On his second album since battling cancer, the only American in The
Band seems positively robust. “Where’s the dignity in a crop that you
raise to burn?” muses a farmer who turned to growing marijuana in
“Growin’ Trade”. The only Helm original, it’s also the catchiest tune
on Electric Dirt. Not that the Grateful Dead (“Tennessee Jed”)
and Randy Newman (“Kingfish”) numbers are short of sublime. Daughter
Amy sings harmony and Allen Toussaint’s horn arrangements drop some New
Orleans into the jamboree. Electric Dirt would be a gas even if
it weren’t from an unforgettable voice that was nearly silenced.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2009.