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Editorial Reviews

Although they may mix elements of hip-hop, metal, and alternative rock into their repertoire, the North Mississippi Allstars are really a power blues trio whose members lean heavily on the kind of Mississippi folk-blues numbers they learned firsthand from the likes of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Othar Turner, an approach that has given the NMA a solid grounding in local blues history as well as a solid sense of place, and by understanding and embracing the local North Mississippi modal drone approach, the Allstars have inherited a perfect springboard into a loose, ragged, but powerfully tight sound that somehow manages to seem both reverently traditional and completely contemporary at the same time. This set chronologically collects live highlights of the band's first ten years together over the course of two discs and adds a third DVD disc that documents the band's history. It's powerful stuff, rocking like Mississippi thunder and then turning as delicate as Mississippi rain at times, and in many ways, this might be the best release from the band yet, particularly since it captures the NMA in their natural habitat -- live and on fire. Highlights abound, including a wonderful version of Mississippi Fred McDowell's "I'm in Jail," a stark take on the NMA original "Sugartown," and an eye-opening stomp through J.B. Lenoir's wry "Down in Mississippi," but the best of all is a quick, blisteringly ragged version of Charley Patton's "Mississippi Boll Weevil Blues." Stripped down and raw, it thunders along on Cody Dickinson's drums, throwing dynamics to the wind until the end, when it winds wistfully away on Luther Dickinson's slide guitar work. It's a wonderful rendition, and it reestablishes the past in the present without doing damage to either, a balancing act that the NMA do as well as anyone currently on the rock or blues scenes. This set will burn your house down. Guaranteed. Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

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