Label: Document Records.
Release Date: May 18, 1995.
Recording Time: 72 minutes.
Recording Date: February 18, 1942 - September 22, 1944.
Releases: February 20, 1996; September, 2000; June 28, 2005.
Styles: Black Gospel, Classic Female Blues, Blues Gospel, Gospel, Jump Blues.
The second of two well-packed discs released on the Austrian reissue label Document, Sister Rosetta Tharpe's Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 covers the years of 1942 to 1944, a period during which Tharpe was raising the ire of her religious audience by branching out into a more secular era. Though in retrospect the sentiments of songs like "I Want a Tall Skinny Papa" seem tame, the outcry was similar to when Sam Cooke went pop in the late '50s: how dare the pop market take away our Sister? It stands to reason; Sister Rosetta Tharpe was gospel's most fiery voice and one of the finest guitarists in any style of her era. (The stabbing, rhythmic lead guitar underpinning these songs sounds like it was probably a huge influence on Chicago blues later that decade.) The passion and vitality of these performances is remarkable, as is the joy Tharpe clearly takes in the physicality of even her most pious recordings. Even for non-believers, this is rich, fulfilling music. The quality of these transfers on the rarer material can be a little rough, but not distractingly so. - Review by Stewart Mason.
Credits: Trevor Bacon - guitar; Abe Bolar - bass (upright); Joe Britton - trombone; Nelson Bryant - trumpet; Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey - composer; George Duvivier - bass (upright); Panama Francis - drums; Joe Guy - trumpet; Mike Hadley - sax (tenor); Clyde Hart - piano; Frank Humphries - trumpet; George James - sax (alto); Archie Johnson - trumpet; Richard M. Jones - composer; Louis Jordan - sax (alto); Lucky Millinder - composer, conductor; Lucky Millinder Orchestra - group; Johnny Parth - compilation producer; Sam Price - group; Sammy Price - piano; Public Domain - composer; Ernest Purce - baritone; Eddie Roane - trumpet; Ken Romanowski - liner notes; William Scott - trumpet; Gene Simon - trombone; Jesse "Po" Simpkins - bass (upright); Noble Sissle & His Orchestra - group; Tab Smith - sax (alto); George Stevenson - trombone; Sam "The Man" Taylor - sax (tenor); Sister Rosetta Tharpe - composer, guitar, primary artist, vocals; Arnold Thomas - piano; Traditional - composer; Ray Tunia - piano; Freddy Webster - trumpet; Gerhard Wessely - remastering; Harold "Doc" West - drums; Shadow Wilson - drums.
Tracks: 1) I Want A Tall Skinny Papa; 2) What He Done For Me; 3) I Want Jesus To Walk Around My Bedside; 4) All Over This World; 5) Pure Religion; 6) This Train (J41); 7) Down By The Riverside (J38); 8) Rock Me (J75); 9) Rock Me (VP-391-D3-MC-464); 10) That's All (VD129); 11) Trouble In Mind (VP-392-D3-MC-465); 12) Rock Daniel (VD129); 13) That's All (J56); 14) Let That Liar Alone; 15) The Devil Has Thrown Him Down; 16) Sleep On Darling Mother; 17) God Don't Like It (71526); 18) I Want To Live So God Can Use Me; 19) What's The News?; 20) Nobody Knows, Nobody Cares; 21) Jesus Taught Me How To Smile; 22) Forgive Me Lord And Try Me One More Time; 23) What Is The Soul Of Man; 24) Singing In My Soul; 25) I Claim Jesus First; 26) Strange Things Happening Every Day; 27) Two Little Fishes And Five Loaves Of Bread.