Fire In My Bones: Raw + Rare + Other-Worldly African-American Gospel (1944-2007)

Parting the water between the beautiful harmonies of black gospel music, where astounding quartet and solo vocalist plead their message of the "good news", Mike McGonigal curates a spectacular collection showcasing the other side of gospel: the rough, fiery and rousing sermons and "sanctified blues" that howled from the pews to the pulpits. Stretching across three discs and organized thematically (“The Wicked Shall Cease From Troubling,” “God’s Mighty Hand,” “All God Power Store”), Fire In My Bones is a tremendous testament to black gospel much as Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music was a bible to '50s folk scene. The arc of 63 years moves beyond easy categorizing: from the living room a cappella of Laura Rivers' "That's Alright", the tribal raucous of a fife and drum band pounding out "Why Sorow Done Passed Me Around, or the guitar evangelist tradition which captures Rev. Charles White accompanying James Butler on water bucket and tin funnel, here is a unique focus on an authentically American tradition that deserves wider appeal.