Post Spotlight to FacebookIn This Feature
Magazine Archives:
Blind But Now I See: A Mixtape
by Michael James McGonigal
No single song travels the full spectrum of Christian music quite like the hymn "Amazing Grace." Like faith itself, the song knows no boundaries of color, having long been a staple of both black and white gospel traditions. I first fell in love with this tune myself as it was sung by Delta bluesman Fred McDowell and his wife Annie, with the choir from their church in Como, Mississippi, backing them up. I've since heard it so many times — at church, in concert, on recordings, at Sacred Harp singings — that I took the song for granted, as if it had always been here, since time immemorial. And yes, on more than one occasion, I've rolled my eyes to say "another version of this old thing — and how cheesy that they placed it at the end of their album, just like everyone does!"
But last month, I happened across Steve Turner's excellent book Amazing Grace (Ecco, 2002), and my appreciation has been fully restored. The hymn was written sometime around 1765 by John Newton. The self-taught Newton had been the abused servant of a slave trader, and, ironically, later became the captain of a slave ship himself. He had not previously been a religious man, but he was converted after a terrible storm at sea in 1748 where he found himself begging God for mercy. After surviving the ordeal, Newton was a new man, and worked to become ordained as a minister in the 1760s. He was very charismatic, and services at the church he founded in England were always packed to the gills. "Amazing Grace" is thought to have been written for one of Newton's sermons; the music's melody was added later, and was probably taken from a slave song. The searing poetry of this song is undeniable.
"Amazing Grace" is one of the most recorded songs in the world, and eMusic has about 100 (!) versions of it in its catalogue. Here are 12 of them to get you started. (This might make a marvelous mix CD, should you feel so inclined.)
1. John Fahey
An idiosyncratic genius of the acoustic guitar, Fahey revolutionized it as a solo instrument with his visionary recordings from the '60s (as well as with his pioneering indie record label, Takoma). He also recorded sacred songs throughout his career; several of his best-selling records were Christmas albums, which are exquisite.
2. Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama
This recent performance updates the tune with a bluesy lead guitar that never overpowers, and Clarence Fountain's intense vocals are still ox-strong after more than 60 years of singing with the group.
3. Asha
It sometimes helps knowing what not to do with a song. This treacly, New Age-ish version makes you yearn for elevator music.
4. The Lemonheads
This sloppy, pop-punk version bangs out the classic verse via modern ennui, reinventing spiritual anguish as disaffected twentysomething angst, and proving it truly is a song for the ages.
5. El McMeen
This beautiful, acoustic guitar instrumental is very sweet and soothing, but not overly so. It's a medley with "Be Thou My Vision," and it's something of an update to Fahey's approach to the tune.
6. Rev. Andrew Johnson and Family
In the pre-radio era, some of the earliest best-selling 78s consisted of recorded sermons and congregational singing. This tradition continues today, often with much longer and less rehearsed sermons that burst into singing. With a booming, wonderful voice and a no-nonsense but tender message, the Rev. Johnson is one of the finest modern preachers.
7. Blind Willie McTell
This version by Georgia blues legend Blind Willie McTell is as profoundly haunting as it deeply moving, so powerful that only half a line of spoken lyric is enough to convey the song's redemptive message. McTell's brief description of the song as a tune they "used to hum back in the days when they'd be picking cotton" reminds us what a solace "Amazing Grace" was in times of hardship.
8. Sons of the San Joaquin
Now here's something else you don't hear every day — "Amazing Grace" as a sincere, old-school cowboy ballad with strings!
9. R Carlos Nakai
Nakai brings a Native American perspective to this song, making it ghostly and sepulchral.
10. Joe Hubbard
The give-and-take between contemporary gospel and jazz is fascinating. And while this is a "smooth" take on the song and not some lost Mingus outtake, it has its own charms, and somehow works between Nakai and Graham.
11. Billy Graham
Graham, one of the best-selling Christian artists of all time, doesn't show extensive musical prowess here — but there's something quaint and reassuring, in a white-bread '50s way, about this heartfelt rendition.
12. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Very short but just as sweet, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band's take is from the Funeral for a Friend album — a superlative, strange tribute to New Orleans' funeral music tradition.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC