Electric Dirt

Electric Dirt
Studio album by Levon Helm
Released	June 30, 2009
Studio	Levon Helm Studio, Woodstock, New York
Genre	Roots rock, country rock, Americana, R&B
Length	43 min
Label	Dirt Farmer/Vanguard
Producer	Larry Campbell
Levon Helm chronology
Dirt Farmer (2007) Electric Dirt (2009)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Boston Phoenix	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
Mojo	[6]
PopMatters	8/10 [7]
Record Collector	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]
Uncut	[11]

Electric Dirt is the final studio album from American musician Levon Helm, released in 2009. It is the follow-up to his Grammy-winning 2007 album Dirt Farmer . In Uncut 's list of the 150 best albums between 2000 through 2009, Electric Dirt was listed 80th. It won the first ever Grammy Award for Best Americana Album, an inaugural category in 2010. ^[12] The track "Growin' Trade", cowritten with Larry Campbell, was Helm's first cowritten song since his debut solo album, Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars .

Track listing

1. "Tennessee Jed" (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter) – 5:58
2. "Move Along Train" (Roebuck Staples) – 3:22
3. "Growin' Trade" (Levon Helm, Larry Campbell) – 4:22
4. "Golden Bird" (Happy Traum) – 5:11
5. "Stuff You Gotta Watch" (Muddy Waters) – 3:38
6. "White Dove" (Carter Stanley) – 3:29
7. "Kingfish" (Randy Newman) – 4:24
8. "You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had" (Muddy Waters) – 4:01
9. "When I Go Away" (Larry Campbell) – 4:32
10. "Heaven’s Pearls" (Anthony Leone, Byron Isaacs, Fiona McBain, Amy Helm, Glenn Patscha) – 4:09
11. "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" (Richard Carroll Lamp, Willy E. Taylor) – 3:25

iTunes bonus track

12. "That's Alright" (Arthur Crudup) – 4:53 (from Souvenir Vol. 1) ^[13]

Personnel

• Larry Campbell - producer, guitars, violin, backing vocals
• Amy Helm - backing vocals
• Theresa Williams - backing vocals
• Jim Weider - guitar
• Brian Mitchell - keyboards
• Howard Johnson - Baritone sax, Tuba
• Clark Gayton - trombone
• Jay Collins - tenor sax
• Erik Lawrence - saxophones
• Steve Bernstein - trumpet
• Byron Isaacs - bass

Production notes

• Cover art conception: Levon Helm
• Cover art production: Michael (Mike) DuBois
• Photos: Ahron R. Foster
• Layout and design: Carrie Smith

References

1. "Reviews for Electric Dirt by Levon Helm". Metacritic . Retrieved May 8, 2025.
2. Deming, Mark. "Review: Electric Dirt". AllMusic . Retrieved February 13, 2010.
3. Drozdowski, Ted (June 23, 2009). "Levon Helm - Electric Dirt". The Boston Phoenix . Retrieved May 8, 2025.
4. Collis, Clark (July 1, 2009). "Electric Dirt". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved May 8, 2025.
5. Lewis, Randy (July 1, 2009). "Album review: Levon Helm's 'Electric Dirt'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 8, 2025.
6. Electric Dirt, as implied, is a continuation of "Dirt Farmer's" themes, packing a sharper jolt. [Jul 2009, p.94]
7. Metivier, Michael (July 7, 2009). "Levon Helm: Electric Dirt". PopMatters . Retrieved May 8, 2025.
8. Staunton, Terry (July 25, 2009). "Electric Dirt - Levon Helm". Record Collector . Retrieved May 8, 2025.
9. Rolling Stone review
10. Cataldo, Jesse (June 16, 2009). "Review: Levon Helm, Electric Dirt". Slant Magazine . Retrieved May 8, 2025.
11. "Uncut review". Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
12. "Review: Grammy Awards: List of Winners". The New York Times . February 1, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
13. That's Alright by Levon Helm & The Crowmatix, September 10, 1998, retrieved May 6, 2023