Release Date: January 25, 2005.
Recording Time: 287 minutes.
Recording Date: January 24, 1927 - 1953.
Release Info: Compilation (JSP7737) Studio Recording.
Styles: Blues Gospel, Acoustic Blues, Pre-War Gospel Blues, Black Gospel, Country Blues, Folk-Blues, Gospel.
There is only a slight difference between a street-corner blues singer and a sanctified street singer, since both need to hold a crowd and make a few bucks (no matter what they do with the money when the day is done), and as this four-disc collection of so-called guitar evangelists from the 1920s, '30s, and early '50s makes clear, playing slide for the Lord sounds pretty much like playing slide for the other side. If anything, the guitar preachers represented here might be even more out there and eccentric than their secular counterparts, making this box set a delightful addition to the standard country blues record collection. Blind Willie Johnson, the apex of the guitar evangelists, is well represented here with classic late-'20s tracks like "Dark Was the Night -- Cold Was the Ground," "God Moves On the Water," "The Soul of a Man," and "John the Revelator," but there are plenty of other striking selections here as well, including the very first of these guitarists for God, Rev. Edward W. Clayborn, whose tight, efficient slide work is impressive on songs like "The Gospel Train Is Coming." Unfortunately, Clayborn uses the exact same tempo and rhythm on all of his little sermons, and while the slide work is always coiled and solid, it never varies. A.C. and Blind Mamie Forehand have an utterly unique sound, however, turning songs like "Honey in the Rock" and "I Wouldn't Mind Dying if Dying Was All" into haunting, atmospheric masterpieces, complete with hazy bells and chimes, while I.B. Ware (can that possibly be his real name?) and family hand it out with no pulled punches on "You Better Quit Drinking That Shine." The biggest revelations here, though, are a pair of electric guitarists from the fourth disc (the collection moves chronologically from Clayborn's earliest material from 1927 through Blind Willie Johnson's last work in 1930, then jumps to 1953), Rev. Utah Smith and Rev. Anderson Johnson. These guys are sanctified madmen on the guitar, with swooping slide runs, free-form anything-goes approaches, and amps set on distort and stun. Smith is rumored to have worn giant angel wings strapped to his shoulder blades when he performed his signature "I Want Two Wings," a sight that must have been as frightening as it was outrageous as he strangled the daylights out of his guitar, while his gargling vocal on "God's Mighty Hand" simply has to be heard to be believed, not to mention his "Take a Trip" musical sermon, which will forever be a matter of perspective. Johnson was only slightly less theatrical, combining the energy and fervor of a Little Richard with the sonic abandon of a proto-Jimi Hendrix on tracks like "God Don't Like It," "Death in the Morning," "Let That Liar Pass On By," and "Run Children Run." It's a remarkably short step from Smith and Johnson to the Marshall stacks and ear-melting assault of bands like Blue Cheer, and if God isn't deaf, the congregations of the Reverends Smith and Johnson certainly must have ended up that way. It might not technically be the blues, but there are a lot of ways to the river (or to Heaven), and the guitar-slinging preachers collected in this delightful box set knew full well that a perfect slide tone was quite likely next to Godliness. ~ Steve Leggett
Credits: Keith Briggs - Liner Notes; Rev. Edward W. Clayborn - Featured Artist, Primary Artist; Dennis Crumpton - Featured Artist; A.C Forehand - Featured Artist, Primary Artist; Blind Mamie Forehand - Featured Artist, Primary Artist; Blind Willie Harris - Featured Artist, Performer, Primary Artist; Rev. A. Johnson - Featured Artist, Primary Artist; Blind Willie Johnson - Composer, Primary Artist; Willie Johnson - Composer, Primary Artist; Lonnie McIntorsh - Composer, Primary Artist; Billy Moore - Composer; Blind Benny Paris - Featured Artist, Primary Artist; Rev. Utah Smith - Featured Artist, Primary Artist; Robert Summers - Featured Artist, Primary Artist; Charles Albert Tindley - Composer; Traditional - Composer; Rev. I.B. Ware With Wife And Son - Featured Artist, Primary Artist; Willie Mae Williams - Featured Artist, Primary Artist.
Tracklist:
Disc A (1927)
01. Your Enemy Cannot Harm You - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
02. The Gospel Train Is Coming - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
03. Mothers Prayer - A.C & Blind Mamie Forehand
04. I'm So Glad Today - A.C & Blind Mamie Forehand
05. Honey In The Rock - A.C & Blind Mamie Forehand
06. Wouldn't Mind Dying If Dying Was All - A.C & Blind Mamie Forehand
07. Let That Lie Alone - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
08. There'll Be Glory - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
09. Death Is Only A Dream - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
10. Let Jesus Lead You - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
11. Jesus Will Make It Alright - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
12. Bye And Bye When The Morning Comes - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
13. Jesus Is Sweeter Than Honey In The Comb - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
14. With My Saviour I Shall Be - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
15. O Lord I'm In Your Care - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
16. Everybody Ought To Treat Their Mother Right - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
17. Then We'll Need That True Religion - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
18. You Never Will Know Who Is Your Friend - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
19. I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole - Blind Willie Johnson
20. Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed - Blind Willie Johnson
21. It's Nobody's Fault But Mine - Blind Willie Johnson
22. Mother's Children Have A Hard Time - Blind Willie Johnson
23. Dark Was The Night - Cold Was The Ground - Blind Willie Johnson
24. If I Had My Way I'd Tear This Building Down - Blind Willie Johnson
Disc B (1928)
01. In Time Of Trouble Jesus Will Never Say Goodbye - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
02. A Letter From Father - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
03. God's Riding Through The Land - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
04. Men Don't Forget Your Wives For Your Sweetheart - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
05. If My Saviour Holds My Hand I Will Go - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
06. Jesus Went On Man's Bond - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
07. I Heard The Angels Singing - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
08. I Shall Not Be Moved - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
09. Sleep On Mother Sleep On - Lonnie McIntorsh
10. The Lion And The Tribes Of Judah - Lonnie McIntorsh
11. Arise And Shine - Lonnie McIntorsh
12. How Much I Owe - Lonnie McIntorsh
13. The Wrong Way To Celebrate Christmas - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
14. This Time Another Year You May Be Gone - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
15. I Have A Home In The Sky - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
16. Just Beyond The Jordan River - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
17. I'm Gonna Live So God Can Use Me - Blind Benny Paris
18. Hide Me In The Blood Of Jesus - Blind Benny Paris
19. I Wouldn't Mind Dying (But I Gotta Go By Myself) - Rev. I.B. Ware With Wife And Son
20. You Better Quit Drinking Shine - Rev. I.B. Ware With Wife And Son
21. I'm Gonna Run To The City Of Refuge - Blind Willie Johnson
22. Jesus Is Coming Soon - Blind Willie Johnson
23. Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Crying - Blind Willie Johnson
24. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning - Blind Willie Johnson
Disc C (1929-1930)
01. Does Jesus Care? - Blind Willie Harris
02. Where He Leads Me I Will Follow - Blind Willie Harris
03. Your True Friends - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
04. Come And Go With Me To My Father's House - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
05. When I Lay My Burden Down - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
06. Where Shall I Be When The First Trumpet Sounds? - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn
07. Let Your Light Shine On Me - Blind Willie Johnson
08. God Don't Never Change - Blind Willie Johnson
09. Bye And Bye I'm Goin' To See The King - Blind Willie Johnson
10. Sweeter As The Years Roll By - Blind Willie Johnson
11. You'll Need Somebody On Your Bond - Blind Willie Johnson
12. When The War Was On - Blind Willie Johnson
13. Praise God I'm Satisfied - Blind Willie Johnson
14. Take Your Burden To The Lord And Leave It There - Blind Willie Johnson
15. Take Your Stand - Blind Willie Johnson
16. God Moves On The Water - Blind Willie Johnson
17. Can't Nobody Hide From God - Blind Willie Johnson
18. If It Had Not Been For Jesus - Blind Willie Johnson
19. Go With Me To The Land - Blind Willie Johnson
20. The Rain Don't Fall On Me - Blind Willie Johnson
21. Trouble Will Soon Be Over - Blind Willie Johnson
22. The Soul Of A Man - Blind Willie Johnson
23. Everybody Ought To Treat A Stranger Right - Blind Willie Johnson
24. Church, I'm Fully Saved Today - Blind Willie Johnson
Disc D (1930-1953)
01. John The Revelator - Blind Willie Johnson
02. You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond - Blind Willie Johnson
03. Go I'll Send Thee - Dennis Crumpton & Robert Summers
04. Everybody Ought To Pray Some Time - Dennis Crumpton & Robert Summers
05. I Want Two Wings - Rev. Utah Smith
06. God's Mighty Hand - Rev. Utah Smith
07. Don't Want To Go There - Willie Mae Williams
08. Where The Sun Never Goes Down - Willie Mae Williams
09. God Don't Like It - Rev. A. Johnson
10. Lord Will Make A Way - Rev. A. Johnson
11. God Don't Like It - Rev. A. Johnson
12. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again - Rev. A. Johnson
13. Death In The Morning - Rev. A. Johnson
14. I'm Gonna Do My Best - Rev. A. Johnson
15. I Don't Know How To Get Along Without The Lord - Rev. A. Johnson
16. Let That Liar Pass On By - Rev. A. Johnson
17. Do You Call That Religion? - Rev. A. Johnson
18. Jesus Loves Us All - Rev. A. Johnson
19. Two Wings - Rev. Utah Smith*
20. Take A Trip - Rev. Utah Smith*
21. The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow - Rev. A. Johnson
22. Run Children Run - Rev. A. Johnson
23. I Got Two Wings - Rev. Utah Smith
24. Glory To Jesus, I'm Free - Rev. Utah Smith