Superstar collaborations are as old as the hills. Lost On The River, which includes T Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello and Marcus Mumford among others, is the latest such supergroup, and The New Basement Tapes is their take on a series of previously undiscovered Bob Dylan lyrics from his extraordinarily productive late-1960s period. Again, no new idea: Wilco and Billy Bragg did much the same thing using old Woody Guthrie lyrics.
Basement Tapes won't cross over into the charts but it's still an enjoyable listen for anyone interested in rootsy bluesy rock.
There's fun to be had in the skiffley hoe-downs of "Card Shark" and "Duncan And Jimmy" while Costello fans are directed to "Six Months In Kansas City (Liberty Street)," which recalls his recent album with The Roots, Wise Up Ghost, with the band sounding soulful and almost funky.
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