With Still Shakin’, North Mississippi Allstars hearken to their roots in more ways than one. Its title a specific reference to their debut album, 2000’s Shake Hands With Shorty, this third New West Records LP of theirs is also a direct extension of the fundamental concept of the band as a rotating cast of like-minded musicians, at the foundation of which are brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson.
These sibling co-producers of the album have, not surprisingly, invited more than a few guests to participate. Names such as R. L Burnside and his son Duwayne may be familiar to fans from previous releases (in fact the latter was a formal member of the group circa 2003’s Polaris album).
And on “K.C. Jones (Part II),” Widespread Panic’s keyboardist Jo Jo Hermann and the late Phil Lesh’s son Grahame add to a convivial atmosphere. The participation of these players and singers, in addition to that of current NMA multi-instrumentalists Joey Williams and Rayfield “Ray Ray” Hollman, also serves to reaffirm the Dickinsons’ credibility, not only as musicians but also as musicologists.
Yet, in the end, the impact of Still Shakin’ is somewhat lacking, in part because its low-key informality pales next to the concerted ambition of its predecessor, 2022’s Set Sail. Still, the album is certainly more than acceptable as a starting point for another similar reinvention of roots.
While the Dickinsons’ devout yet celebratory loyalty to their Mississippi Hill Country influences has remained unquestioned, a notable repetition in their choice of material has occurred over the years. Fortunately (and to their great credit deliberately) they avoid that mistake here, “Pray for Peace (Part II),” is one such tune never recorded by the group (though it alludes to their studio 2017 album). It’s of a piece with the infectious party atmosphere of “Preachin’ Blues.”
That jumpy selection gives way to a deceptively stolid “Stay All Night,” wherein an instrumental interlude conjures some genuine atmosphere. Similarly, a hypnotic chant titled “My Mind Is Rambling”–featuring Sharisse Norman, who was an official Allstar on the Up And Rolling LP of 2019– radiates a dream-like air accentuated by long, intertwining guitar lines.
The generally relative brevity of the cuts here–all but two are in the three to five minute range–aids in NMA avoiding monotony, even when the progression threatens stasis on, of all tracks, this title song. But the performance’s (overly?) spontaneous gestation may be at fault, rather than any of the musicianly skills or chemistry involved. “Poor Boy” is then a sharp contrast as it cooks from the outset and stays hot for its spirit-of-the-moment duration.
The whole ensemble dances along for the course of “Don’t Let The Devil Ride,” adding to a slowly percolating momentum arising over the course of this approximately forty-eight minutes. Meanwhile, the slow simmer of “Write Me A Few Lines” unfolds at just the proper point in this eleven-track sequence.
Inexplicably, however, this piece appears only as a CD and digital bonus cut; it might have been better included on all configurations to pace every version of this record to its unexpectedly moody conclusion. “Monomyth (Folk Hero’s Last Ride)” mixes electric slide guitar plus piano and vibes for an evocative piece unlike anything else on this LP (or the NMA discography for that matter).
As such, it contradicts any mistaken impression that the Dickinson Brothers are merely recycling predictable ideas for Still Shakin’.
