The temptation to take on the misguided academic purists in this review is almost overwhelming. Believe it or not, there are those who feel that a group of the stature and vision of the
Blind Boys of Alabama -- co-founded over 60 years ago by members
Clarence Fountain,
Jimmy Carter, and
George Scott, and filled out by
Joey Williams,
Ricky McKinnie, and
Bobby Butler -- shouldn't, in essence, engage, let alone record, music from genres other than gospel and spirituals, i.e., pop music. Suffice to say: who better? Give up the nonsense, come to the front of the house, and open not only your mind, but your heart. On their follow-up to the wildly successful
Spirit of the Century, the
Blind Boys enlist the phenomenally gifted visionary
Robert Randolph and the Family Band, the great young lions of the
Sacred Steel tradition as their backing unit, as well as longtime fan, über-guitarist, and songwriter
Ben Harper on a few choice cuts for good measure. The material is stunning, even more so than on Spirit of the Century. It was chosen for its ability to be molded into the vocal image of the
Blind Boys, for its ability to split seams between sacred and secular worlds, but also between genres and cultural and societal terrains. In the voices of the
Blind Boys, the song is the vehicle to transcend the burdens of human existence or to celebrate its preciousness.