Review: John Scofield - Piety Street

Label: Emarcy

Released: March 31, 2009

Over the years, John Scofield has worked with a who's who of jazz and fusion artists. He has established himself as one of the top names in jazz guitar and is almost as well known outside of jazz circles as he is within. He's one of those artists who finds himself in the unique position of being able to try whatever he wants. While that position many times finds artists releasing ego-driven nonsense, Scofield chooses instead to make an album that is an interesting experiment, showcasing the music far more than the formidable players who made it.

Piety Street find the jazz guitarist and his band making bluesy renditions of gospel songs. More than a few times, it fails to break with the conventionality of straightforward blues, sucking much of the gospel elements he supposedly wanted to capture out of the music. However, Scofield and company more often find a place where jazz, blues and gospel sing in unison. Once or twice, it's downright amazing as on "It's a Big Army," a Scofield original that sounds like a rediscovered old-time gospel gem, but generally the album is fairly understated, illustrating the band's total trust in the music itself.

Piety Street is certainly not Scofield's best work, but it is an interesting change-up. Rather than either sticking to the tried-and-true or running off on some silly ego trip, he chooses to explore some of the music he loves even if it isn't the genre for which he's best known. He assembled a top-notch band to navigate this musical adventure with him and the result is, a few weak spots aside, a very interesting listen.

Ratings
Satriani: 10/10
Zappa: 8/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Classic African American Gospel from Smithsonian Folkways

Label: Smithsonian Folkways

Released: January 29, 2008

I attended a memorial service for a coworker's husband a few years ago. The chapel was small, and the service was filled with speeches and laughter and the occasional gut-wrenching sob from the front of the room. It was touching, but as someone who didn't know the dead man, it was relatively mundane.

But then God came down and paid His respects.

God came in the form of an unassuming man who stood behind a keyboard at the front of the room and sang. His voice was like a mixture of Al Green and Marvin Gaye, but it was bigger than either of those two giants. I'm not a religious man, but as the light was streaming through the stained glass windows and the music was pouring out of this man's soul, I truly felt that God was in the room.

Unfortunately, God doesn't make many appearances on Classic African American Gospel from Smithsonian Folkways. There are certainly some powerful performances, but few performances that channel a higher power.

Many of the songs on Classic African American Gospel are hopeful odes sung by people who have suffered more than anyone should suffer. As Two Gospel Keys sing, "You may be crippled, you cannot walk, you may be blind and you cannot see, when the Lord gets ready, you've got to move." This is an album about moving in the name of God. This is music that was born from pain and strives for joy. This is powerful music, and it's great in its own, human way.

But that's the problem with so much religious music. It is filled with humanity instead of divinity -- and not even the best parts of humanity. Most religious music is conservatively dressed and well-behaved and concerned with appearances, when it should be powerful and passionate and a little bit crazy. It should be covered with mud and blood and hope and despair and love, and it should possess all the things that drive us to feed the hungry or help the poor or start a revolution. Most religious music is so concerned with honoring God that it never invites Him to sing along.

Only one performance on Classic African American Gospel sounds as if the musicians invited God to join in the song. The instrumental rendition of "It's Time to Make a Change" by Madison's Lively Stones is passionate and inspired, and the musicians' enthusiasm for both God and music is evident. The liner notes say that this is a "shout" band, and "shouting (is) an ecstatic state that involves speaking in tongues, improvised dancing, and singing/performing on a musical instrument. ... (They) perform not only at Sunday church services, they also praise the Lord at funerals, church convocations, parades, and baptisms." These sound like people who invite God to participate in every aspect of their lives, including their music. Especially their music.

Classic African American Gospel from Smithsonian Folkways is a good collection of spiritual music. It's just disappointing that God wasn't around for more of these recordings.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Can I get a witness?

It's gospel day here at Rock and Roll and Meandering Nonsense. If you're wondering why I'm writing about gospel on a site about rock music, the answer is simple: Gospel rocks! Done well, gospel is as moving as any rock song and it has the same ability to get inside us and carry us away. Also, it affirms my belief that music should save our souls, not damn them, something that is often lost in rock music.

Check out my reviews of the latest releases from the Sojouners and the Paschall Brothers below.

Review: Paschall Brothers - On the Right Road Now

Label: Smithsonian Folkways

Released: October 9, 2007

I recently read something that said the greatest threat to Christianity isn't secularization or moral relativism, but lackluster sermons. People want to be moved. They want a conversion experience. Yet, so often ministers fail to deliver that. Gospel music is in a similar boat. So many gospel recordings sound more like R&B for Jesus. Even a group like the Sojourners who seem to have all the pieces in place, fail to deliver. Perhaps my bar is too high. I want every gospel song to be like the Fisk Jubilee Singers doing "Ezekiel Saw De Wheel" and maybe I just can't have that. Or can I?

The Paschall Brothers come awfully close with On the Right Road Now, their Smithsonian Folkways debut. First of all, they dispense with the backing band and their voices, the harmonies, the rhythms, are so rich and full that it never sounds thin. In fact, their a cappella work has a bigger sound than a lot of rock bands. The recording is pristine and you can hear the voices come together and separate back out into the four part harmonies, making the connection between gospel and its secular step-child Doo-Wop quite clear. They can move from quiet to loud smoothly and the music just resonates inside. The Paschall Brothers aren't just a nice listen. They aren't the easy, safe sermon. They are the conversion experience.

As with all Smithsonian Folkways releases, there is also education involved. The 32 page booklet that accompanies the CD has a history of gospel that's surprisingly thorough despite its brevity. This isn't some half-baked history either. This one comes with a bibliography. It's serious history. The liner notes also provide technical and historical details about each track. It's a perfect example of Smithsonian Folkways' commitment to not only preserving the music, but also giving it a context that truly keeps it alive in our hearts and minds.

Just as the group's patriarch, Rev. Frank Paschall, Sr., tied them to their roots, this CD helps tie us to our own roots through music. The Paschall Brothers sing, "So many church folk just keep drifting away." Those folks must not be going to the Paschall's church.

Rating: 8/10

Website

Review: The Sojourners - Hold On

Label: Black Hen Music

Released: September 24, 2007

When gospel music is on, there's almost nothing that can touch it, but when it's off, it's an awfully tough listen. When I first read about the Sojourners' Hold On, I was intrigued. Here was a trio singing traditional gospel in a traditional style rather than the R&B for Jesus that typically passes for gospel these days. In a sense, the album was all it claimed to be and that made it all the more disappointing when it didn't live up to my expectations.

There is no doubt that Martcus Mosely, Will Sanders and Ron Small can sing. They can harmonize well, but what they fail to do is to truly sing together. They lack the synergy that puts the punch in gospel music. To make matters worse, the backing band, although they do the right thing by sticking to acoustic instruments, have all the energy of a studio band, not a church band. The result is gospel music as it might come out of a barbershop quartet or a vaudeville show.

They do rise to the occasion on "Run On" and "Walking Up the King's Highway," but on "Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb," a song that should certainly have a bang, they exhibit the same lack of explosiveness that pervades the album. All the pieces are in place, traditional gospel, traditional instrumentation, traditional arrangements, good singers, but Hold On still feels like a lackluster sermon.

Rating: 4/10