Mississippi Fred Preaches To the Choir

I've often found it intriguing, when glancing over Mississippi Fred McDowell's healthy catalog, that Amazing Grace consistently places on list after list of "Recommended Albums." It is, after all, neither a blues album nor an album where the legendary bluesman is even front and center for most of this outing.

All curiosity over its inclusion on these lists is immediately swept away after just one spin of this disc. Fred McDowell: Amazing Grace is nothing short of a classic, an album that gets into your blood and lends every bit of the immediacy now as it did when it was cut, in February, 1966.

Star billing aside, this disc is actually The Hunter's Chapel Singers, from Como, Mississippi. McDowell plays guitar and lends harmonies through most of the tracks, though in the context of this album, he is an ensemble player. He's featured in a couple solo performances (e.g Back Back Train, The Lord Will Make a Way), though this is on par with his fellow artists' contributions. And those contributions are just a wonder.

When trying to understand the history of the blues, we often hear of its pedigree, which includes African-American spirituals and work songs. To my ear, this family tree is strikingly evident throughout these cuts. Shave the tempo down a bit on songs like When I Lay My Burden Down and we're hearing the cadences of the levee camps and prison farms. Devoid of all the polish and flash we often find with gospel outings, these spirituals feel like a Southern country church, all weathered pine boards, old-time religion and raising a voice. Stripped-down or unembellished, these performances are a feast of harmonies, from the opening tracks on.

The Hunter's Chapel Singers included Annie Mae McDowell, Fred's wife, with whom he'd cut another largely-spiritual album just two years previously. She brought Fannie Davis, Grace Bowden and James Collins with her. Just the five of them with Fred's guitar are a full-on revival meeting, with voices straight from the soul. Fred's guitar work, one of the reasons for his renown, is largely understated throughout this album--he and his troupe are out frying bigger fish for this outing--though he retains his trademark insistent elegance. His guitar intro The Lord Will Make a Way is as stirring a gospel as any vocal performance on this CD.

We have grown so used to African American gospel that's fire-and-glory and dancing in the aisles. Sometimes, when we get to spinning a disc like Fred McDowell: Amazing Grace, we get reminded that some of the best gospel out there wasn't meant to raise the rafters. Just shake some foundations.

Peace, Mudcatz



Fred McDowell and the Hunter's Chapel Singers
Amazing Grace
Testament, 1995

1. Jesus On The Mainline
2. When I Lay My Burden Down
3. I'm So Glad I Got Good Religion
4. Going Over The Hill
5. I Know I've Been Converted
6. Just a Little More Faith
7. Back Back Train
8. You Got To Move
9. Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed
10. Amazing Grace
11. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning
12. Tell The Angels
13. When You Come Out Of The Wilderness
14. The Lord Will Make A Way
15.It's A Blessing
16. This Little Light Of Mine


Link