Rev. Gary Davis - Sun Is Going Down - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The classic 1957 from one of the greats of gospel blues, a rough diamond of hard, pure country gospel expression, at odds with the earthly concerns of the blues and yet entwined with the devil's rhythms. Listen to the splendid Moon Goes Down, the skittering guitar figures on Bad Company and classic ragtime of I Didn't Want to Join the Band for confirmation of his brilliant originality. 17 cuts total, including a couple of unreleased items. Album Tracks 1. Pure Religion 2. Mountain Jack 3. Right Now 4. Buck Dance 5. Candyman 6. Devil's Dream 7. Moon Goes Down 8. Cocaine Blues 9. Runnin' to Judgement 10. Hestitation Blues 11. Bad Company 12. I Didn't Want to Join the Band 13. Evening Sun Goes Down 14. Seven Sisters 15. My Heart Is Fixed 16. Time Is Drawing Near 17. Crucifixtion

Reverend Davis is one of those figures whose creativity covered such a wide range that one can come back again and again and always find something new. This certainly proves that. There is only the one gospel song, but the interplay between voice and instrument can be heard on songs like Hesitation Blues and Candyman. The ragtime and blues playing here are definitive examples of American guitar, i.e. Walkin' Dog Blues, Twelve Sticks, Buck Rag, Buck Dance. There is hokum hilarity and novelty (the slide on Whistlin' Blues) to balance the sheer instrumental force. And there is a lot more Little Boy, Little Boy Who Made Your Britches is a song that might slip through the cracks on a compilation like this, but a careful listen reveals a piece that is so unique it is hard to categorize. Album Tracks 1. Walkin' Dog Blues 5 10 2. Cincinnati Flow Rag 4 40 3. She's Funny That Way 7 01 4. Whoopin' Blues 4 06 5. Twelve Sticks 2 50 6. Children of Zion 5 03 7. Buck Rag 2 40 8. Hesitation Blues 11 52 9. C-Rag 2 58 10. Baby, Let Me Lay It on You 3 48 11. Cocaine Blues 2 24 12. Buck Dance 2 54 13. Candyman 2 57 14. Wall Hollow Blues 3 55 15. Little Boy, Little Boy Who Made Your Britches 2 45 16. Whistlin' Blues 6 53

If I Had My Way is a collection of early home recordings of Reverend Gary Davis. These historci recordings fo the Reverend predate his seminal albums and features Davis singing with his wife and another preacher, a rarity among Davis recordings. Album Tracks 1. If I Had My Way 2. If the Lord Be for You 3. Twelve Gates to the City 4. You Got to Move 5. We Are the Heavenly Father's Children 6. A Friend Like Lonely Jesus 7. Get Right Church 8. Marine Band 9. Shine on Me 10. There's Destruction on This Land 11. He Stole Away 12. The Uncloudy Day 13. Say No to the Devil 14. Say to the Devil 15. I Belong to the Band 16. Give Me a Heart to Love 17. He Never Has Left Me Alone 18. Civil War Parade