Luther Dickinson effectively became a bonafide musicologist with the 2015 release of Blues & Ballads A Folksinger’s Songbook Volumes I & I. Ever since, whether working within the relative confines of the North Mississippi Allstars, on solo projects such as the aforementioned title or collaborations live and in the studio with the unique likes of Sisters of the Strawberry Moon, the elder son of the late Memphis musician/producer Jim Dickinson has embarked on one expedition after another in exploration of the roots of his Hill Country musical heritage.
Thus, it’d be a misnomer to categorize Magic Music for Family Folk as simply a collection of kids’ songs. This despite Dickinson’s own self-professed dedication of this project to his offspring, the fanciful cover art of the album, or the sing-song quality of such tracks as the (knowingly-titled) opener “Are You Sure” from the esteemed canon of the Staple Singers.
Arrangements for tracks like “Crawdad” contain as much careful detail and warm camaraderie as any recording on which Luther’s appeared in recent years, right down to his 2019 collaboration with Colin Linden Amour. In keeping with that craftsmanship, the gentility with which it’s rendered here is a distinction unto itself, by an array of accompanists including bassist Amy LaVere and drummer Sharde Thomas, both of whom collaborated with Luther in 2012 for the likewise largely acoustic folk-blues ensemble The Wandering.
“Old Blue” may be the first overt tip of this effort is more than what first meets the ears. Familiar to dyed-in-the-wool Byrds fans from its inclusion in 1969’s Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde, it’s hardly so literal-minded as McGuinn and company’s interpretation. Rather, like its traditional counterparts here such as “Old Hen,” its slowly compelling arrangement and performance puts it right in line with a tracklisting that includes a pair of songs by Mississippi John Hurt.
Accentuating the understated impact throughout, “Chicken” and “Pay Day” sandwich John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom.” It’s no surprise Luther’s sibling Cody appears for the latter–on piano no less!–or that the appearance of such material will prime listeners of any age for immersion in the expansive bodies of work by those iconic artists. And the authors of “They All Ask For You,” New Orleans’ funksters supreme, the Meters, are noteworthy too.
It’s perfectly fitting the sole original of Luther Dickinson’s Magic Music for Family Folk appears as the last of the eleven cuts. Delicately sweetened as much by Lilly Mae Rische’s fiddle as the voices of Luther’s daughters and mother, it’s an illustration of how this LP can work not only as a bonding agent across generations but also as a starting point for excursions into the foundation(s) of American music.
