Keys to the Kingdom is the most personal recording in the
North Mississippi Allstars catalog. That said, "personal" doesn't mean "quiet." It was recorded at their home Zebra Studios in the aftermath of
Cody and
Luther Dickinson's father, musician, producer, and Southern music historian
Jim Dickinson's passing and the birth of
Luther's first child. The words "Produced for Jim Dickinson" that adorn the album's back sleeve offer a hint as to the album's sound. The metallic sheen that permeated 2008's
Hernando has been stripped away to make room for the most stripped-down recording since the band's debut album,
Shake Hands with Shorty. The sounds here have been informed by
Cody and bassist
Chris Chew's side project,
the Hill Country Revue, and
Luther's involvement with the
Black Crowes and the
South Memphis String Band. The latter released the Grammy-nominated
Home Sweet Home. Also nominated for a Grammy (and influential here) is
Onward & Upward, cut by the brothers under the moniker of
Luther Dickinson & the Sons of Mudboy, a few days after their father's funeral. "This A'Way" kicks things off with a raw, bluesy, barroom rocker à la
the Rolling Stones (circa
Exile), with
Spooner Oldham's pounding upright piano keeping time through the changes just under the blazing guitars, the crackling snare, and the hi-hat. "Jumpercable Blues" is a rowdy, pissed-off, down-home blues with
Gordie Johnson's guitar teaming with
Luther's. "The Meeting" is swampy, gutbucket, gospel blues starring
Mavis Staples.
Ry Cooder guests with his trademark slide guitar on the stellar "Ain't No Grave," in which
Luther sings, "I would hope to be as brave as he was/ On judgment day/Ain't no grave can hold his body down...." Alvin Youngblood Hart -- also a member of the
South Memphis String Band -- guests on harmonica and vocals on the strolling backporch blues of "Ol Cannonball." The clamoring "New Orleans Walkin' Dead" is a declamatory boasting stomp with
Hart screaming on harmonica; it humorously celebrates zombie love. The set closes with the easy groove "Jellyrollin' All Over Heaven," a celebration of eternal life with
Chew's bumping bassline countered by
Cody's popping snare and
Luther's dirty-assed slide guitar, before a solo
Oldham piano coda takes them out.
Keys to the Kingdom may have been recorded in response to death and birth but it is, more than anything else, a celebration of all that
Jim Dickinson held dear in life and music, which are, after all, the same thing. ~ Thom Jurek