Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Henry, John - Paul Robeson,
Water Boy - Paul Robeson, Robinson, Avery
Go Down Moses - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Balm in Gilead - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/Every Time I Feel the Spirit - Paul Robeson, Traditional
I Got a Home in Dat Rock/Gimmie Your Han' - Paul Robeson,
No More Auction Block/ Great Gettin' up Morning - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Hear de Lam's a Cryin'/Going to Ride up in de Chariot - Paul Robeson,
I'll Hear de Trumpet/ Ezekial Saw de Wheel - Paul Robeson,
Poor Wayfarin' Stranger/Hammer Song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Dere's a Man Goin' Round/I Know de Lord - Paul Robeson,
Git on Board, Little Chillun/L'il David - Paul Robeson,
Robeson's professional concert career began in 1925 when he and Lawrence Brown, who was to be his accompanist for decades, played the Greenwich Village Theatre. This CD presents Robeson and Brown performing the spiritual... more »s for which Robeson is best remembered. The 16 selections are taken from two concerts given in New York in 1945 and '47. Robeson was damaged personally and professionally because of his beliefs, but his quality as a performer could not be denied. Other recordings present more of his political stance; this one provides classic Robeson performances of the kind that first made him famous and beloved. --Stanley Booth« less
Robeson's professional concert career began in 1925 when he and Lawrence Brown, who was to be his accompanist for decades, played the Greenwich Village Theatre. This CD presents Robeson and Brown performing the spirituals for which Robeson is best remembered. The 16 selections are taken from two concerts given in New York in 1945 and '47. Robeson was damaged personally and professionally because of his beliefs, but his quality as a performer could not be denied. Other recordings present more of his political stance; this one provides classic Robeson performances of the kind that first made him famous and beloved. --Stanley Booth
William E. Adams | Midland, Texas USA | 03/24/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Paul was the son of a preacher man who had been born a slave, so it seems natural that when he decided to begin his concert and recording career around age 30, he would present a program of spirituals first. While the ones on this collection were sung in the mid-1940's, his first records came out in 1927 on RCA with many of the same selections. I became a Robeson fan when, as a white kid of 14 with racist leanings, I heard his version of "Get On Board, Little Children" on a Vanguard folk sampler I checked out of the library. It was 75 seconds of magic that started me on a life journey away from prejudice, and it's on this disc. Other great performances here include "By N By"; "Every Time I Feel the Spirit"; "I Got a Home in Dat Rock"; "No More Auction Block For Me;" "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel"; "Der's a Man Goin' Round, Takin' Names" and my second favorite of his spirituals, "Balm in Gilead." If you like Black spirituals, you won't find any performances better than his. Mahalia Jackson and Harry Belafonte are great artists, but Paul got there first. Forget his pro-Russian political problems which cost him the final ten years of his career and his proper place as one of the greatest early civil rights champions. These songs involve a MAN trying to come to terms with his religious training, his cultural history, his artistic sensibilities, his frustration at being demeaned due to skin color. In his adult life he was attracted to the Soviet model despite its faults because color prejudice did not seem to be one of Communism's problems. Here we hear a born-once Christian presenting the songs of a people often in despair, when in his off-stage life he endorsed a society in which atheism was a cardinal virtue. To say Robeson was complex and conflicted would be to state the obvious. Also obvious is that he had a love for this material that transcends politics and eras. If you buy this disc, I think your love for the quality of his renditions and selections will also transcend politics, eras, race, and recording techniques."
That mellow voice! That powerful song! That amazing man!
06/18/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As a little child I grew up listening to these songs by Paul Robeson. The records are long gone, and imagine my surprise when I see them on CD! It's wonderful that another generation of children can be listening to these wonderful songs. I always thought that if God sang, he would sound like this! Powerful spirituals--you feel the anguish, the joy, the strength!"
An artist like no other
William E. Adams | 09/07/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"beautiful. true. moving. ask your kids to turn off that techno noise for a while, sit down, focus, and really listen... they just might discover a treasure."
Purity of Sound
Brian A. Foster | Castro Valley, CA USA | 01/25/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"There are few voices that are "pure," and few songs that exhibit such purity. I'm reminded of "My Girl" by the Temptations as one of those combinations of purity. In this album, Paul Robeson captured purity a couple of times. You know the songs. You heard them as a kid. They are part of our culture, part of our humanity, reflective of a difficult time, and they remind us of how far we have come and how far we have yet to go.Robeson's voice is rich, pure, and resonant. The only fear I had (a fear I have with the digitization of any old recording) was the quality of the CD. Have no fear--it's crystal clear.Why not 5 stars? It's a personal preference: I would have liked to have swapped out a few songs for some others. Still, a majority of the songs are just wonderful...pure."
His best album is "Ol' Man River", this one is ok
Brian A. Foster | 05/03/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"His best album is "Ol' Man River", this one is ok, and has some good songs not on Ol Man River. Paul Robeson is one of the greatest singers of all time. His best songs include Shenandoah, Just a wearyin for you, water boy, deep river, joshua fit the battle of jericho. Other good songs include By and By, go down Moses, swing low sweet chariot. The more you listen to Robeson, the better he sounds. Robeson is the American equivalent of the Irish Tenor John McCormack. If you like one, you will like the other."