Electric Blue Watermelon

Performer: North Mississippi Allstars
Artist: Lucinda Williams; Dirty Dozen Brass Band; Robert Randolph
Engineer: Pete Matthews; Jeff Powell; Roland Janes; Kevin Houston; Pete Matthews; Jeff Powell; Roland Janes
Producer: Jim Dickinson; Jim Dickinson
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: North Mississippi Allstars: Chris Chew (guitar); Cody Dickinson, Luther Dickinson. Personnel: Luther Dickinson (vocals, guitar); Chris Chew (vocals); Cody Dickinson (drums). Additional personnel: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, East Memphis Slim, Jim Spake, Jim Mathus, Jimmy Davis , John Stubblefield, Al Kapone, Lucinda Williams, Othar Turner, R.L. Boyce, Robert Randolph , Rod Evans, Steve Selvidge, Susan Marshall, Ben Nichols, Jim Crosthwait, Mary Lindsay Dickinson. Audio Mixers: Jim Dickinson; Pete Matthews. Liner Note Author: Little Lorenzo. Recording information: Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN; Sam Phillips Studio, Memphis, TN; Zebra Ranch, Independence, MS. Animation: Tom Foster. Photographers: Adam Smith; Jeff Kravitz; Bob Bayne; William Eggleston; Wyatt McSpadden; Jim Marshall ; Kevin Houston ; Sid Selvidge. ELECTRIC BLUE WATERMELON furthers the notion that the North Mississippi Allstars have become something of a rolling history of 20th-century musical forms. Deeply rooted in Delta blues of the heavily rhythmic, modal variety pioneered by Charlie Patton (the band covers Patton's "Mississippi Bollweevil" here) and practiced by latter-century artists like R.L. Burnside, the Allstars spread their wings to encompass old-school rock & roll, country, electrified blues rock, '60s psychedelia, hip-hop, and a dash of alt-rock sensibility. Typically uneasy musical partners go remarkably well together in the Allstars world. Even the deepest roots music (there are two Otha Turner compositions, originally written for fife and drums) and a nod to contemporary country (Dickinson's duet with Lucinda Williams on "Hurry Up Sunrise") make it into the mix, proving the Allstars to be one of the most versatile and wide-ranging bands around.

Entertainment Weekly (No. 838, p.141) - "...[H]ealthy dollops of hip-hop, funk, soul, and country...." - Grade: B plus Uncut - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's the uptempo hip hop of 'No Mo' and playful pop of 'Hurry Up Sunrise', featuring Lucinda Williams, that shine brightest." Dirty Linen (p.87) - "[They] celebrate the joys of juke joint blues. The trio's roots-heavy, Otha Turner-meets-Furry Lewis sound is augmented by guests..."

Brothers Cody and Luther Dickinson are the sons of producer/songwriter and all-around Memphis legend Jim Dickinson. Equipped with their father's blues-based sense of eclecticism, during the 1990s the brothers honed their chops playing in punk bands, doing session work for the likes of the Replacements and Billy Lee Riley, and getting hands-on coaching from blues legends like R.L. Burnside. This amazing pedigree has made the North Mississippi Allstars one of the most confidently free-wheeling groups on the jam band circuit, embodying a grittier, tougher sound than other more hippie-inspired bands within the scene's ranks.

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