Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole
2. Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed
3. It`s Nobody`s Fault But Mine
4. Mother`s Children Have A Hard Time
5. Dark Was The Night- Cold Was The Ground
6. If I Had My Way I`d Tear The Building Down
7. I`m Gonna Run To The City Of Refuge
8. Jesus Is Coning Soon
9. Lord I Just Can`t Keep From Crying
10. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning
11. Let Your Light Shine On Me
12. God Don`t Never Change
13. Bye Bye I`m Going To See The King
14. Sweeter As The Years Roll By

Disc 2:

1. You`ll Need Somebody On Your Bond
2. When The War Was On
3. Praise God I`m Satisfied
4. Take Your Burden To The Lord And Leave It There
5. Take Your Stand
6. God Moves On The Water
7. Can`t Nobody Hide From God
8. If It Had Not Been For Jesus
9. Go To Me With That Land
10. The Rain Don`t Fall On Me
11. Trouble Will Soon Be Over
12. The Soul Of A Man
13. Everybody Ought To Treat A Stranger Right
14. Church, I`m Fully Saved To- Day
15. John The Revelator
16. You`re Gonna Nedd Somebody On Your Bond

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32385 in Music
• Released on: 1993-04-27
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.com
In the history of recorded blues and spirituals, there is no greater singer and songwriter than Blind Willie Johnson. With a vocal delivery ranging from raw rage to tenderness wedded to his talking guitar, Blind Willie's recordings are as powerful today as when he made them, from 1927 to 1930. Listen to monuments "Motherless Children Have a Hard Time," "I Just Can't Keep from Crying," "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine," and the otherworldly "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground," and try to find equally visceral conviction any other place or time. His "If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" which got him arrested when Blind Willie unknowingly sang it in front of a U.S. government building in Dallas, became a '60s icon. Years later, he caught pneumonia, but when treatment was sought, he was told the hospital did not treat blind people, so he returned home and died. --Alan Greenberg

Customer Reviews

Yes, The Soul of A Man
A tradition developed early, and I am not sure how, but it was very early in the 1900's of blind black men with musical ability (and probably some with none) going to the small town Southern street and singing for their dinner, so to speak. I, for one, am glad that they did because an inordinate part of early blues music would be missing without their collective contributions. Here we start our tribute with Blind Willie Johnson; this is Reverend Blind Willie Johnson, by the way. What makes Reverend Johnson a shade bit different from other blues singers of the period, with the partial exception of Skip James, is that the vast bulk of his music is religious in orientation unlike the more traditional moaning and groaning about work, women and whiskey.

For those who saw part of Martin Scorcese's PBS Blues Project a few years back you might remember that Blind Willie (along with Skip James) was highlighted in Wim Wender's section. You might also know then that Johnson's Soul of A Man is traveling the universe as a selection of one of humankind's musical expressions. Take that and If You Had A Friend In Jesus with female accompaniment and you are at the height of Blind Willie's talent. As for the rest you will have to listen for yourself.

Makes BB King sound like Paul Simon in a pink dress aged 11.
So I heard about BWJ on The West Wing and I dissed BB King... Is that all it takes to make me ignorant?

Why all the fuss??
I've been a blues fan for about 40 years. Have listened to a lot of blues over the years on vinyl, cassettes, dvds, and radio. I know we're all supposed to worship Blind Willie. It's one of the rules of being a blues fan - like having to refer to Charlie Chaplin as a genius of film comedy. But I just don't get it. Granted he does some very nice slide guitar work. But that cheese-grater-on-the-vocal-chords voice is painful to listen to! Combine that with the often unintelligible lyrics and repetitive repertoire, and you've got, for my money, a just about "unlistenable" package. Try sitting thru a back-to-back listening session of these two CD's. You'll be screaming for "moycy"!! I know NASA sent Blind Willie's music out into space. Just wish it had been my CD set that they put on the Voyager.