Three Classic Albums Plus

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This 1957 release has been issued throughout the world under a bevy of names. These recordings are worth mentioning for both their sacred and secular nature. Equally as interesting is the wide range of performance styles that the Rev. Gary Davis incorporates throughout this long player -- the first full-length disc to do so. Among them are the rarely displayed preachin' blues of "Bad Company," "Runnin' to the Judgement," and "Pure Religion." Notable are the spoken introductions or talkin' blues recitation techniques, as well as the more obvious and overtly religious themes. Davis took his commitment to the Lord seriously and had become an ordained minister in the summer of 1937. His vehemence and compulsion to spread the word is a blatant motif that works on several strata. In the musical parables of "Seven Sisters" -- which isn't a voodoo reference -- and "Right Now," Davis recalls the fatality of not rebuking sin with lyrics like "Don't 'cha put off today for tomorrow/for tomorrow may never be/Let the Saviour bless yo' soul, right now." This collection also includes a few equally heady instrumentals -- most notably "Cocaine Blues," "Buck Dance," and "Hesitation Blues." Davis' astonishingly potent guitar playing and conversational approach has arguably never been captured more aptly on record. The direct lineage between artists such as Dave Van Ronk, Jorma Kaukonen, Stefan Grossman, and Brownie McGhee becomes infinitely clear. One need not listen any further for their versatility in technique -- coupled with simultaneous chord strumming and picking -- can be traced to Davis. "Moon Goes Down" is one of the more secular pieces, originating in the slave fields as a "hollar." Davis' emotionally heavy performance and dirge-like chord changes rank the tune among his most emotive recordings. Pure Religion was amended with two additional and otherwise previously unreleased tunes -- "Time Is Drawing Near" and "Crucifixion" -- when the title was issued on CD in 1991. Both tracks are from the same June 1957 session documented by Tiny Robinson and Fred Gerlach in New York City. ~ Lindsay Planer