TOM WAITS STREAMS SOUL OF A MAN FROM NEW COMPILATION
GOD DON'T NEVER CHANGE:
THE SONGS OF BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON
AT HIS FACEBOOK PAGE
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Legendary artist Tom Waits is
streaming his new recording of Soul
Of A Man from the forthcoming album God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of
Blind Willie Johnson at his Facebook page. Waits also
recorded John The Revelator
for the album.
The album -- to be issued on CD
on February 26 and soon after on vinyl -- features newly recorded versions of
the iconic slide guitarist/vocalist's most seminal material. In addition to
Waits, Lucinda Williams, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Cowboy Junkies, Blind
Boys Of Alabama (with Jason Isbell on guitar), Sinéad O'Connor, Luther
Dickinson featuring The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band, Maria McKee, and
Rickie Lee Jones all deliver deeply moving interpretations of Johnson's
otherworldly "gospel blues" music.
Produced by Jeffrey Gaskill
(producer of the twice Grammy-nominated compilation, Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs
of Bob Dylan), God
Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson
highlights the music of one of the greatest and most influential slide guitarists
and vocalists who ever walked the Earth. Johnson sang his sanctified gospel
lyrics with overwhelming intensity, his deep, raspy voice accompanying his
haunting, blues-drenched guitar playing. Rock fans will no doubt recognize many
of his songs which have been recorded over the years by artists ranging from
Led Zeppelin to Eric Clapton to Bob Dylan. Johnson's recording of John The Revelator was
included in the Anthology Of
American Folk Music, archivist Harry Smith's 6-LP collection
released in 1952 that set the folk revival of the 1960s into motion. God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of
Blind Willie Johnson is, according to Gaskill, "my life's
work." The project was years in the making, and Gaskill is thrilled it's
ready to be released. "You gotta serve somebody," he says,
referencing his earlier compilation, "and I got the songs of Blind Willie
Johnson."
Blind Willie Johnson, whose life
remains shrouded in mystery, was born in Pendleton, Texas in 1897 and grew up
around Marlin, Texas, He recorded a total of 30 songs between 1927 and 1930 for
Columbia, leaving behind a priceless legacy of the unforgettable music he
created by marrying the raw, gospel fervor of his voice with the steely blues
fire of his guitar. His songs were mostly traditional or came from hymnals, but
when Johnson performed them, he transformed them with his soul-shaking voice
and amazing slide guitar. Johnson was among the best-selling black gospel
artists of the era, but the Great Depression ended his recording career. He
continued traveling as a street singer, moving between Dallas, Galveston,
Houston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and finally to Beaumont, where he
thundered out his street corner evangelism, spreading his sacred message
through his transfixing music. He died in 1945 in Beaumont, Texas at the age of
48.
God Don't Never Change:
The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson
1) The Soul Of A Man (Tom Waits)
2) It's Nobody’s Fault But Mine
(Lucinda Williams)
3) Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And
Burning (Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi)
4) Jesus Is Coming Soon (Cowboy
Junkies)
5) Mother’s Children Have A Hard
Time (Blind Boys of Alabama)
6) Trouble Will Soon Be Over
(Sinéad O'Connor)
7) Bye And Bye I’m Going To See
The King (Luther Dickinson featuring The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band)
8) God Don’t Never Change
(Lucinda Williams)
9) John The Revelator (Tom Waits)
10) Let Your Light Shine On Me
(Maria McKee)
11) Dark Was The Night--Cold Was
The Ground (Rickie Lee Jones)
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