Oh Death/Prayer Of Death-Part I And II - Charley Patton
You Better Quit Drinking shine/I Wouldn't Mind Dying (But I Gotta Go By Myself) - Rev. I.B. Ware With Wife And Son
I Am In The Heavenly Way - Booker T. Washington 'Bukka' White
Sinner You'll Need Jesus/I Believe I'll Go Back Home/When That Great Ship Went Down/Everybody... - William Smith/Versey Smith
I Believe I'll Go Back Home - Blind Willie Davis
Troubled 'Bout My Soul - Frank Palmes
I'm On My Way To The Kingdon Land - Bo Weavil Jackson
Holy Mountain - Elder Otis Jones
This Time Another Year You May Be Gone - Rev. Edward Clayborn
Lord I'm The True Vine - Eddie Head And His Family
Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind On Jesus) - Blind Roosevelt Graves And Brother
Holy Mountain - Elder Otis Jones
I Wouldn't Mind Dying (But I Gotta Go By Myself) - Rev. I.B. Ware And Wife And Son
Everybody Help The Boys Come Home - William Smith/Versey Smith
Everybody Ought To Pray Sometime - Dennis Crumpton/Robert Summers
Tryin' To Get Home - Eddie Head And His Family
I'll Be Rested (When The Roll Is Called) - Blind Roosevelt Graves And Brother
I'm On My Way To The Kingdom - Be Weavil Jackson
Troubled 'Bout My Soul - Frank Palmes
When That Great Ship Went Down - William Smith/Versey Smith
I Am In The Heavenly Way - Washington White
Good Lord (Run Old Jeremiah) - Austin Coleman
Jesus Is Getting Us Ready For That Great Day - Luther Magby
I Believe I'll Go Back Home - William Smith/Versey Smith
Prayer Of Death-Part I - Elder J.J. Hadley
Prayer Of Death-Part II - Elder J.J. Hadley
Ignore the low fidelity of this 26-track compendium, and you have one of the most interesting gospel compilations ever released. Most of these songs were recorded among a variety of "race" labels between 1926 and 1936, mos... more »tly for Paramount and Vocalion. Copious liner notes provide the needed details for each track, along with an essay by label chief/folk legend John Fahey. Soundwise, some of these tunes are indeed primitive--there are more hisses and pops than a Mongolian BBQ. But underneath the surface noises, in tracks by Elder J.J. Hadley (a.k.a. Charley Patton), Washington White (a.k.a. Bukka White), and Blind Roosevelt Graves, there's something magical. Apparently, '26 to '36 saw a newfound interest in sacred street singers that, in turn, inspired record labels to hire blues artists to work under aliases. Whatever the motivation, these tracks are testimonies to a nearly lost era of great musicianship. --Jason Verlinde« less
Ignore the low fidelity of this 26-track compendium, and you have one of the most interesting gospel compilations ever released. Most of these songs were recorded among a variety of "race" labels between 1926 and 1936, mostly for Paramount and Vocalion. Copious liner notes provide the needed details for each track, along with an essay by label chief/folk legend John Fahey. Soundwise, some of these tunes are indeed primitive--there are more hisses and pops than a Mongolian BBQ. But underneath the surface noises, in tracks by Elder J.J. Hadley (a.k.a. Charley Patton), Washington White (a.k.a. Bukka White), and Blind Roosevelt Graves, there's something magical. Apparently, '26 to '36 saw a newfound interest in sacred street singers that, in turn, inspired record labels to hire blues artists to work under aliases. Whatever the motivation, these tracks are testimonies to a nearly lost era of great musicianship. --Jason Verlinde
CD Reviews
The music's great, find better copies of the 78s to transfer
Tribe | 03/28/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Obviously the music presented here is really great. My only beef is the really poor condition of some of the 78s used. I know this stuff is really rare, but I bet there are cleaner copies of these records out there. Is it supposed to be important that these are John Fahey's 78s? It's not to me. I don't have much music of this type, but I found a much cleaner copy of the Jaybird Coleman track on an old Biograph LP called "This Old World's In A Hell Of A Fix." Even dubbing the version off this LP would have been better that the severely damaged copy of the 78 used for this CD. I wonder if their Charley Patton CD box set was also produced with poor condition 78s like these?"
Another Outstanding Revenant Compilation
Tribe | Toledo, Ohio United States | 08/18/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Revenant has issued some of the best old music compilations: Dock Boggs' "Country Blues," the Stanley Brothers' first recordings, the Anthology of American Folk Music Vol. 4 (not to mention the upcoming super-definitive collection of Charley Patton recordings: "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues). Great, obscure music, and inventive, eye-catching packaging.This compilation is no exception. This is the most astounding collection of old-time gospel and sacred music ever compiled. From the bone-shattering sacred songs of Charley Patton (as the Elder J.J. Hadley) to the sublime Blind Roosevelt Graves to the strange Rev. I. B. Ware.....there is simply no weak tune here. The title isn't misleading: this is as raw as you can get. Sanctified and rockin' and spine-tingling, this is simply one great album!"
Overwhelming!
Tribe | 11/25/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As soon as I saw the picture of Charley Patton on the cover, and then saw that it was compiled by John Fahey, I knew this was going to be something special. When I brought it home and listened to it I was so overwhelmed that I had to wait a full day before I could listen to it again. Some of the musicians on the CD are old favorites, but most of them are obscure. Very powerful stuff here. One can only hope that Fahey and Co. have more gems like these in the vault. In the meantime, this is one CD that deserves to be listened to over and over."
Listen to the L.A. guy
Tribe | 07/10/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I did. If this one might be better than "The Half Ain't Never Been Told" then it must be essential. It is. This disc will snap your head back. Powerful no nonsense music. American roots music, oh baby that's one thing we did absolutely right."
Kudos to Revenant
Tribe | 10/02/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A group of wonderful authentic tracks dug up and given the fresh air they deserve. Want to escape passionless singers, slick musicians and mindless mass market music? Here is a great great start. Extra Kudos to Revenant for producing the most beautiful packages to ever contain a cd. Many Stars!"
Track Listings (26) - Disc #1