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Long before Christian rockers were using so-called "Devil's music" to promote
a religious message, the Rev. Gary Davis demonstrated that acoustic blues and
folk didn't have to be about matters of the flesh.
Davis, a fascinating cult figure, was as authentic a blues/folk singer as
Leadbelly, but he was also a Baptist minister -- and he managed to bring
Christian-oriented lyrics to people who weren't necessarily religious. Davis
didn't believe in preaching to the choir exclusively; blues and folk venues
often became his "pulpit."
This reissue focuses on Davis' appearance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival;
by that time, he was 69, and many of the people who were attending his live
performances weren't even born when he made his first recordings in 1935. Live
at Newport isn't for gospel purists any more than it is for blues purists.
Most of the performances (which find Davis accompanying himself on acoustic
guitar and harp) are acoustic folk rather than actual 12-bar blues, and even
though Davis picks a lot of songs that reflect his Christian beliefs (including
"I've Done All My Singing for My Lord," "Twelve Gates to the City," and "Samson
and Delilah"), he doesn't exclude secular material altogether. Eleven of the
CD's 13 tracks originally appeared on Davis' old At Newport LP of 1967, although
collectors will be glad to know that "Get Along Cindy" (a humorous vocal duet
with Barry Kornfeld) and the instrumental "Soldiers Drill" are previously
unreleased bonus tracks. Live at Newport is a highly soulful and rewarding
document of Davis' late period. |
- Song #1
- Song #2
- Song #3
- Song #4
- Song #5
- Song #6
- Song #7
- Song #8
- Song #9
- Song #10
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