Tuesday, April 14, 2009

LEVON HELM RETURNS WITH ELECTRIC DIRT

I was surprised to read that Levon Helm is about to release a new album, Electric Dirt. It comes out June 30, about two years after his last release Dirt Farmer. That album is a classic, you should check it out; like that one, Electric Dirt is produced by Larry Campbell, who used to play in Dylan's band.

Levon's story is so incredible: he was suffering from throat cancer, it didn't look good for him, he was out of money, about to lose his farm, and since he didn't write songs for The Band, he didn't have huge royalty checks coming in. He started hosting "Midnight Rambles," parties at his place to raise money to afford another month's mortgage, and they ended up doing so well, he was able to get out of financial trouble, and he's taken his "Rambles" on the road. And his health has improved. I got to see one of his shows at the Beacon Theater, it was really incredible. You should check him out if he comes to your town, and by all means, check out his Dirt records.

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