This month, I've discovered two blues CDs that will more than repay your investment at the shopping mall. That's right, I said shopping mall, 'cause I found them in the unlikeliest of places: nationwide chain stores like Sam Goody or Camelot Music. That's right, the same place that George Romero (yes, the director behind the original black-and-white Night of the Living Dead) once called "temples of consumerism."

Stores like Sam Goody or Camelot Music usually don't attract me to their CD bins, largely because they don't often stock many discs from Elmore James, Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf. My latest trip to the mall changed all that for me and from now on, I'm willing to give those big chain stores another chance. Unfortunately, my two favorite mall shops, the Store of Knowledge and Natural Wonders, seem to be turning into stores of ignorance and economic blunder by going out of business. I've been in five major malls in five different cities so far this spring, and these two innovative stores have both called it quits nationwide. Maybe it's because knowledge, or the pursuit of it, is a pretty hard sell, or that there are too few NPR/PBS geeks like me to make either chain economically viable.

Well, I worshipped at the temple and found a collection from the First Annual Sacred Steel Convention called Train Don't Leave Me, and a welcome re-issue of Elmore James' studio sessions recorded in New York for the Fire label, The Sky is Crying, under the Blues Factory/Digimode Entertainment imprint from Germany. In their own way, they're both worth shoutin' about. Let me tell you why.

Sacred Steel: An Answer to My Prayers

Sacred Steel is a tradition of inspirational electric steel guitar players that range from the House of God, Which is the Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth Without Controversy, Inc, in Brooklyn, New York to the Keith Dominion of the House of God Church in Florida. Last year at Rollins College in Winters Park, Florida, over 15 lap and pedal steel guitarist players got together and played at the First Annual Sacred Steel Convention for two days of workshops, showcases and concerts.

This music has a rich tradition that has largely been confined to a network of small African-American churches, but Arhoolie Records has captured this unique blend of gospel and blues on a series of sacred steel CDs and a video. Train Don't Leave Me, a collection of 15 cuts recorded live at last year's sacred steel conference, documents the first gathering of House of God steel guitarists to share their music outside the confines of a church service. Like its inspiration in faith, it's a worthy tribute to gospel blues.

Train Don't Leave Me features long-time sacred steel artists like Lonnie "Big Ben" Bennett and Aubrey Ghent, two of the long-time, major players on the sacred steel scene. Bennett's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" and Ghent's title cut and "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" showcase two traditional gospel songs but fueled by a full band and the unique sound of pedal steel.

[Photo © Susan Adcock]

There's also other sacred steel players who are working to cross over into more secular blues venues, like Robert Randolph. At 23, he's one of the youngest players carrying on a tradition begun in Pentecostal churches by brothers Troman and Willie Eason in the late 1930's. Proof of Randolph's ability to cross over into more mainstream markets is his work with Ropeadope Records. Next month, Ropeadope will release Gospel, featuring Randolph and John Medeski (of Medeski, Martin and Wood) and the North Mississippi All-Stars, which will introduce Randolph's pedal steel talent to a wider audience.

Randolph's "I Feel Like Pressing My Way" is a treasure, particularly when his pedal steel fills in behind Ricky Fowler's bluesy vocals.

Check out Train Don't Leave Me. It's quite an uplifting tribute to the power of faith. Not to mention a showcase for some pretty powerful pedal steel work by some of the more established as well as younger players steeped in the tradition of the sacred steel movement.

Elmore James' Fire Sessions

This month, one of my long-time prayers has been answered. Not only have I found yet another version of the blues classic, "Dust My Broom," but I've finally tracked down Elmore James' sides that he laid down for the Fire label in the late 1950's in New York. For a long time, these cuts have only been available via an import on Britain's Charly label, and I'm happy to report that Germany's Digimode Entertainment/Blues Factory label has released The Sky is Crying, 20 songs that feature over 53 minutes of one of the most powerful slide guitarists the blues have ever known.

There's quite a helping of plugged-in urban, post-war blues on The Sky Is Crying, including some of Elmore James' best-known songs. From "The Sky Is Crying," "Dust My Broom," and "Standing at the Crossroads," to three outtakes of "Mean Mistreatin' Mama" and the little-known "Sunnyland Train," this disc is a treasure trove of slide-driven blues backed by punchy horns and a solid bass and drum rhythm section. My favorites include the ragged "Got To Move," and the blues shoutin' classic that was one of Hound Dog Taylor's favorites, "Look On Yonder Wall," or the rough-hewn "My Baby's Gone."

With so many blues players reissued over the past 50 years over many different labels, it's often difficult to find correct line-ups of studio bands in Elmore's era. This disc is no different, but I'd like to think that Elmore or his producer enlisted the help of Belton Evans on drums, John Williamson (better known as Homesick James) on bass, and possibly Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams on sax. Homesick was one of Elmore's original Broomdusters, and they often supported James as a solo artist when he recorded for the Fire and Enjoy labels in the late 50's and early 60's.

This month, let's count our blessings that the First Annual Sacred Steel Convention on Arhoolie, and Elmore James' The Sky Is Crying from the Blues Factory, are available in your local shopping mall. While the Store of Knowledge and Natural Wonders are closing their doors, it's a good sign that good quality gospel and blues are available at the larger chain stores.

If the planets line up next month, I'll report from Centrum's Port Townsend Blues and Heritage Festival, which will highlight the country blues of some of the best guitar and harmonica players around. This year's headliners include Red House recording artists Guy Davis and Paul Geremia, as well as blues singer extraordinaire Maria Muldaur and Louisiana piano man Henry Butler, among many others that make Fort Worden State Park their home for one of the country's most popular country blues festivals.

(C) 2001 - Eric Steiner