Just to let you know….
Every Sunday morning when I get dressed for church, I put on some Sister Rosetta Tharpe, just to get me in that “feelin’” as they say. One of the pioneers of black gospels of the 40s and 50s, Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s singing and guitar playing has influenced a wide swath of artists, ranging from jazzers like John Scofield to rockers like Little Richard. The accompanying book has testimonials and stories from the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi and Billy Gibbons, none of whom I don’t think are regular attendeers of my church, but would gladly welcome.
This previously unreleased album finds her in France in 1966, just her, her guitar, and The Holy Spirit, and that’s all she needed most of the time. Her guitar playing is like Pentecostal choir, rocking and rolling, and her voice is right from the pulpit, preaching the same gospel as she had been doing for years. Her take of “This Train” and “Up Above My Head” may not pack the urgent heat, but they still have the glow of the original versions. She gives testimonials like “Jesus Met The Woman At The Well” and “Two Little Fishes, Five Loaves Of Bread” as if the Grand Theater in Limoges, France was a Sunday School class. Spiritual such as “Joshua Fought The Battle of Jericho” and “When The Saints Go Marching In” mix church and street savvy, while “Give Me That Old Time Religion” must have had someone in the audience go search for a tambourine.
If this doesn’t get you moving, you might be dead!
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