Ramble At the Ryman

iTunes Review

Every week at his Woodstock home and studio, Band drummer Levon Helm entertains folks with his Midnight Ramble. It’s a casual, intimate show that features Helm with his band and a variety of guests. He’s brought his ramble to the road and this recording is from his performance at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium during the fall of 2008. Multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell leads the band. This set features guests Sam Bush, Sheryl Crow, John Hiatt, and Buddy Miller. The tracks range from Band classics, “The Weight,” “The Shape I’m In” and “Chest Fever” to New Orleans-style R&B versions of “Back to Memphis,” “Fannie Mae” and “Baby Scratch My Back.” His voice is in surprisingly good form. Helm beat throat cancer, but his voice has become even more ragged but right over the years. There’s a downhome authenticity to the performances here. The sawing of the fiddle during “Anna Lee,” the deep country of “No Depression In Heaven” and the rockabilly-meets-Appalachia of “Time Out for the Blues” are in a world of their own.