cut, “High Heeled Sneakers,” the album title Dead Blues turns somewhat ironic. Luther Dickinson, Datrian Johnson, and company have found multiple ingenious means to enliven tried and true culls from the extant wealth of available blues songs and, in doing so, the troupe indirectly complements the iconic band that covered them with equal parts reverence and affection.
That this record is subtitled Vol. 1 holds out the very real promise of a sequel every bit as satisfying, not to mention illuminating, as this one.
