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Aiding and abetting guitarist Joseph and his soulful, acrobatic pipes is an eclectic, all-star cast headed by experience- and groove-rich bassists T-Bone Wolk (Elvis Costello, Hall & Oates, Greg Brown) and Myron Dove (Santana, "Gatemouth" Brown), keyboard wizard Jon Carroll (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rodney Crowell), ace multi-instrumentalist Duke Levine (John Gorka, Sleepy LaBeef) and an all-world tag-team of tub-thumpers -- Kenny Aronoff (Mellencamp, John Fogerty), Dave Mattacks (Richard Thompson, Paul McCartney) and Levon Helm (The Band).

The album was mixed and mastered by Nathaniel Kunkel (Lyle Lovett, James Taylor, Little Feat), and recorded “all over the place” by Cookie Marenco (Max Roach, Tony Furtado,) -- who was also instrumental in assembling musicians Aronoff, Dove, and Carroll for the initial sessions. How he got these people together is basically how he says he tries to do everything else, “Be a great fan, and be smart enough to recognize good advice when you get it.”

LABOR AND SPIRITS opens with “Carolina Princess,” a slinky, sweaty hip-shaker that rides the rails into Memphis on a chubby, Little Feat groove. “Rhum and Coffee (For Guy Clark)” and the nominal closer (there ARE also two loose-limbed hidden tracks) "Family Dog" graft jugband slop to whorehouse swing. “The Same” and "Sweet William" feel like top-drawer Paul Simon ballads (albeit with rustic overtones supplanting urban shadows), and you'll be hard-pressed to think of a more unremittingly beautiful song than the heartbreaking "Early In The Morning."

“Trinkets” pokes lovingly and groovily through a cigar box of memories, deliciously surrendering its swampy drum figure to a little space exploration at the end -- a nod by Joseph & Co. that he say's is about "missing Jerry Garcia".

“Daddy John” treads boldly on gilded splinters, but as he offers, “has as much to do with Lynyrd Skynryd as it does my love for Mac Rebbennac (Dr. John).”

“Be Home Baby” is a classic example of how Emory crosses bluegrass tinged country over into gospel R&B. It would’ve been a back-porch ready-made for the Everlys, but -- despite little things hinting that home is by the tracks in Clarksville -- rides a groove worthy of comparison to the legendary session band Stuff. Joseph really only unleashes the full measure of his audacious vocal instrument on “Work To Do,” a high-stepping gospel/blues workout that pancakes the revival tent like an Oklahoma funnel cloud skipping through a trailer park.

Onstage Emory Joseph is equally at home in solo or group settings. Drawing from a huge trick bag of self-written and covered material, he says that the songs are the stars of what he does, and approaches each gig as more of an opportunity to share the little treasures he's collected over the years than anything else. Like Ry Cooder, Delbert Mc Clinton, David Lindley and a select handful of others, he's a dedicated groove merchant who's happiest when he's taken an audience on a ride that's left them in giddy, sweaty pools of themselves.

Good love, good music, and good food are constant themes in everything Emory Joseph does -- even nowadays when his music is finally out there for the world to taste, he says he's likely to introduce himself to you as a chef, rather than a musician. He is both, and whatever you discover him doing will bring you joy. LABOR AND SPIRITS is a rich, bubbling stew of organic roots, fatback rhythms, meaty hooks, tasty chops and lyrics as sweet and tender as a mother’s love -- all delicately spiced so as to please any discerning palate (as the Cookin’ Cajun useta say) “long as my belly-stomach is wide.”. Dig in just once, and you’ll keep comin’ back for more...

Jim Musser is a columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen