MUSIC SCENE
Levon Helm
MUSIC REVIEWED BY BOB JONES

Dirt Farmer - Vanguard Records

With three lead singers and songwriting second to none, The Band was one of the most influential American rock groups of the late '60s and early '70s. They seemed to ground rock music and may have made flowery poet's blouses on musicians passé. With the passing of Richard Manuel and Rick Danko, and with Levon Helm's diagnosis with throat cancer in the 1990s, it seemed that anything resembling a sound like The Band was lost. But Helm, best

known for his lead vocal on The Night

They Drove Old Dixie Down, has recovered enough to record a new record for Vanguard Records. It will not disappoint anyone. It's filled with traditional Appalachian songs as well as a few newer songs from friends and fans. Helm's vocals are much more fragile than the poor but proud style he used in The Band, but they are just as expressive as ever. The song selection and arrangements make Dirt Farmer as good as any Americana record released in the last decade. It's hard to pick out standout tracks on this record but on first listen the Steve Earle song "The Mountain" and the A.P. Carter tune "Single Girl, Married Girl" have been rearranged- but not necessarily updated- to sound fresh. Helm's daughter Amy (of the band Olabelle) lends harmony vocals throughout. Vanguard has a reputation to uphold, because they truly have been a vanguard of traditional music for 50 years. With Dirt Farmer, Helm has added another feather to their cap.