''Electric Blue Watermelon'' is the fourth studio album by American band North Mississippi Allstars. It was released on September 6, 2005, through ATO Records. Recording sessions took place at Ardent Studios and at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee and at Zebra Ranch in Independence, Mississippi. Production was handled by Jim Dickinson. It features contributions from Lucinda Williams, Robert Randolph, Al Kapone, Othar Turner, Jimbo Mathus,

Ben Nichols Benjamin Nichols (1920 – November 24, 2007) was a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Cornell University and mayor of Ithaca, New York. He was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and as such was one of few Soci ...

, Jimmy Davis, Jim Crosthwait, Jim Spake,

Steve Selvidge The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), Fr ...

, Susan Marshall, Mary Lindsay Dickinson, John C. Stubblefield,

R.L. Boyce R.L. Boyce (born August 15, 1955) is an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist born and raised in Como, Mississippi, United States. Life and career He is a protege of Hill country blues musicians including R. L. Burnside, and Mississi ...

, Sharde Turner, Aubrey Turner, Rodney Evans, Otha Andre Evans, Whitney Jefferson, Robert "Tex" Wrightsil, Harold "Sundance" Thomas, Roger Lewis, Kevin Harris, Efrem Towns, Terence Higgins, Julius McKee, Revert Andrews, Jamie McLean and Jim Dickinson. The album made it to number 180 on the ''Billboard'' 200, topped the Top Blues Albums and peaked at number 8 on the

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. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the

48th Annual Grammy Awards The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 were ...

, but lost to Delbert McClinton's ''Cost of Living''.

Critical reception

''Electric Blue Watermelon'' was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on eleven reviews. Tom Sinclair of '' Entertainment Weekly'' found the album "it's sort of like The Allman Brothers Band jamming with the P-Funk All Stars, with

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

guesting". AllMusic's Steve Leggett praised the album, saying: "what they really are is a 21st century version of a good old Southern rock band who know all too well that the hills of North Mississippi are alive with real folk music". Adrien Begrand of '' PopMatters'' said that the album "expertly combines elements of the previous three albums with a few cool new additions, making for not only the most diverse concoction of blues and rock the band has recorded to date, but also their best album so far". Veteran critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

said: "They've learned to lilt, or else agreed to let their daddy show them how" and selected two songs: "Hurry Up Sunrise" and " Bang Bang Lulu".

Track listing

Personnel

* Luther Dickinson – guitar, vocals * Cody Dickinson – drums * Chris Crew – bass, vocals * Jim " East Memphis Slim" Dickinson – producer, guest artist * Pete Matthews – recording * Stewart Whitmore – editing * Stephen Marcussen – mastering * Tom Foster – artwork * Emily Philpott – design, layout * Chris Tetzeli – management * Coran Capshaw – management * Lucinda Williams – guest artist * Robert Randolph – guest artist * Al Kapone – guest artist * Othar Turner – guest artist * Jimbo Mathus – guest artist *

– guest artist * Jimmy Davis – guest artist * Jim Crosthwait – guest artist * Jim Spake – guest artist *

– guest artist * Susan Marshall – guest artist * Mary Lindsay Dickinson – guest artist * John C. Stubblefield – guest artist *

– guest artist * Sharde Turner – guest artist * Aubrey Turner – guest artist * Rodney Evans – guest artist * Otha Andre Evans – guest artist * Whitney Jefferson – guest artist * Robert "Tex" Wrightsil – guest artist * Harold "Sundance" Thomas – guest artist * Roger Lewis – guest artist * Kevin Harris – guest artist * Efrem Towns – guest artist * Terence Higgins – guest artist * Julius McKee – guest artist * Revert Andrews – guest artist * Jamie McLean – guest artist

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2005 albums Albums produced by Jim Dickinson North Mississippi Allstars albums