Customer Reviews

Train Don't Leave Me

5 star:		(3)
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Arhoolie Records' series of Sacred Steel guitar music - slide guitar on both pedal steel and lap steel guitars - is a revelation. African-American church music featuring a pedal steel was new to me before I got the first of this series, but now I'm a convert. The performances at the Sacred Steel Convention were somewhat liberated from the church setting (although the songs have mostly religious themes)and allowed the players to jam and let loose. The guitarists (and there are many of them - each with a cut or two) all all soulful and tremendously hot; I don't think I've heard any guitar player who is currently playing this well. Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and even B B King should take note - this album exceeds anything these greats have put out in the last 5 years. Don't be intimidated by the religious overtones, buy this disc if you have any interest in electric guitars and the wild music they can make!!

This is one of those incredible gems that I assume many people don't know about. I don't remember how I wound up buying it, just taking a chance, but it's one the best CD "gambles" I ever won. This is incredible music.

If this CD doesn't have you up and dancing, or at least moving some parts of your body, please check your pulse. The collection of steel and lap-pedal guitar players has to be one of the best ever assembled. For secular folks out there, don't let the "gospel" label push you away - yes, this is gospel but more than that, it's amazing guitar work with fantastic live performances. A young Robert Randolph, who has gone onto sharing the stage with guys like Eric Clapton and B. B. King, is one of the guys here.

From the soulful "Since I Laid My Burden Down" by Calvin Cooke to the rockin' the house stuff like "Train Don't Leave Me," by Aubrey Ghent, this CD has me in tears every time - tears of joy that music can be this good. I'm not kidding. I am big electric blues fan, and man, this is tough to beat.

If you are a fan of guitar, if you are a fan of gospel, if you are a fan of music from the heart, and you haven't heard this disc, you owe it to yourself to set things right. I was lucky enough to have been at the convention documented here, and believe me, this is the cream of an extraordinary crop of songs heard over the weekend. You'll hear a typically dynamic and virtuosoic performance by The Campbell Brothers, a young Robert Randolph (who declared his intention to be rich and famous), and many musicians who play only in the church - and there's not a dud among them. This isn't music to sit quietly and nod off to. It's music to stand up and be moved by - soul-stirring music in every sense of the phrase.