Customer Reviews
Best Helm in years - By: Paul A. Raymond, 10 Jul 2008 
Best Helmin years this is rock with goose bumps!Its a long time since I've heard such brilliant vocals, instruments & lyrics plus backing vocals.
Dirt Farmer - By: Spider Monkey, 06 Jul 2008 
I bought 'Dirt Farmer' purely from an Amazon recommendation & I have to say that it is one of those gems that hasn't been out of my stereo since. It is definitely a grower of an album & gets better with each listen. There is a distinct country feel to this album, which is somewhat of a departure for me, butin no way is it twee or cliched. In fact I'd say this album is a cross between country & American folk, somewhere along the lines of Springsteen's Seeger sessions, but without the big band feel. Levon's voice is perfectly pitched to each story toldin the songs & I love sitting back & immersing myselfin the music & stories. The whole album is pretty good but the last track ' Wide River To Cross' really stands out for me, a beautiful way to end an album. A great album & well worth a try, I'll definitely be hunting down more from Levon to see what I can find.
he (was) with the band - By: Ms. Fiona Allen, 28 Apr 2008 how i wish i could invent a whole new superlative for this disc; i wans't even that big a fan of the band but this is a small wry, witty, work of briliiance. fantastic harmonies, violins which sound more than human, & some brilliant guitar-picking - The Dirt Farmer has it all - & then some.
Agree..agree..agree - By: I. F. Coyle, 17 Feb 2008 Couldn't agree more with the other reviews. Its just a gem of a record which sadly won't receive wide distribution. Takes a couple of hearings, but repays the effort.
I loved basic simplicity of The Band & thought they finished far too soon to no-one's great advantage. Levon's voice & rythmical sensitivity has, if anything, improved over the challenges of the years since The Last Waltz. Don't hesitate....buy it!
Remarkable album from a remarkable survivor - By: S. F. Eales, 06 Feb 2008 Normally I would hesitate to give an album 5 stars since - somehow it goes against the grain to say that any record ticks all the boxes & couldn't be improved upon. However I am delighted to make an exception for Dirt Farmer which is so goodin every respect that to award it anything less than 5 stars seems curmudegeonly. That Helm has produced such a great record is all the more remarkable since he has recovered from surgery for throat cancer to make it. And the voice, though maybe a little rougher than it used otm be isin fine shape, whether singing alone orin harmony with his daughter Amy. The material is a mixture of folk, hillbilly & gospel with some R & B flourishes, played with great flair & sensitvity by Helm & his fellow musicians. At nearly 70 years of age Helm is already an American legend & judging by Dirt Farmer has a lot more good musicin front of him.
