Spirit Of The Century
- by The Blind Boys Of Alabama
- Real World Region: North America
- May 2001
"Tired of all this beat head bizniz? The look no further than The Blind Boys Of Alabama. These old boys first got together in 1939 and here find themselves accompanied by multi instrumentalist David Lindley, don blues guitarist John Hammond, contra bassist Danny Thompson and harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite. Beautifully recorded, prepare to be dropped down in America's deep south, on some dusty road or a small wooden church where you'll find yourself testifying that "you're a soldier in the army of the Lord!". Top tune has to be 'Amazing Grace' set to the tune of 'House of The Rising Sun'. Out there." Straight No Chaser.
Reviews
'Six decades on, gospel group still knows how to find inspiration...At this point, some sixty years on, it would be reasonable to expect the legendary gospel singing group the Blind Boys of Alabama to simply stick to its repertoire of prayer-meeting hymns and settle into career-twilight glory. These strident voices have earned their rest. But the transfixing, beautifully recorded Spirit of the Century, which situates gospel and rock-era songs in a drawling blues atmosphere, challenges the Blind Boys to wade into less-familiar waters. Of course, they work magic: There's a
neopsychedelic "Amazing Grace" set to the chord sequence of "House of the Rising Sun," a romp through Tom Waits' "Jesus Gonna Be Here" invigorated by Blind Boys founder Clarence Fountain's controlled fury and a beautifully harmonized rendering of Ben Harper's "Give a Man a Home." Though the themes don't all come straight from Sunday school, the Blind Boys summon the evangelical spirit of a crusade in progress, capturing the feeling not just of the revival tent but of the dark, human swampland lurking just beyond it.'
Tom Moon
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