The wooded hills of North Mississippi used to have a country blues sound all of its own. In raunchy jukejoints, raw, drone-based boogie-woogie once echoed, as performed by Junior Kimbroughs and RL Burnside, among others. The trio North Mississippi Allstars (consisting of, among others, two sons of pianist and producer Jim Dickinson) not only honors this tradition, but also translates it to a young
… rock audience with influences from southern rock, funk and even hip hop. In Europe the group never really broke through and it is not surprising that this is once again tried with their fourth studio album with a special European release with two bonus tracks. The group rocks tight, smooth and with a rough edge and among a number of prominent guests are not the least, such as singer (and fan) Lucinda Williams and rapper Al Kapone. The latter in particular knows how to give original twists to this swinging and adventurous blues rock album with his pointed raps. (MR)more