Eamon Blog

Today's Shelf Pull: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Gospel Train (Verve Vault)

Devotion with a little movement in its shoes

Gospel Train (Verve Vault) offers twelve songs worth hearing for the exchange between voice, guitar and supporting voices.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe makes a useful distinction disappear: the one between music meant for reflection and music that gets you moving. Gospel Train (Verve Vault) is today's vinyl shelf pull for Kilmorna in Listowel, with devotion and rhythmic lift sharing the work.

Originally released by Mercury in 1956, the album gathers twelve songs into two sides. That compact shape suits an introduction to Tharpe. There is room to notice her singing and guitar playing without turning the first listen into a course of study.

Start with the relationship between those elements rather than a list of influences. The voice carries conviction; the blues vocabulary gives the music another kind of movement. Supporting voices add warmth without making the individual at the centre feel less distinct.

The catalogue places this record at the meeting of gospel, blues and the roots of rock and roll. Those connections are useful, but they need not become the entire conversation. A record can have historical importance and still deserve an ordinary, attentive afternoon.

On the shelf today

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Gospel Train (Verve Vault)

LP / Soul / Funk / 1956

EUR35.95 / Available now

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