The Cosmically Spiritual Gospel of Shirley Ann Lee And Alice Coltrane

shirleyannleeFor those who followed Numero Group’s 2009 compilation Local Customs: Downriver Revival, it should come as no surprise that the reissue label’s 2012 Shirley Ann Lee release is brilliant, breathtaking and essential listening. Songs of Lightthe “Shirley Ann Lee album that never was,” according to Numero — figured prominently on Downriver Revival, highlighted by Lee’s genre-bending “There’s a Light.” That song’s use of Eastern influences against a mysterious, indefinable rhythm foreshadowed the raw, homemade (and often eclectic) blend of gospel, country, blues and soul that this 18-song collection brings.

The recordings that would become Songs of Light were originally produced for Felton Williams’ Revival label, for its briefly lived Shirley Ann Lee Radio Hour. That’s where Numero Group initially mined for its own “revival” of her work. Songs of Light is in micro what Numero’s Numerphon series aims in general to curate: “raw Americana and unvarnished vernacular music,” as well as “gospel, ethnographic recordings, folk songs, and experimental compositions.” Cue Shirley Ann Lee.

Shirley Ann Lee :: Introduction
Shirley Ann Lee :: All I Have To Depend On

Songs of Light opens with “Introduction,” a charming, guitar-accompanied, spoken-word introduction from Radio Hour. As introductions go, it does little to prepare you for what follows. “All I Have To Depend On” is a mind-blowing work of lo-fi, Lee’s voice muted under the analog blare of a rich and fluid electric sitar. Because cosmic American gospel needs a sitar. It’s a singular and incomparable piece whose eccentricity rivals “There’s a Light.” Rarely can you hear something so transmuted and nuanced, thick with earth, air and echo. Is that a voice or a guitar howling at one point? Does it matter?

Alice Coltrane :: Going Home

aliceStrangely, or perhaps not, the tune makes me think of another purely distinctive work of cosmic spirituality: Alice Coltrane’s “Going Home,” from her 1972 LP Lord of Lords. Coltrane’s abstract expression, like Lee’s, is rooted in gospel hymn. While Coltrane’s take is borne through orchestral strings, Ben Riley’s light, timpani percussion and Charlie Haden’s muted bass, it’s her Wurlitzer organ that comes to mind when listening to Lee. Her organ and Lee’s electric sitar, each a deep, wandering drone, offer a reflection in spirit. “Going Home” and “There’s a Light” are unlikely sister songs, a testament to the lesser known Lee and the enchanting work on Songs of Light.

Fern Jones :: I Am A Pilgrim

Post script — Speaking of Numero Group, raw Americana and the like, the label just recently gave a vinyl reissue to one of their very first releases — Fern Jones’ 1959 album The Glory Road. It’s a lovely and charming record, like a gospel Patsy Cline, or as the label puts it: “Her voice was all Saturday night, delivered on a Sunday morning…a runaway rockabilly tent show without a single drop of rain on the horizon.” Amen. words / c depasquale

3 thoughts on “The Cosmically Spiritual Gospel of Shirley Ann Lee And Alice Coltrane

  1. Flying Lotus on “Going Home” & his great aunt Alice Coltrane:

    http://www.thefader.com/2014/10/01/flying-lotus-youre-dead-interview-cover-story

    “For me, Lord of Lords is the story of John Coltrane’s ascension,” Ellison says. “It’s [Alice Coltrane’s] understanding and coping with his death. I feel that. This one song in particular, ‘Going Home’–an old spiritual that composer Antonín Dvořák used in the ‘Largo’ section of his New World Symphony–that’s a family song. When someone passes, that’s the song we play at the funeral. When my Auntie Alice passed, we played that one. When my mom died, we played it for her.”

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