Search - Various Artists :: Rastlin Jacob: The Music of the Spiritual Baptist

Religious fervor in pre-WWII Trinidad

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 07/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fascinating field recordings made in 1939 by the husband-wife folklorist team of Melville and Frances Herskovitz, who also preserved dozens of secular Trinidadian songs at the same time. This disc documents the music of the "shouter" sect of Trinidadian Baptists, whose ceremonies had actually been outlawed by the colonial authorities in 1917, on grounds of alleged "indecency." They certainly were wild: the uninhibited exclamations, hoots and shouts of sect members come through unnervingly loud and clear in these old recordings, helping make this some of the most unusual and distinctive music you're likely to ever hear. Admittedly, these recordings are not very accessible to the average listener, but fans of archival folklore will find this album a wellspring of pre-pop culture recordings, music that clearly has its own history and unique cultural roots. The thick dialect and idiosyncratic rhythms somewhat mask the British origins and religious nature of many of these songs; in many cases, only after a refrain has been repeated dozens of times will the words become clear: "Onward Christian Soldiers," "When The Saints Come Marching In" and "By And By" never sounded like this before! Very unusual and striking -- maybe not the kind of thing to put on when you have company over for dinner, but for those fascinated by how radically music can change from culture to culture, this disc is amazing."