Track Listing

1. I Believe I'll Go Back Home - Blind Willie Davis
2. Down on Me - Eddie Head and His Family
3. Honey in the Rock - Blind Mamie Forehand
4. I'm Gonna Cross the River of Jordan Some O'These Days - Jaybird Coleman
5. Oh Death - Bertha Lee, Charley Patton
6. You Better Quit Drinking Shine - Rev. I.B. Ware
7. Been Listening All the Day - Blind Joe Taggart
8. Sinner You'll Need King Jesus - Versey Smith, William Smith
9. This Time Another Year You May Be Gone - Rev. Edward Clayborn
10. Lord I'm the True Vine - Eddie Head and His Family
11. Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind on Jesus) - Blind Roosevelt Graves
12. Holy Mountain - Elder Otis Jones
13. I Wouldn't Mind Dying (But I Gotta Go by Myself) - Rev. I.B. Ware
14. Everybody Help the Boy Come Home - Versey Smith, William Smith
15. Everybody Ought to Pray Sometime - Rob Summers
16. Tryin' to Get Home - Eddie Head and His Family
17. I'll Be Rested (When the Roll Is Called) - Blind Roosevelt Graves
18. I'm on My Way to the Kingdom Land - Bo Weavil Jackson
19. Troubled 'Bout My Soul
20. When That Great Ship Went Down - Versey Smith, William Smith
21. I Am in the Heavenly Way - Washington White
22. Good Lord (Run Old Jeremiah) - Austin Coleman, Little Joe Washington
23. Jesus Is Getting Us Ready for That Great Day - Luther Magby
24. I Believe I'll Go Back Home - Versey Smith, William Smith
25. Prayer of Death, Pt. 1
26. Prayer of Death, Pt. 2

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75139 in Music
• Released on: 1997-10-21
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

Another Outstanding Revenant Compilation
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!
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
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.