The Dead's "Tennessee Jed" is an inspired kickoff to Levon Helm's first proper rock & roll record in a dog's age. His 2007 comeback from throat cancer, Dirt Farmer, was mainly an acoustic affair. Electric Dirt — recorded with Larry Campbell and the rest of the band from Helm's Midnight Ramble gigs at his Woodstock, New York, home — wants to party: Helm struts his slippery shell-game groove on "Jed" and works it deftly throughout. But he digs deepest here with his voice, which veers between soulful stoicism and boozy yowl. The best moment is "Growing Trade," about an invincible old-schooler in a crazy line of work. It might be about farm subsidies, or outlaw-bud cultivation — or, just possibly, the music biz.

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WILL HERMES

(Posted: Jun 29, 2009)