Release Date: 27 April, 1993
Audio CD
Tracks
- I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole
- Jesus Make up My Dying Bed
- Nobody's Fault But Mine
- Mother's Children Have a Hard Time
- Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)
- If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down
- I'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge
- Jesus Is Coming Soon
- Lord, I Just Can't Keep from Crying
- Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning
- Let Your Light Shine on Me
- God Don't Never Change
- Bye and Bye I'm Goin' to See the King
- Sweeter as the Years Roll By
- You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond
- When the War Was On
- Praise God I'm Satisfied
- Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There
- Take Your Stand
- God Moves on the Water
- Can't Nobody Hide from God
- If It Had Not Been for Jesus
- Go With Me to That Land
- Rain Don't Fall on Me
- Trouble Will Soon Be Over
- Soul of a Man
- Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right
- Church, I'm Fully Saved Today
- John the Revelator
- You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond
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Rating 4.5
God moves on the waterThe astonishing double negative of "God Don't Never Change," with its existential contradiction, sums up why this collection should be in the home of every gospel music lover in the world. Johnson's songs encompass the entire spectrum of spiritual experience from despair to hope to acceptance to mystical transcendence. & he leaves no doubt that he's been through all of it. Inspired by God's love, these songs, the singing, the guitar playing, are absolutely revelatory. Of course, Blind Willie Johnson is listened to mostly in the spirit of dispassionate appreciation by blues afficionados. Believers will have that plus the added pleasure of knowing what's really going on here. "Everybody Ought To Treat a Stranger Right" takes sound Gospel advice & makes it a request for spare change. "John the Revelator" kicks like rock & roll. "God moves on the water," indeed!An effecting, amazing body of workThe gospel music of Blind Willie Johnson is heartfelt, intense, at times deeply sad, moving and joyful. Some of the songs are almost impossible not to sing along with - but you don't want to because his amazing voice and slidework demand your attention.
You'll find Mr. Johnson's work in the music of other artists - Ry Cooder uses a similar lick in the Paris, Texas soundtrack as you hear on Dark Was the Night - Cold Was the Ground. The Blasters did a version of If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down but I prefer Mr. Johnson's version. I'm sure there are other examples but I can't think of them at the moment. An amazing tribute to a man who recorded only 30 songs and died in obscurity. The music is particularly poignant in light of the few details we have of Mr. Johnson's life.
For any collector of gospel and blues music this is a must-have album and the $14.99 for a two CD set is a steal, literally.Wow!I just recently got this, and I am very sorry that I didn't sooner. If you're debating whether or not to get this CD, you probably already know a good deal about the blues. So...Blind Willie Johnson sings like Charlie Patton sometimes, and other times really softly, as in his unique "Dark was the Night..." His slide playing is great, and the female vocalist sounds great and adds intensity to his growling. He is completly different stylistically from Skip James, but you will probably like him if you like (early) James because I'd say that he is equally intense. |
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