Gospel

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday May 21, 2005

John Clare

THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA

Atom Bomb

(Real World/EMI)

When the Blind Boys of Alabama sang on the now-defunct The Fat, I said: "Christ!" - in the most pious way, of course. The AFL player Jason Akermanis, who was on the show, also uttered a few pieties and declared: "You won't hear anything better than that!" Until then, I'd thought Slammin' Sam Kekovich was the star.

The power of this music began to reach my generation indirectly through Little Richard, Ray Charles and others. The emotion was soul shaking. For instance, I Know I've Been Converted - sung powerfully here - begins with almost the same phrase as Robert Johnson's Come on in my Kitchen, which is not the sort of song you'd sing in church.

The magnificent aged-in-oak voices of the Blind Boys are accompanied by various luminaries including Billy Preston on organ and piano and Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo. On two tracks, rapper Gift of Gab from Blackalicious testifies righteously. The sound is bottom rich, with a menacing roll. Look out.