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Zowie! Hold onto your hats--the Blind Boys of Alabama have come a-caroling! In one form or another, the Blind Boys have been making beautiful gospel music for 60 years, but have not released a holiday-themed offering until now. All I can say is, "Well worth the wait!"

First, the group's name can be a stopper. There is something fundamentally "politically incorrect" about calling these incredibly talented, visually-impaired, African-American artists "The Blind Boys of Alabama." Get over it. I know I did--these excellent gentlemen (Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter, George Scott, Joey Williams, Ricky McKinnie, Bobby Butler and Tracy Pierce) participate in a gospel group with a long and storied past, and the name is part of that history. Just take it from me, the fat old girl from Minnesota, that these Blind Boys rock BIG TIME under any name they choose.

The mood here is high-flying, clap-your-hands gospel with jazz/blues undertones. If you can listen to this album completely still, without having some body part start to tap or sway, then you are musically dead and should stop reading this review right now. I am listening to Go Tell It on the Mountain while writing; frankly, I am having a tough time using the keyboard when my whole being wants to jump 'n shout. As a service to my reading audience, I will persevere.

The Blind Boys present twelve songs, all but one (Joy to the World) with orchestration (typically organ, guitar, double bass, and drums). Most tracks are very well known; the less familiar pieces include Last Month of the Year (which answers the musical question, "When was Jesus born?") and I Pray on Christmas (a relatively recent composition by Harry Connick, Jr.). The ample liner notes provide helpful details regarding each cut and include photos of the artists as they recorded the album.

Guest vocalists provide an exciting additional dimension on Go Tell It on the Mountain. The Blind Boys have pulled together the most amazing range of outside artists to perform on this CD, representing very diverse musical tastes. The eclectic group consists of Aaron Neville (pop/R&B star since the early 1960s), Chrissie Hynde (lead singer for the Pretenders), Solomon Burke (early soul pioneer; lots of R&B hits in the 1960s), Tom Waits (sardonic rock artist), Michael Franti (rap star), Mavis Staples (lead singer for the Staple Singers), Shelby Lynne (pop/rock; won Grammy for Best New Artist in 2001), George Clinton (recorded both as Parliament and Funkadelic in the 1970s), Me'Shell NdegéOcello (contemporary R&B singer/bassist), and Les McCann (funk and jazz since the late 1950s). Old and young, jazz and funk, rock and R&B, all elements come together on this marvelous album.

As for the Blind Boys themselves, these are seasoned veterans who can comfortably deliver the best on every level. The harmonies are flawless, and the solos are outstanding. They sing with an enthusiasm that pumps up the energy level throughout the recording.

Go Tell It on the Mountain abounds with special moments. The rough, gravelly voice of Tom Waits makes the title number a special pleasure, and the sweet-but-edgy singing of Chrissie Hynde does the same for In the Bleak Midwinter. Since I am sucker for "a cappella" treatment, I especially enjoyed Joy to the World for its marvelous harmonies and for the inclusion of Aaron Neville as a guest vocalist. As for Michael Franti, on Little Drummer Boy he delivers a satiny bass that makes him a Barry White sound-alike.

If you want something special in a holiday CD, something that sets the disc apart from the volumes of other Christmas offerings crowding the shelves, put your hands on Go Tell It on the Mountain. You won't be sorry--this is superb holiday music.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2003)

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From the liner notes:

The Blind Boys of Alabama are: Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter, George Scott, Joey Williams, Ricky McKinnie, Bobby Butler and Tracy Pierce.

From the group's promotional materials:

"For Clarence Fountain--the 70-something years-young leader of The Blind Boys of Alabama--his earliest memories of Christmas are among the most vivid."

"'I must've been about three or four years old, living with my family in Tyler, Alabama, in Dallas County. We were out in the country and didn't get to town but once in a while. Christmas was the one day that us kids all got some candy and some apples and oranges. Didn't have anything else--we were too poor to buy anything else. But I knew it was Christmas, because that was the only time I got those things all at the same time--the candy and the apples and the oranges."

"Later, when Fountain entered the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind at Taladega, 'they had a big male chorus and we always learned Christmas songs like Silent Night. You know, the Blind Boys have always wanted to cut a Christmas album--we just never got it together before.'"

"For Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, the wait is over. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN is the first holiday theme album in the group's 60-year history, as well as their third release for Real World Records. This 12-song collection is a work of both comforting familiarity and startling innovation, with genre-crossing guest vocal appearances by Solomon Burke, George Clinton, Michael Franti, Chrissie Hynde, Shelby Lynne, Les McCann, Me'Shell NdegéOcello, Aaron Neville, Mavis Staples, and Tom Waits. There are special instrumental guest performances by Richard Thompson (electric guitar) and Robert Randolph (pedal steel guitar) in addition to a superb studio band, led by organist John Medeski (of Medeski, Martin & Wood fame) with jump-blues guitar ace Duke Robillard and the peerless rhythm section of Danny Thompson (double bassA) and Michael Jerome (drums)."

"GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN was produced by John Chelew, producer of the Blind Boys' two previous Grammy Award-winning albums: SPIRIT OF THE CENTURY (2001) and HIGHER GROUND (2002). A percentaqe of the royalties from the new disc (released September 16, 2003) will be donated to the American Diabetes Association. During the ADA's national convention in June 2003, the Blind Boys of Alabama (three of whose members are diabetic, initiated a major fund-raising campaign with a donation of $5,000 to the organization."

From the artists' web site:

"The Blind Boys of Alabama have spread the spirit and energy of pure soul gospel music for over 60 years, ever since the first version of the group formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. Today, founding members Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter and George Scott are joined by more recent arrivals Joey Williams, Ricky McKinnie, Bobby Butler, and Tracy Pierce on a mission to expand the audience for traditional soul-gospel singing while incorporating contemporary songs and innovative arrangements into their hallowed style."

"The group toiled for more than 40 years on the traditional gospel circuit. But in 1983, their career reached a turning point with their crucial role in The Gospel at Colonus, the smash hit musical drama created by Bob Telson and Lee Breuer. This Obie Award-winning Off-Broadway and Broadway success, coupled with their appearance on two original soundtrack albums (in 1984 and 1988), brought the Blind Boys' timeless sound to an enthusiastic new audience."

"The 1992 album DEEP RIVER - produced by Booker T. Jones and featuring a transcendent version of Bob Dylan's I Believe In You - earned the Blind Boys their first Grammy® Award nomination."

Blind Boys of Alabama

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Artist link

Track List