Blind Willie JOHNSON - Dark Was The Night 1998

Blind Willie JOHNSON - Dark Was The Night 1998
Label: Sony / Columbia/Legacy
Audio CD (June 30, 1998)

Blues

The PBS series "The Blues" will hopefully introduce the work of Blind Willie Johnson to a mass audience. Recognition of this man and his contribution to American culture is long overdue. "Dark Was The Night" is the best and most affordable introduction to Blind Willie Johnson. The complete collection two disc set is pretty much for completists only.
That said, if you have never heard this music before, be sure to prepare yourself, because the spiritual force and gravity of this music may leave you exhausted and perhaps even frightened. Johnson's voice is one of the most unique and haunting instruments to have ever been recorded. The man's singing bespeaks experiences and a life lived that is almost too painful to contemplate. The lyrics of these songs are almost transcendentally poetic...the religious imagery is used to ask the most fundamental of philosophical questions. The female accompaniment of these songs only makes them a more poignant commentary on the human condition. Johnson's guitar work is similar in nature. In combination, this music is about as raw and emotive as human musical production can get. I think Wim Wenders is correct when he says that this music will teach you more about the American experience than just any history book. And Ry Cooder is surely right in his observations about this music.
These songs strip it and you bare; you simply have no place to hide. You will get ripped to shreds, ponder the nature of existence, and then eventually get "healed" as John Lee Hooker famously sang not too long ago. This is "deep" blues, about as deep as the blues and gospel can get.
By  Fred McGhee.
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01. If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down 3:09
02. Dark Was The Night - Cold Was The Ground 3:20
03. Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying 3:02
04. Church, I'm Fully Saved Today 3:08
05. Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed 3:13
06. Bye And Bye I'm Goin' To See The King 2:53
07. Let Your Light Shine On Me 3:09
08. John The Revelator 3:19
09. I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole 3:05
10. God Moves On The Water 3:01
11. Trouble Will Soon Be Over 3:08
12. Praise God I'm Satisfied 3:12
13. Mother's Children Have A Hard Time 3:23
14. It's Nobody's Fault But Mine 3:10
15. The Soul Of A Man 3:15
16. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning 3:04
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