Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Whilst early 20th century Texan guitar evangelist Blind Willie Johnson has never really received the acclaim lavished on blues contemporaries like Robert Johnson and Son House - largely due to his tendency to perform solely sacred material - there is no doubting that the street corner musician has had a sizeable impact on the music world since his untimely and poverty-stricken death at the age of 48 in 1945. In fact, countless acts including Led Zeppelin, Bruce Cockburn, Paul McCartney, Ry Cooder and Eric Clapton have all covered Johnson's songs and the 2016 'God Don't Never Change' tribute compilation from Alligator Records helped make the great man's place in music history that little bit more secure. With the myriad of augmented versions out there of classics like "The Soul Of A Man", "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and "John The Revelator", it's always refreshing to hear the originals as nature intended. With nothing more than his supremely adaptable voice and guitar - sometimes played with either a bottleneck or a pocket knife (no one's really sure) as a slide - as well as the occasional vocal contribution from his first wife Willie B Harris, this 26-song collection from Soul Jam Records sees Johnson's output lovingly remastered and in shipshape condition. As a result, songs like "Jesus Is Coming Soon" and "You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond" sound delightfully immediate and the stark warning contained within all the more urgent and affecting. Thanks to the improved sound quality, less-favoured numbers from the BWJ back catalogue get a chance to shine with the likes of "The Rain Don't Fall On Me" and "When The War Was On" sitting well next to more familiar material. Bizarrely, the compilers have omitted arguably Johnson's most celebrated song "God Don't Never Change" but the sheer quality of the rest of his work and the subsequent sound quality enhancement makes up for this strange oversight. A fascinating 16 page booklet which includes drawings, memorabilia and biographical notes provides the icing on the cake.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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