Blind Willie Johnson – Dark Was The Night

I bought the "Complete Recordings" to get "City of Refuge" and some other songs that aren't on here, but I don't find myself playing it over and over like I did this compilation. Superb song choice here

One of the true giants of American music, Blind Willie Johnson cut thirty sides from 1927 to 1930, dying in poverty and obscurity fifteen years after his final session. This disc collects just over half of Johnson's recorded output, including his best-known song 'It's Nobody's Fault but Mine' (which Led Zeppelin "borrowed" without crediting Johnson, a practice that the obscenely wealthy British band followed shamelessly throughout its career). On that piece and eleven others, Johnson played bottleneck guitar (reportedly with a pocketknife), and it is this technique for which he is most famous, but on the remainder of his recordings he exhibited a nimble picking style that I find every bit as pleasing as the more popular bottleneck material. He sang from his chest in a gruff bass voice, and often was accompanied by his wife Willie B. Harris on backing vocals. You may find yourself thinking that the lyrical message is a bit samey, and it is: Johnson was, after all, an evangelist. (The single non-religious number in his repertoire, 'When the War Was On,' is not included here.) Even when you've grown numb to the lyrics, however, you'll be awed by his musical genius and the sheer force of his conviction. Blind Willie Johnson's name is legendary for a reason.

The namesake song of this compilation is now spiraling across space on Voyager 1 to show extraterrestrials the feelings of sorrow and loneliness, and boy is that a good decision. Blind Willie Johnson's life is one of non stop tragedy, and his music is a depressing reflection of said life. This is excellent blues music that demands its listener to always be down.