JD Simo & Luther Dickinson
Do The Rump!
***and1/2 out of *****
Two guitar maestros got together to deliver an homage to the blues as JD Simo & Luther Dickinson join forces for the first time on Do The Rump! While the title and packaging may suggest a 50's sock-hop soundtrack with gimmicky dance steps, the debut album from this duo is nothing but deep hill country blues.
Both artists are well established, Simo as a solo artist who has also supported everyone from Jack White to Beyoncé, while Dickinson runs The North Mississippi All-Stars. The pair met while playing with Phil Lesh, during his 'Dead Blues' show and they instantly hit it off over their love of the genre. This first collaboration sees them cover the legends of hill country blues, plus a few other artists.
The first of those is the great Bobby Charles as their version of "Street People" rolls out with fuzzy guitars, revved up bass and drums. Adam Abrashoff plays drums throughout and really holds his own, especially on a rendition of JJ Cale's "Right Down There", while Simo and Dickinson take turns on guitars (sometimes dueling), bass and vocals. While the guitars may be the headliner, these songs don't function without deep bass and drums, and that locked in combo works for the whole album.
A pair of Junior Kimbrough tunes, the slow rolling "Lonesome Road" and the darker, heavier sounding "Come and Go With Me" both ease out with sweet solo's and distorted vocals. A spin through John Lee Hooker's "Serve's Me Right To Suffer" finds the most intricate call and response fret work on the album between the two while the lone original is "Come On", a marching romp that cooks.
The closing take on RL Burnside's "Peaches" is the longest track, mixing acoustic and electric playing, but it also wanders a bit too far and loses its way while the album centerpiece, Kimbrough's "Do The Rump Louise" is also extended but much more successful with top notch slide work and jammed out solos that are delightful.
Two friends getting loose in a genre they love and admire, JD Simo & Luther Dickinson's, Do The Rump! is a easy flowing collection of high octane electric blues.
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