Little Sammy Davis takes centre stage for the old R&B hit Fannie Mae, which dates, I suspect, back to the Ronnie Hawkins days, and Slim Harpo’s Baby Scratch My Back, while
Sheryl Crow is front and centre for the Carter Family’s No Depression In Heaven and Buddy Miller gets to do his own Wide River to Cross. The traditional Deep Elem Blues is handed to Larry Campbell, while Teresa Williams does the full country bit on Time Out For The Blues and Levon’s back for A Train Robbery.
That vocal chopping and changing could, under other circumstances, come across as an all-star celebrity occasion, but the ensemble, with egos deposited in the cloak room, comes across as a group of talented friends who coincidentally happen to be rather fine musicians getting together to have a bit of fun, sing and play and enjoy each other’s company.
It’s the kind of vibe that you can only create by extensive playing together (as noted the Woodstock Rambles date back to 2004) and the core group creates an environment where the guests slot in seamlessly. Helm’s work behind the drum kit drives things along, the instrumental line up are equally at home in the mountains and down among the bayous, the horns are a delight and while the half-dozen Band numbers form an unavoidable core (you wouldn’t really expect Levon to ignore them, would you?) they’re reinterpreted rather than reproduced.
Ramble at the Ryman may not be the same as hearing Levon Helm play for a few dozen guests at in Woodstock, but now he’s gone you’re not going to get that opportunity anyway. One of the greats, recorded in what’s arguably the right setting.
Some links and reviews:
Reviewed in Paste: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/05/levon-helm-ramble-at-the-ryman.html?utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Paste_Lifeline%2005-05-11_5_5_111
at Jambands: http://www.jambands.com/reviews/cds/2011/05/24/levon-helm-ramble-at-the-ryman
and No Depression: http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blogs/levon-helm-ramble-at-the
On YouTube, Ophelia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcgxuGiI7wU
Anna Lee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJMMUZOq3OU
and The Weight:: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BAp5BxpIR8
The Ramble revisits the Ryman: