Over two nights in September 2019,
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, after months of triumphant touring, took to the stage of the Levon Helm studio in their adopted hometown of Woodstock, New York. They had played the room often, together and apart:
Campbell served in
Helm's Midnight Ramble band for decades, while
Williams worked as a vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the revolving ensemble. These 12 tracks offer a loose, joyous program consisting of audience favorites, covers, and unreleased songs. The duo performed with a crack band that included
Jesse Murphy on bass, tuba, and harmony vocals;
Brian Mitchell on keyboards, accordion, and harmonica; and veteran drummer
Justin Guip.
Campbell, the
Django Reinhardt of American roots music, plays guitars, banjo, and pedal steel and harmonizes with
Williams, who also plays rhythm guitar.
They open with a rollicking read of
Rev. Gary Davis's gospel rag "Let Us Get Together," albeit through the lens of a NOLA second-line parade during Maris Gras.
Williams lets the lyric burst from her lungs with brimming joy as bumping tuba, brushed drums, wailing harmonica, and
Campbell's biting vamps and leads carry it home. On the gritty R&B number "Surrender to Love," the interplay between
Mitchell's B-3 and
Campbell's guitar melting together Delta blues, rockabilly, and Stax funk, buoy
Williams' lead vocal. He sits down at the pedal steel for a country boogie read of
Louis Prima's bawdy "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" as
Williams offers the wily double-entendre lyrics with warmth and humor.
Campbell goes head-to-head trading fours with
Mitchell's accordion in a Texas-swing interlude. "Angel of Darkness" was co-written by
Campbell and guitarist
Jorma Kaukonen and recorded by the latter's
Hot Tuna in 2011. While the original is a scorching blues-rocker, this version, with
Williams' soaring lead vocal way up front, weds country, Chicago blues, Southern gospel, and garage rock. There is a deeply moving version of
John Sebastian's 1965
Lovin' Spoonful hit, "Darling Be Home Soon." The grain in
Williams' voice reflects longing as it expresses nearly overwhelming desire. The set's biggest surpise is the mutant cover of
Duke Ellington's "Caravan." An instrumental, it showcases
Campbell's command of early swing, honky tonk, zydeco, rockabilly, and even surf.
Mitchell's accordion adds textural and harmonic dimensions with his accordion. The frontline duo combine vocals to deliver an Americana-cum-soul duet on the stunning "When I Stop Loving You," co-written by
Campbell with
William Bell. The guitarist claims the lead vocal in a choogling version of
Johnny Cash's "Big River" before closing with the stomping, swampy "It Aint Gonna Be a Good Night," with
Williams delivering her finest performance on the set.
Live at Levon's! is not only a standout in the couple's catalog, it reveals them as the finest roots music duo since
Delaney & Bonnie. ~ Thom Jurek
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