Blind Boys Of Alabama, The - Ill Find a Way '2015

Tracks list

Tracklist
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01. God Put A Rainbow In The Cloud
02. Ill Find A Way (To Carry It All)
03. I Am Not Waiting Anymore
04. I Shall Not Be Moved
05. Take Me To The Water
06. Ive Been Searching
07. There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated At The Conference Table)
08. Take Your Burden To The Lord and Leave It There
09. Every Grain Of Sand
10. My God Is Real
11. Jubilee

2013 album by the Gospel legends. Produced by Justin Vernon (Bon Iver, Kathleen
Edwards), Ill Find a Way is a unique collaboration between one of popular musics
longest-running acts and one of its fastest-rising stars. Known primarily for
his work in the Indie and Folk realms, the Bon Iver frontman proved a perfect
fit to work with the Blind Boys, exhibiting a deep knowledge and appreciation of
Gospel music. 

Ill Find a Way represents a strong new chapter for the Blind Boys of Alabama,
whose career stretches back more than seventy years. Formed in the late 1930s at
the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in Talladega, the group has harmonized
throughout the turbulent twentieth century and well into the twenty-first: from
Jim Crow through Civil Rights and into the Obama era. They have, however,
enjoyed some of their biggest and most rousing successes in the last ten years,
during which theyve won five Grammys, four Gospel Music Awards, and multiple
invitations to sing at the White House. 

For Ill Find a Way, their ninth studio album of the twenty-first century, the
Blind Boys of Alabama - which includes Jimmy Carter, Eric Ricky McKinnie, Joey
Williams, Tracy Pierce, Ben Moore, and newest addition Paul Beasley - decamped
to the wintry wild of rural Wisconsin to record at Vernons April Base studio.
Known primarily for his work in the indie and folk realms, the Bon Iver frontman
proved a perfect fit to work with the Blind Boys, exhibiting a deep knowledge
and appreciation of gospel music. 

Vernon and old friend and band mate Phil Cook (Megafaun, The Shouting Matches)
corralled a lively backing band for the album and hand-picked a range of songs
for the Blind Boys to sing. Some numbers, such as Take Your Burden to the Lord
And Leave It There, have been sung for nearly a century now, while others, like
I Am Not Waiting Anymore, were penned only a year or two ago. The result of this
unique collaboration is a collection of rousing tunes that address lifes most
desperate hours but also savor the triumphs and reassurances of faith. 

One of the bands own stories of trial and triumph involves Clarence Fountain, a
founding member of the Blind Boys and the groups leader for many decades.
Serious health problems requiring weekly kidney dialysis have prevented him from
touring with the other members of the group. When he couldnt travel to the
Wisconsin sessions, the Blind Boys found a way to include him on the album,
recording his robust bass vocals in Birmingham and adding them to the mix. 

Thats an important part, that bass under everything, explains Carter, the groups
current leader and standout tenor. He gave those songs a true Blind Boys bottom.
We wouldnt want to do a Blind Boys project without including Clarence. He will
always be a Blind Boy even if hes not out on the road with us. 

A strikingly and confidently diverse album, Ill Find a Way features an array of
guest vocalists representing a whole new generation of artists who find
contemporary musical inspiration in Americas gospel past. The daughter of two
musicians who played in a Pentecostal church, Shara Worden of Detroit-based My
Brightest Diamond lends her soaring voice to the title track (originally written
and recorded by the Motown session musician Ted Lucas). Casey Dienel of White
Hinterland sings lead on the Blind Boys glorious cover of the Chi-Lites There
Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated at the Conference Table), whose
luxuriant string arrangement has been replaced with a stoical beat, quietly
ascending keyboard theme, and stirring saxophone solo courtesy of Minneapolis
musician Mike Lewis. 

In addition, Ill Find a Way features cameos by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs (Ive
Been Searching, whose lilting reggae rhythms make it the albums most adventurous
track), Patty Griffin (the barn-burning closer,Jubilee), and Sam Amidon (a
spiritual version of the band Field Reports song, I Am Not Waiting Anymore).
Another highlight is the cover of Bob Dylans Every Grain of Sand, which is
recast as a soul-searching duet between Carter and Vernon. Jimmy and I are
coming from such different places, says Vernon, and yet were singing about the
same thing. There are two perspectives in that song, and theyre colliding. 

Whether backing up a guest artist or tearing through an old gospel standard, the
Blind Boys show their inimitable range throughout Ill Find a Way, starting with
the very first track, a cover of God Put a Rainbow in the Cloud. The song is a
country music chestnut, best known as a hit for Kitty Wells, yet Carter, an
avowed fan of country music, knows the song through legendary bluegrass picker
Ralph Stanley. I Shall Not Be Moved, an anthem during the Civil Rights movement
and, in Cooks view, the trunk of the gospel tree, stomps nimbly, thanks to the
Blind Boys spry vocals and the studio bands crackling country-gospel
accompaniment. Take Your Burden to the Lord And Leave It There, a tune penned by
the African American minister and composer Charles A. Tindley, jogs by on a
light shuffle, as though newly relieved of all woes and worries. It recounts not
the arduous journey to salvation, but the ecstatic relief of finding it. 

The centerpiece of Ill Find a Way, however, may just be Take Me to the Water,
featuring newest Blind Boy Paul Beasley. Based on a performance by Nina Simone
(one of Vernons favorite artists), this version features a steady pace and a
rich bed of harmonies, as Beasley pleads and testifies gloriously in his stately
falsetto. Just days before this recording, he had made his live debut with the
Blind Boys, but initially had some trouble with this tune. After some
encouraging words from Carter, Beasley not only nailed a heart-stopping
performance, but reduced everyone in the control room to tears. What you cant
hear on the final version is his small audience erupting into shouts and
applause on the other side of the glass. 

Just as Take Me to the Water moved the musicians to tears, so too will this
album move the listener. This is the exuberant power of gospel music, which
requires its performers to give themselves wholly to the songs. The Blind Boys
have been doing that for nearly three-quarters of a century now, and even into
their seventies and eighties - despite all obstacles - they dont plan to stop
any time soon. 

Its not just singing, explains the 82-year-old Carter. Were bringing the message
to the people, and that message is the good news of God. We sing from the heart,
and what comes from the heart reaches the heart. If you have any feeling in you,
you will feel the Blind Boys.

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