Customer Reviews

Sings Spirituals

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This is an interesting disc. I am not sure when it was recorded, but the scratchy, faded sound quality means it is either real old, or somewhat old and the tapes degenerated.

Despite the poor sound quality, B.B. can sing, and he belts out some fine spirituals with a band and string section. His version of Swing Low Sweet Chariot is one of the best I have ever heard, upbeat and joyful.

Still, I would only recommend this disc to die hard fans and those that kinda like B.B. and are into Christian music. The sound quality is pretty bad.

B.B. King "Sings Spirituals" features fantastic retellings of those time-tested gospel tunes. It features those staple spirituals one would expect like 'Ole Time Religion,' 'Sweet Chariot' and 'Army of the Lord.' A surprise is Merle Travis' 'Sixteen Tons.' The album has a fantastically vintage sound. The music has probably aged so well thanks to the modest instrumentation of organ, piano, bass and drums. Naturally, there is handclapping and a chorus. For this one, B.B. never picks up Lucille. You read correctly, this is a B.B. King album without a guitar! Never a commercial gimmick, B.B. King wanted to keep it real as gospel was supposed to have been played in the 1950s. Beyond King's stellar voice, the primary musical instrument is the organ. This suits me fine as one of my favorite elements of King's earlier blues albums has always been his employment of the organ. "Completely Well" is a case in point. While the original release was a brief vinyl record, the eighteen track Ace reissue features good bonus tracks that bring "Sings Spirituals" up to a full-length CD. If the listener enjoys vintage African-American gospel or modern groups like the Blind Boys of Alabama, this album is a home run. This unfortunately seems to fly under the radar for most blues and gospel listeners. Listen to B.B. King "Sings Spirituals" and experience a different side of the Bluesman.