New West

Rollicking, raw and teeming with palpable punk energy one minute, laid back and burning with the tranquil beauty of a southern sunset the next, Luther Dickinson's new solo album, Rock 'n Roll Blues, will be released March 18. Luther is best known as the lead guitarist and vocalist for boogie and blues-rock innovators North Mississippi Allstars and has recorded with an amazing array of musicians throughout his impressive career including Robert Plant, Levon Helm, Beck, Ry Cooder, Mavis Staples, Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, Lucero, Jon Spencer among others. Since he first made his recording debut at 14 playing guitar on The Replacement's Pleased To Meet Me he has become widely known both as a talented go-to musician and producer with five Grammy nominations to prove it.<br/> <br/>More in line with his South Memphis String Band records or his two Grammy-nominated solo albums than with the North Mississippi Allstars, Rock 'n Roll Blues as Luther puts it is "folk music with juke-joint drums and lots of harmonies." Essentially an autobiography set to music, the 10-track LP traces Luther's journey from excitable teen growing up in rural Mississippi to tour-van vet and showcases his acutely observant songwriting and superb guitar playing.

Black Vinyl, etched side D.

Earle Steve: Townes (Clear/Ltd) [Gatefold / 2 Vinyl LP]

Earle Steve & The Dukes: Guy (Red/Orange) [Gatefold / 2 Vinyl LP]

Blue vinyl.

Som titeln antyder är nya plattan en hyllning till läromästaren och vännen Jerry Jeff Walker, som dog hösten 2020, 78 år gammal. <br/><br/>Med "Jerry Jeff" kompletterar Steve Earle den serie hyllningsplattor som inleddes med 2009 års "Townes" (Townes van Zandt), fortsatte med 2029 års "Guy" (Guy Clark) och som nu avslutas med "Jerry Jeff".<br/><br/>2021 gav Steve Earle dessutom ut "J.T.", en fin men smärtsam hyllningen till sonen Justin Townes Earle, som dog 2020, endast 38 år.<br/><br/>"The records were recorded and released in the order in which they left this world. But make no mistake - it was Jerry Jeff Walker who came first," says Earle.<br/> <br/>Earle was 14 when he first heard Walker. His high school drama teacher gave him a copy of "Mr. Bojangles," Walker's classic ballad about an unforgettable character he met in a New Orleans jail. After Earle moved to Nashville in the 1970s, he had the opportunity to get to know Walker, who enlisted him as his designated driver.<br/>"There's a tendency to think of Jerry Jeff around a relationship to one song," Earle says, referring to "Mr. Bojangles," which was covered by everyone from Bob Dylan to Sammy Davis Jr. "He was also such a great interpreter of other people's songs. But my main purpose in recording this album was to remind people that he wrote a lot of fucking great songs."

Earle Steve & The Dukes: Terraplane (Gold) [Vinyl LP]