AntiMusic.com

Guitar player (and head of the Black Hen label) Steve Dawson is the mastermind behind this exquisite tribute to the Mississippi Sheiks, a family of performers who were very popular recording artists in the 1930s and '40s. Dawson and four other players are the backing band for the show, playing behind a host of heavy-hitters like John Hammond, Bob Brozman, Geoff Muldaur and vocal trio the Sojourners. The Sheiks worked in the blues idiom but lots of their tunes are suitable for interpretation in other Americana genres and the show is instrumentally overflowing with more than the expected slide guitar; fiddle, banjo, dobro, cornet and upright bass accompaniment affords the performers a chance to bend some of the original arrangements and put their own touch on things. Standouts include Van Dyke Park's reworking of the humorous "It's Backfirin' Now," Alvin Youngblood Hart's cover of "Livin' in a Strain," Oh Susanna's take on "Things About Comin' My Way" and with everybody on stage, the set-closing jam of the Mississippi Sheiks signature tune "Sitting on Top of the World."