The Word
The WordTHE WORD.
The Word brought John Medeski, Robert Randolph and the North Mississippi Allstars together around sacred steel, gospel and improvisation, creating a record with almost none of the usual boundaries between blues, jazz and jam-band music.
Album artwork shown for commentary and historical reference. Image source: AllMusic.
SEVEN THINGS
WORTH KNOWING.
Recording stories, personnel, physical details and numbers worth keeping with the record.
The Word was released on July 31, 2001 with 11 tracks and a running time of about 48 minutes.
The lineup combines John Medeski with Robert Randolph, Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson and Chris Chew.
The project grew after Medeski, Martin & Wood and the North Mississippi Allstars encountered sacred-steel recordings while touring together.
Robert Randolph's pedal steel became a lead voice throughout the project rather than functioning as background color.
John Medeski and Scotty Hard are credited as producers.
The album is largely instrumental and draws from gospel standards, blues, funk and improvised music.
The Word did not release its next full studio album, Soul Food, until 2015.
WHY THIS
ALBUM MATTERS.
The Word treats sacred steel as a living improvisational language, allowing players from jazz, blues and jam-rock backgrounds to meet around the sound rather than simply imitate gospel arrangements.
THE
NUMBERS.
TRACKS
The debut contains eleven tracks.
CORE PLAYERS
Medeski, Randolph, the Dickinson brothers and Chew form the group.
YEARS
Fourteen years passed before the next full studio album.
THE
PHYSICAL OBJECT.
The understated package fits a collaborative project with no obvious frontman, even though the musicians inside already carried strong identities of their own.
RESEARCH SOURCES
Facts are checked against official artist archives, release databases, recording credits and established archival sources before publication.
KEEP
DIGGING.
More recording stories, strange credits, cover art, chart numbers and details hiding inside the records.