Listening to Hernando by North Mississippi Allstars gives insight into the emotional/spiritual confusion of growing up in the South. This disc opens with “Shake,” which encourages a young girl to “shake what your mamma gave you” and is a hearty invitation to give the boys something juicy to lust after. Put to an early ZZ Top guitar groove, this one’s got strip club soundtrack material written all over it. But two songs later, “Soldier” extols the honor in being a soldier of the Lord. Down South, apparently, you can have your backfield in motion one day, and chase the devil back to hell the next. North Mississippi Allstars are anchored by Luther (guitar, mandolin, vocals) Dickinson and his brother Cody (drums, sampling) Dickinson. Both are sons of famed Memphis producer, Jim Dickinson. The best song on this lively 11-song set is titled “I’d Love to be a Hippy.” This slow blues cut begins wonderfully with these lines: “I’d love to be a hippy/But my hair won’t grow that long,” and is an easygoing meditation on the hippy lifestyle. It’s followed up with “Mizzip,” a hand-clapping, roof-raiser. North Mississippi Allstars may be more than a tad conflicted, but they sure play cool music.
-- Dan MacIntosh
