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The Lord has been good to the Blind Boys Of Alabama. After forming in the late 1930s at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind with just five voices and a single acoustic guitar, the group toured the traditional gospel circuit for more than forty years. They've since worked on a Broadway musical (1983's The Gospel At Colonus), won a slew of Grammy awards (most recently for 2002's Higher Ground) and recorded collaboration-heavy albums that have exposed their gospel music to a wider audience. Go Tell It On The Mountain is a live concert companion to the 2003 album of the same name.
The concert first aired during a PBS pledge drive, complete with members of the group soliciting donations in front of an always-busy phone bank. The DVD, like the album, features a slew of guest artists: Chrissie Hynde, Aaron Neville, gospel singer Mavis Staples, Michael Franti of hip-hop group Spearhead, John Medeski on organ, Charlie Musselwhite on blues harp, Robert Randolph on pedal steel and Duke Robillard on electric guitar. The whole party gathered at the Beacon Theatre in New York City and performed to what looks to be a sold-out (and, it must be noted, mostly white) audience.
The setlist is pretty heavy on Christmas-themed songs: the slow and plodding rendition of "Little Drummer Boy" features Franti monotonously intoning each line before the Blind Boys sing it, contrasted with Staples's upbeat and soulful collaboration on "Born In Bethlehem". Aaron Neville lends his signature falsetto for what has to be the funniest song of the entire concert, an a cappella version of "Joy To The World". Whenever Neville is on stage, the camera angles are such that it's impossible to see the cross tattoo on his left cheek -- if you're handy with the remote, there's about two seconds where you can just make it out -- but anyone who's seen Horatio Sanz's impression on Saturday Night Live knows it's there. Chrissie Hynde takes the stage for the traditional English Christmas song "In The Bleak Midwinter" for the most bizarre collaboration of the night.
"I didn't come all the way from Alabama to New York looking for Jesus -- I brought Him along with me," says group leader Clarence Fountain. Over the course of the evening he reminds the audience of the group's recent Grammy awards, compliments himself (and his band) on what a superb job they're doing, bears witness to the wonders that God has done in his life (you know, to recognize the True Spirit of Christmas) and welcomes guests to the stage. Everyone looks genuinely glad to be there, especially Neville and Staples (Franti look rather bored, and Hynde looks like she's itching to get a new Pretenders album out as soon as she can).
The musical guests really add to the upbeat gospel/soul music. It'll get you moving, but more in a praise-the-Lord manner than in a bumpin'-n-grindin' way -- this is not R&B, and indeed, it's likely that the Blind Boys and their supporters were among the offended believers when Ray Charles crossed gospel with sex. Regardless, Medeski joins the group for the title track and returns periodically throughout the concert, Musselwhite's bluesy harmonica (which never fails to remind me of the theme from Roseanne) fills out "If I Had A Hammer" and Randolph showcases his Hendrix-inspired distorted pedal steel on "Hammer", and later with "Higher Ground" (yes, the Stevie Wonder song, only this time with Hynde).
The context of this particular concert practically demands guests artists, but the Blind Boys are at their best when there are no other voices to get in their way. The lively "Go Tell It On The Mountain" sets the bar high for the rest of the show. Their version of "Amazing Grace" -- sung to the music and melody of The Animals' "House Of The Rising Sun" -- is serious and melancholy. Contrast with the euphoric "Look Where He Brought Me", which segues into "Someone Watches Over Me" -- Fountain preaches over the music for a little while, all Baptist-revival style (here's a snippet: "God's been better to me than I've been to myself"), and then baritone Jimmy Carter just takes off. His duet with Neville on "People Get Ready" and his holler on "If I Had A Hammer" are mere whimpers compared to the lengths he goes to here. The other members of the front line -- Fountain and George Scott -- spend most of their time sitting down (remember, these guys are old, and even the energetic Carter takes a few breathers now and then) but get so riled up that they start to get up and dance, only to be gently forced back into their chairs by guitarist Joey Williams. Carter wanders off into the crowd (with some assistance), and they love it! Everyone's cheering along, responding with an authentic "Yeah!" when Carter asks, "Do you feel good?" This call and response goes on for a while, and people continue clapping their hands and waving at him (folks, he can't see). Carter holds a blood-curling note for 90 seconds before being led back to the stage, but it's the concert's best moment. These guys have life in them yet.
The ensemble closer "Down By The Riverside" allows all of the guest vocalists to take a verse, Musselwhite takes a chorus, and Robillard (of Roomful Of Blues and The Fabulous Thunderbirds) finally shows up to take a chorus as well. It's a rousing end to an energetic concert, and as the Blind Boys Of Alabama shuffle off the stage, you gotta be thankful that Christmas only happens once a year.
-- Andrew Mall
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