It's Backfirin' Now - The North Mississippi Allstars
Things About Comin' My Way - Ndidi Onukwulu
Stop and Listen - John Hammond
Honey Babe Let The Deal Go Down - Bruce Cockburn
Bootlegger's Blues - Oh Susanna (arrangement by Van Dyke Parks)
Sitting On Top Of The World - The Carolina Chocolate Drops
Too Long - Danny Barnes
Jailbird Love Song - Jim Byrnes
That's It - Bill Frisell
Please Baby - Madeleine Peyroux
Livin' In A Strain - Kelly Joe Phelps
Lonely One In This Town - Steve Dawson
The World Is Going Wrong - Geoff Muldaur and the Texas Sheiks
We Both Are Feeling Good Right Now - Del Rey
Somebody's Gotta Help You - Bob Brozman
He Calls That Religion - The Sojourners
I've Got Blood In My Eyes For You - Robin Holcomb
'I knowed the Mississippi Sheiks. Yessir. Walked ten miles to see them play. They was high-time...makin' them good records, man.' - Muddy WatersBetween 1930 and 1935, The Mississippi Sheiks were the top selling group of i... more »ts time, largely due to their hit Sitting On Top if the World, also recorded by Cream, Bill Monroe, Howlin' Wolf and many more.Recorded and produced by Juno Award winning producer Steve Dawson, in Seattle, Vancouver, Ottawa and New York, this project fulfills a dream of Dawson's to pay tribute to the work of this unique and historic group.Features exclusive recordings by Bruce Cockburn, Madeleine Peyroux, John Hammond, Kelly Joe Phelps, The North Mississippi Allstars, Oh Susanna with Van Dyke Parks, Bill Frisell, Robin Holcomb, Jim Byrnes, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and more. Each track is specifically for this project and does not appear on any other release.Rather than recreate the music, Dawson looked for artists who could re-interpret the music in interesting and refreshing ways. Ranging from traditional to the avant-garde, this tribute stands above others in quality and scope, and features artists well-known in blues, jazz, pop and rock genres.Dawson enlisted a house band throughout the Seattle sessions to provide a coherency to the recordings. Featuring jazz legend Wayne Horvitz (John Zorn, Zony Mash) playing keyboards, Keith Lowe (Bill Frisell/Fiona Apple) on bass and Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Peter Gabriel) on drums, this incredible band backed up a number of the artists in a marathon session.The CD is beautifully packaged and designed by Juno Award winning artist John Rummen, with extensive liner notes and information on all the performers.« less
'I knowed the Mississippi Sheiks. Yessir. Walked ten miles to see them play. They was high-time...makin' them good records, man.' - Muddy WatersBetween 1930 and 1935, The Mississippi Sheiks were the top selling group of its time, largely due to their hit Sitting On Top if the World, also recorded by Cream, Bill Monroe, Howlin' Wolf and many more.Recorded and produced by Juno Award winning producer Steve Dawson, in Seattle, Vancouver, Ottawa and New York, this project fulfills a dream of Dawson's to pay tribute to the work of this unique and historic group.Features exclusive recordings by Bruce Cockburn, Madeleine Peyroux, John Hammond, Kelly Joe Phelps, The North Mississippi Allstars, Oh Susanna with Van Dyke Parks, Bill Frisell, Robin Holcomb, Jim Byrnes, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and more. Each track is specifically for this project and does not appear on any other release.Rather than recreate the music, Dawson looked for artists who could re-interpret the music in interesting and refreshing ways. Ranging from traditional to the avant-garde, this tribute stands above others in quality and scope, and features artists well-known in blues, jazz, pop and rock genres.Dawson enlisted a house band throughout the Seattle sessions to provide a coherency to the recordings. Featuring jazz legend Wayne Horvitz (John Zorn, Zony Mash) playing keyboards, Keith Lowe (Bill Frisell/Fiona Apple) on bass and Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Peter Gabriel) on drums, this incredible band backed up a number of the artists in a marathon session.The CD is beautifully packaged and designed by Juno Award winning artist John Rummen, with extensive liner notes and information on all the performers.
"I've been a fan of the Mississippi Sheiks since I first heard their recording of "Sittin' on Top of the World", a tune covered by nearly everyone from Cream to every bluegrass band in the world. This is a fitting tribute in that the covers come from so many different corners of the music scene. I'm sure the Sheiks would approve, songsters that they were."
Solid tribute!
Slidewell | Lambertville, NJ | 12/09/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Too many tributes are hit or miss affairs. Often the tunes are too reverentially recorded, causing one to wonder what's the point, or the interpretations are so eclectic that the collection as a whole is unlikely to appeal to the average listener. This one, however, really hits the mark. Great performances from top to bottom, each with its own unique flavors but with a continuity that makes the project succeed as a whole. The quality and timelessness of the songs are well demonstrated. Anyone who likes American roots music will find this one a real treat."
My current favorite!!
Kate Lynde | Boise ,Idaho | 12/19/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I heard some cuts off this cd on Acoustic Cafe plus some originals from the Mississippi Sheiks themselves. The original sheiks the were a funky bluegrass/blues group from a few decades ago. There fiddle player is astounding! This cd is a nice variety of people interpreting the Sheiks music...people like Kelly Joe Phelps, Madeline Peyroux, and Geoff Muldaur. I especially like Steve Dawson. This an album I play regularly. It is gritty, funky, soulful and fun."
It's About Time
C. Nicholas Morrison | 12/18/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For years I've wondered how such an influential group could remain so obscure. This CD doesn't answer that question but it goes a long way toward introducing The Sheiks to a broader audience. At least I hope it does and I'm giving it 5 stars for that reason. This is not a consistently great record (but how many are?) though I'd say that a good, solid 60% of the content here is wonderful.
But if you buy this disc and like ANY of it, do yourself a favor and explore The Mississippi Shieks' original work. As nice as John Hammond's version of 'Stop And Listen' is, it doesn't hold a candle to the amazing original recording. Same goes for Geoff Muldaur's excellent version of 'The World Is Going Wrong.' If anybody can get inside The Shieks' music, it's Muldaur...and he does it! Still, the original is in a whole 'nother world. And Geoff would probably tell ya the same thing.