Customer Reviews

Southern Journey, Vol. 12: Georgia Sea Islands - Biblical Songs And Spirituals

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hey I miss spelled hear, spelling it here. It is driving me crazy on my review. Could you please correct it! Thanks it is embarrrassing. Happy Thanksgiving!

There is something about hearing a voice recorded back in time that tells more about a people than anything you can read in a book. These beautiful, strong and rich voices from the past are something every person should here. What a pleasure! Bessie Jones singing O Death. OH MY! She is a national treasure! Growing up in Georgia I have heard some of these songs sung on St.Simons Island and the power and feeling they evoke are pure and deeply spiritual. It's that deep spiritual center in all humanbeings that these voices sing from.These singers just seem to be a little closer than most of us to that essence. hehe Get this CD. It will make you think about your life and remember theirs. Or forget anything deep about it and just enjoy!

This is an amazing album. I've never heard anyone sing like this. The songs are beautiful, complex and rebellious. The images in them are as glorious as any found in any literature. My favourite is the description of Noah's dove folding his wings and singing as he lands on the hill after the Flood, which is found in 'Turkle Dove'. The songs also hold memories of African stories and gods. Jesus as he appears in these songs very much in the image of an African holy man. John Davis sings of 'Jesus the magic man:' "Jesus Christ was a doctor/ And he turned the water to wine./ What a mighty doctor." Lomax, as he explains in the liner notes, has not taken a purist approach in recording these songs. He has recorded these songs taught to the singers by their grandparents, many of whom were slaves and which are absolutly part of an authentic oral tradition. (Primary sources from the time of the Civil War confirm this.) However, in making these recordings Lomax has added traditional instrumentalists from a range of places, including the Bahamas, which add new influences. (Lomax makes an interesting case for doing this.) I love these recordings.