North Mississippi Allstars look forward to looking back

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By Jason Andreasen

You’re a trio of musicians with a loyal following and multiple Grammy nominations under your belt. You’ve toured with everybody from The Black Crowes to Bob Dylan over the twelve years you’ve been together. You’ve been featured in a film called We Have Arrived Bonnaroo 2004. You’re a year removed from releasing your fifth studio album, and you’ve even served as three-fifths of an instrumental gospel band.

Any normal band would drop in a superfluous greatest hits record at about this point, complete with a semi-cheesy title and ten arbitrarily arranged tracks likely chosen by record execs.

Luckily, the North Mississippi Allstars are not a normal band.

On Thursday, January 15, the North Mississippi Allstars will ride into Baton Rouge to play the Varsity Theatre in support of the 12-year retrospective package, Do It Like We Used to Do, which won’t be released to the public until five days later.

Okay, so it’s got the semi-cheesy title; however, that’s about the only thing that is predictable on this painstakingly thorough examination of the band’s incredible career. It features two CDs and 27 tracks of live recordings, a DVD including a full-length documentary about the band, and a 24-page book. While quantity is certainly in this project’s corner, its quality is what makes it so complete and what sets it apart from most releases recapping a band’s journey.

“It’s really cool, man. It tells the whole story of different members coming in and out. It took me three years to put together,” explained Luther Dickinson, the band’s vocalist and guitarist. “I’m really proud of it. It covers our very first show in ‘96 up to the tour we did last year. It was supposed to be a ten-year retrospective but I kept working on it. I listened to a lot of mistakes on those tapes.”

Dickinson surely did a good bit of reminiscing while pouring through the twelve years of recorded performances, as anyone going through an old box of family photos would.

The North Mississippi Allstars (NMAS) are comprised of Dickinson, his brother Cody on drums, and boyhood friend Chris Chew on bass. However, that is not where the family ties end with the band. Nearly every NMAS record since 2001’s Polaris has been recorded and produced by Luther and Cody’s father, Jim Dickinson, at his famed Zebra Ranch Studios.

During that time, the elder Dickinson watched a good bit of maturation on the part of his sons and their band - both as players and as songwriters. While the band is beloved for their embrace of the Hill Country Blues legacy, their recent foray into power-trio blues-rock (a la Cream or The Jimi Hendrix Experience) on last year’s album, Hernando, has deepened their fan base and solidified the band’s reputation as true artists.

“At this point in my life, I’m just really interested in honest recordings,” said Dickinson. “[We don’t] record anything we couldn’t play naturally. It’s great fun making records and doing overdubs and experimenting, but I think our fans like what we do live, so the smartest thing to do is stay true to that.”

For Luther Dickinson, part of his development as a musician comes from working with a wide array of other players. Over the years, he and NMAS have played or collaborated with everybody from the legendary R.L. Burnside to Robert Randolph to Kid Rock’s bassist Aaron Julison. For instance, Dickinson has become so comfortable playing with the guys of The Black Crowes that they made him an official member.

“As far as collaborating goes, that’s just something I’ve always been interested in. It comes with just hanging out on the road and exploring the possibilities,” said Dickinson before turning his attention to his involvement with The Black Crowes.

“I’ve really learned a lot about playing second guitar. It’s a whole ‘nother trip,” explained Dickinson. “With the Allstars, I’m playing the dominant, main guitar, but with the Crowes, I’m playing complimentary guitar.”

Between NMAS’ 12 years and the trio’s various collaborations, there is a solid, bedrock foundation for the band to build on from. In fact, Dickinson spends much of his time on the road writing and has a plethora of material already being cultivated in preparation for the band’s next trip to Zebra Ranch. So far, that material is trapped on Dickinson’s cell phone.

“Voice memos are such a great way to record ideas. I just got finished cataloging everything since Hernando and there’s something like 48 some-odd grooves and songs,” he explained.

While there are no cell phone recordings on Do It Like We Used to Do, Dickinson does admit that some of the cuts are fairly raw. Then again, North Mississippi Allstars’ ability to complement rough edges with precision is a good portion of what gives the band the charm for which they’ve become known.

There are three great ways to get a good look at the band’s unique style, sound, and where their evolution has brought them: visit NMAllstars.com and pre-order the new retrospective ($19), check them out at the Varsity on Thursday night (tickets are available for $16 in advance), or do both.

Originally Published: Issue 750 - January 14, 2009

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