For the remainder of 2009 we will be featuring albums that meant a lot to us this decade. I have really enjoyed spending quality time with my record collection and not just what is new and current. One thing this collection will not be is all-encompassing. We will be deliberately leaving out some of the universal favorites (Kid A, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Funeral, etc) because you’ll see them everywhere, and the last thing we want to do is state the obvious.

Instead, this collection will very much an outlet for us to share/discuss our favorites over the past 10 years with a focus on albums that we feel have been overlooked in the lists we’ve seen roll out this far.

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Levon Helm | Dirt Farmer (2007)

Levon Helm is a man who’s made herculean contributions to rock and roll. Anyone that’s spent time with Music from Big Pink and The Band know exactly what I mean by that. Helm’s musical career could have ended with The Last Waltz, he pursued acting, dabbled in solo output, and, on occasion, tried to get The Band back together.

Fast forward nearly 30 years after The Last Waltz, Levon Helm overcomes throat cacner and the the likelihood that he will never sing again. With the help of his daughter and long-time Dylan accomplice, Larry Campbell, Helm begins a recording session in now famous barn that houses the legendary Midnight Ramble sessions. The rest is history. Dirt Farmer earned Helm a Grammy for “Best Traditional Folk Album” rejuvenating an artist, career, and spirit.

I had the good pleasure of seeing Levon Helm at Chicago Theatre in June of this year. Though the show was sadly under attended, Levon Helm and his outstanding band delivered well past the three hour mark. My wish is that I’ll someday make the trip to Woodstock, N.Y., timing my travel to afford a stop at Cooperstown along the way, and stand amongst the cramped, yet comfortable confines of a live Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm’s barn. I understand this wish has a diminishing window of time to make a reality. Until then, Dirt Farmer remains one of my favorite albums of the past decade. It’s an album that, like its creator, ages like fine wine, the longer you spend with it the more it rewards you.

Best Live Show I Saw: Chicago Theatre (2009)
Best Tracks: “Poor Old Dirt Farmer” “The Girl I Left Behind” “Got Me A Woman” “A Train Robbery”
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Buy: Levon Helm – Dirt Farmer

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