Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger

by James Luther Dickinson, Jim Dickinson

Overview

Hot on the heels of Fishing with Charlie and Other Selected Readings, his deeply mystical series of spoken word readings of various heroes of vernacular culture, comes Jim Dickinson the hoodoo music man on Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger. This is a fitting part two, given the immediacy and raw soul in music he covers. (Yep, not an original in the bunch -- thank you Jesus, because, as Tav Falco says, "there's too many of them already.") Here are forgotten, truth-telling songs written in the rock, country, soul, blues, gospel and even samba vernaculars -- the beat-conscious languages of people who have often been excluded from the discussion, either by governments, race, class, or record companies -- by non-legends who should be (and are, among their small aesthetic constituencies) like Bob Frank, Terry Fell, Jim Isbell, Shari Paulus, J. Mathus, Eddie Hinton, Collin Wade Monk, Greg Spradlin, Chuck Prophet, Bill Nettles, Luiz Bonfa, and a few others. This is shack-shakin' music, full of deep R&B with Southern soul overtones ("Hadacol Boogie" and "Can't Beat the Kid, Pt. 2"), country boogie ("Rooster Blues" and "Truck Drivin' Man"), honky tonk balladry ("Violin Bums" and "Somewhere Down the Road"), and Brazilian ghetto samba ("Samba de Orfeo"). Dickinson, who plays keyboards and sings, is accompanied by drumming son Cody and guitar-slinging son Luther (with a bit of help from Alvin Youngblood Hart on both "Love Bone" and "Can't Beat the Kid, Pt. 2"), acoustic bassist Amy LaVere, Tommy Burroughs on violin, Mark Sallings on harmonica, Jim Spake on baritone sax, and Jimmy Davis and Reba Russell on backing vocals. Fans of the original Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen will go nuts for this, as will fans of roots music done with excellence (and a certain irreverence for pristine studio procedure), and lovers of cheap beer and whiskey. Actually, anyone drawn to what is truly and gloriously vulgar in working-class culture and who loves music will celebrate this as a classic -- in much the same way we hear the great records of Hinton, Jerry Lee Lewis, and even Dickinson himself (Dixie Fried). Amazing. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	05/30/2006
Label:	Memphis International
UPC:	0823862201220
Rank:	116539

Tracks

1. Red Neck, Blue Collar
2. Truck Drivin' Man
3. Violin Bums
4. Out of Blue
5. Love Bone
6. Hadacol Boogie
7. Rooster Blues
8. White Silver Sands
9. Can't Beat the Kid, Pt. 2
10. Somewhere Down the Road
11. Samba De Orfeo

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jim Dickinson   Primary Artist,Vocals,Keyboards
James Luther Dickinson   Primary Artist
Jimmy Davis   Vocals (Background)
Reba Russell   Vocals (Background)
Paul Taylor Choristers   Bass (Electric)
Luther Dickinson   Banjo,Guitar
Mark Sallings   Harmonica
Jim Spake   Sax (Baritone)
Amy LaVere   Bass (Acoustic)
Tommy Burroughs   Violin
Alvin Youngblood Hart   Guitar
Cody Dickinson   Percussion,Drums

Technical Credits

David Less   Audio Production,Producer
Jimmy Davis   Audio Production
Ry Cooder   Liner Notes
Jim Dickinson   Producer
Terry Fell   Composer
Andre Michel Salvet   Composer
John Robinette   Cover Illustration
Shari Paulus   Composer
Bob Bayne   Photography
Greg Spradlin   Composer
J. West   Composer
Jim Isbell   Composer
Kevin Houston   Engineer,Mixing
Bill Nettles   Composer
Brooke Barnett   Graphic Design
Bob Frank   Composer