Levon Helm

Levon Helm was arguably the heart and soul of the Band, and his back porch Arkansas drawl gave many of the Band's best songs their strong sense of history and character. Unfortunately, his solo career has been decidedly hit or miss. This set combines Helm's 1977 Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars with 1980's American Son, and while it is nice to have both in one package, the fact that both albums ended up being somehow less than the sum of their parts is still apparent. Not that there aren't fine high points on both outings -- "Milk Cow Boogie" from the RCO All-Stars sounds like the Band never broke up at all (which in a way they didn't, they simply collapsed like a tent without enough poles in 1976) while "Hurricane" and "Watermelon Time in Georgia" from American Son have a wise and assured air -- but too many of these tracks feel like glorified bar band jams without the passion and conviction Helm brought to the best of his work with the Band. It's all very competent stuff, but lacks spark, and given the talent involved (Dr. John, the MG's, Paul Butterfield, Fred Carter, Jr.), that seems pretty amazing. Raven Records has also issued a best-of the solo Helm years as The Ties That Bind which includes the key tracks from these two outings along with the most successful tracks from Helm's other post-Band projects, and it gains power in the recombined format, sounding like the album that Helm should have made all along. It remains the best introduction to Helm's solo endeavors. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide