10947 - THE WORD - SOUL FOOD (2015)

THE WORD
''SOUL FOOD''
MAY 4 2015
54:19

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1 New Word Order 03:33
2 Come By Here 05:40
3 When I See The Blood 05:35
4 Play All Day 03:48
5 Soul Food I 05:17
6 Sourl Food II 05:39
7 You Brought The Sunshine 03:18
8 Early In The Moanin' Time 03:00
9 Swanp Road 04:31
10 Chocolate Cowboy 03:03
11 The Highest 03:51
12 Speaking In Tongues 03:26
13 Glory Glory 03:30

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Robert Randolph/Pedal Steel Guitar, Vocals
John Medeski/Keyboards, Vocals
Luther Dickinson/Electric Guitar, Dobro
Cody Dickinson/Drums Washboard
Chris Chew/Bass Guitar, Vocals
Ruthie Foster/Lead Vocals On 3
Amy Helm/Lead Vocals On 13
Jennifer Hartswick/Vocals On 2

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REVIEW/AMG
THOM JUREK
Fourteen years elapsed between the Word's raucous self-titled debut offering and Soul Food. All the members of this supergroup - pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph, keyboardist John Medeski, and the North Mississippi Allstars Chris Chew, Cody and Luther Dickinson - have had full and demanding careers in the interim. Randolph was only 22, had played one gig outside his church, and had just one released track when he joined his bandmates in 2000. Soul Food was cut in New York and at Willie Mitchell's Royal Studio in Memphis, and picks up where its predecessor left off. Musically, this is a much tighter record -- none of these tunes get to the six-minute mark -- but the raw, joyous, exploratory spontaneity remains; it's just more focused. Blues, R&B, and gritty roots rock & roll are plentiful here, as is a more formal approach to gospel, but there are other sounds too. On the first soul-drenched single (and album opener), "New Word Order," gritty Southern R&B meets the prophetic Pentecostal tradition of Randolph's spiritual home, the Church of God in Christ. On "Come by Here," a squalling minor-key juke joint blues runs head-on into pre-Thomas Dorsey African-styled chants in a chorale of male voices. Randolph's solo screams atop Medeski's spiraling B-3 and keyboards and Luther's razored fills. Suggesting a young Mavis Staples, Ruthie Foster guests on "When I See the Blood," a straight-up Southern gospel romp. Randolph and Medeski trade fills and fours throughout, and the entire clattering rhythm section gets as funky as it does gritty. The first of the two parts of the title track is framed inside a breezy Polynesian vibe, kissed by soul, while the second crosses funky R&B guitar with martial snares and breaks, punchy organ chords, and Randolph's many-toned pedal steel coloring in the frames. It eventually becomes a rave-up where the spirit of the Allman Brothers Band (whose second "home" was playing N.Y.C.) meets the groove of Otha Turner's Fife and Drum Corps at Stax! "You Brought the Sunshine" is straight-up reggae with a dubwise Chew bassline framing a gospel piano, bluesy pedal steel, and jazzed-up B-3 and guitar vamps. "Swamp Road" feels like Booker T. & the MG's playing in a shake shack. Luther's tough jazz-blues solo above Cody's in-the-pocket beat steals the cut. Amy Helm duets with Luther on the set closer, "Glory Glory." What begins as a rowdy country boogie becomes a Southern-fried country gospel stomper, adorned by Wurlitzer piano, hard-swinging acoustic six-string with flatpicking breaks, brushed toms and snares, thumping standup bass, and wily pedal steel. It's a fitting sendoff because it is an affirmation of all the Word express as a band. All these years on, Soul Food may sound as revolutionary as its predecessor, but it is stronger and far more adventurous musically.

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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
John Duffy
A blues/jam rock supergroup consisting of brothers Cody and Luther Dickinson, and Chris Chew (collectively, they formed North Mississippi Allstars), John Medeski (one-third of jazz-funksters Medeski, Martin & Wood), and gospel/pedal steel phenomenon Robert Randolph (of the famed Sacred Steel series on Arhoolie and his Family Band). Long a dream project of the Dickinsons and Medeski, the gospel album finally came to be with the inclusion of Randolph, a player whom the two had long admired and tried to seek out, though he, 22 years old and a law clerk by day, had recorded only one commercially available tune ("Without God," included on Sacred Steel Live). By the time Dickinson and Medeski tracked him down through Steve Earle sideman/producer Eric Roscoe Amble, Randolph had played only one non-church gig, at New York's famed Bowery Ballroom. Three days of jamming and recording in October 2000 at MMW's Brooklyn studio yielded The Word, released in July of the following year. The group toured briefly that summer in support of the album. Given how busy each of the collective’s various members subsequently became, they didn’t record a follow-up for 14 years. Soul Food, featured all the original members plus guest vocalists Ruthie Foster and Amy Helm, was released by Vanguard in May of 2015.

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10946 - THE WORD (2001)

THE WORD
''THE WORD''
JULY 31 2001
48:10

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1 Joyful Sounds 03:45
2 Call Him By His Name 04:11
3 Blood On That Rock 03:22
4 Without God 06:52
5 Waiting On My Wings 08:20
6 At The Cross 02:40
7 I'll Fly Away 07:19
8 I Shall Not Be Moved 02:37
9 Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning 02:02
10 Untitled 06:07
11 Joyful Sounds (Reprise) 00:49

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Robert Randolph/Pedal Steel Guitar
John Medeski/Keyboards
Luther Dickinson/Electric Guitar
Cody Dickinson/Drums, Washboard
Chris Chew/Bass Guitar

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REVIEW/AMG
Thom Jurek
This purported one-off "gospel" project involving jazz organist John Medeski (yep, that one), pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph (of Arhoolie's Sacred Steel series fame), and the North Mississippi Allstars (featuring both Cody and Luther Dickinson -- Jim Dickinson's swamprocking kids -- as well as bassist Chris Chew) was the most welcome and unexpected instrumental release of 2001. And as it burns through rock, blues, soul, funk, and of course, grooved-out gospel music with a take no prisoners attitude and a down in the grease feeling, it may be a candidate for album of that year, period. The story is long and complex but here's a thumbnail: Medeski, Martin & Wood were touring with the North Mississippi Allstars and both camps were playing the Sacred Steel series on Arhoolie on their buses. The idea for a gospel record was born and Randolph was chosen on the power of one tune: "Without a God" from the Sacred Steel Live album. Strange occurrences led to the band finally coming together, but the evidence here suggests that perhaps indeed Divine Providence was involved. Musically, the songs come from the Sacred Steel proceedings as well as public domain libraries. Tracks such as "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning," "I Shall Not Be Moved," "Without God," "At the Cross," and "I'll Fly Away" are familiar to listeners who've never so much as set foot inside a Protestant gospel church in their lives. But even if the titles are familiar, these arrangements, courtesy of Randolph, are not. They delve deep into the spirit of the music while caring little for its proper construction; any emotions that make their way into the mix are encouraged by the members of The Word. It is not uncommon for anger and despair to sidle up to joy and hope in these proceedings and be transformed into something like country shuffle blues or funky rural gospel that borders on the darkest of Delta blues. Randolph's pedal steel is firmly in the forefront, kept company by Medeski's chunky fills and comping and the dirty blues guitar of Luther Dickinson. When you add Chris Chew's pop-'em-in-the-pocket basslines that point everything in the right direction just ahead of the beat drums by Cody Dickinson (or his eerie, funky washboard rubbing), this is the roots band to beat. As funk and gospel roll out past the midnight hour from the halls of salvation to sin and back again, listeners understand implicitly the inherent contradictions in American music, that while the Puritan thought and body police may try to stomp out everything that looks, sounds, tastes, and feels good, there's the spirit of the Almighty encouraging the human part of us to enjoy creation. And enjoy you will, from the tip of your head to the balls of your feet -- until they get sore from falling around a dancefloor for a few hours -- or until you reluctantly slip this sacred slab back into its case and back onto the shelf. Music like this has no reason to turn back on itself and ask questions; it's too busy affirming the wondrous truth of how great it is to be alive. This set may dig from the well of the historical past, but it's a groundbreaking synthesis of American groove music.

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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
John Duffy
A blues/jam rock supergroup consisting of brothers Cody and Luther Dickinson, and Chris Chew (collectively, they formed North Mississippi Allstars), John Medeski (one-third of jazz-funksters Medeski, Martin & Wood), and gospel/pedal steel phenomenon Robert Randolph (of the famed Sacred Steel series on Arhoolie and his Family Band). Long a dream project of the Dickinsons and Medeski, the gospel album finally came to be with the inclusion of Randolph, a player whom the two had long admired and tried to seek out, though he, 22 years old and a law clerk by day, had recorded only one commercially available tune ("Without God," included on Sacred Steel Live). By the time Dickinson and Medeski tracked him down through Steve Earle sideman/producer Eric Roscoe Amble, Randolph had played only one non-church gig, at New York's famed Bowery Ballroom. Three days of jamming and recording in October 2000 at MMW's Brooklyn studio yielded The Word, released in July of the following year. The group toured briefly that summer in support of the album. Given how busy each of the collective’s various members subsequently became, they didn’t record a follow-up for 14 years. Soul Food, featured all the original members plus guest vocalists Ruthie Foster and Amy Helm, was released by Vanguard in May of 2015.

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WEBSITE

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