GOSPEL SOUL BLUES
VA – Goodbye, Babylon [2003] (6 x CDs)
Released in 2003 by Dust‑to‑Digital, Goodbye, Babylon is one of the most ambitious archival presentations of early American sacred music ever assembled. The six‑disc box set arrives in a cedar case packed with raw cotton, accompanied by a substantial hardbound book containing lyric transcriptions, historical notes, and biblical passages that frame the recordings in their original cultural context. The project draws from 78‑rpm sources collected over decades, presenting gospel, spirituals, sacred blues, shape‑note singing, and recorded sermons from the early twentieth century.
The first discs trace the breadth of pre‑war religious expression. Early gospel groups, family ensembles, and rural singers appear in stark, powerful performances shaped by limited studio conditions and strong communal traditions. Washington Phillips, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mahalia Jackson, and the Golden Gate Quartet stand out for the clarity of their delivery and the emotional weight carried in their phrasing. The selections move between polished jubilee quartets and raw, blues‑inflected sacred pieces, showing how varied the landscape was before commercial gospel took firmer shape.
The middle discs deepen the focus, presenting sacred harp ensembles, string bands, and evangelists whose recordings preserve regional practices rarely documented elsewhere. Blind Willie Johnson’s sides remain central, bridging blues technique with devotional intensity. Other inclusions highlight the overlap between folk traditions and spiritual themes, revealing how closely everyday life and religious expression were intertwined.
The final disc gathers recorded sermons, capturing the cadence, drama, and rhetorical force of early preachers whose voices shaped local congregations. These spoken pieces provide a counterbalance to the musical selections, completing the portrait of a spiritual world defined by rhythm, conviction, and community.
Taken as a whole, Goodbye, Babylon stands as a monumental archive, a carefully restored, deeply researched collection that preserves the sound and spirit of a vanished era in American sacred music. (B)
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Track lists
CD1
01 Rev. T. T. Rose and Singers - Goodbye, Babylon Pt. I 2:56
02 Da Costa Woltz's Southern Broadcasters - Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb? 2:51
03 Roosevelt Graves and Brother - Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind on Jesus) 2:53
04 Alabama Sacred Harp Singers - Present Joys 2:54
05 Blind Lemon Jefferson - All I Want is That Pure Religion 3:13
06 J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers - Satisfied 2:42
07 Chuck Wagon Gang - As the Life of a Flower 2:40
08 Holy Ghost Sanctified Singers - Thou Carest Lord (For Me) 3:01
09 Washington Phillips - Lift Him Up, That's All 3:31
10 Golden Gate Jubilee QuartetGolden Gate Jubilee Quartet - Rock My Soul 2:00
11 Ernest V. Stoneman's Dixie Mountaineers - There's a Light Lit Up in Galilee 2:46
12 Arizona Dranes - Crucifixion 3:31
13 Blue Chips - Crying Holy Unto the Lord 2:48
14 Louvin Brothers - I'll Never Go Back 2:40
15 Mahalia Jackson - God's Gonna Separate the Wheat From the Tares 3:08
16 Luther Magby - Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit 3:10
17 Rev. Gary Davis - I Belong to the Band - Hallelujah! 3:15
18 Carter Family - River of Jordan 2:38
19 Lil McClintock - Sow Good Seeds 3:12
20 Bryant's Jubilee Quartet - I'll Be Satisfied 2:47
21 Frank Palmes - Troubled 'Bout My Soul 2:53
22 Bascom Lamar Lunsford - Dry Bones 3:00
23 Carlisle Brothers - Jesus My All 2:28
24 Taskiana Four - Creep Along, Moses 2:43
25 Tennessee Music and Printing Company Quartet - Joy Bells 3:07
26 Elder David Ross - He Gave Me a Heart to Love 2:16
27 Bessie Jones and the Sea Island Singers - O Day 4:30
CD2
01 Brother Claude Ely - There Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down 2:52
02 Elder Curry and His Congregation - Memphis Flu 3:04
03 Sister O.M. Terrell - The Bible's Right 2:49
04 Stanley Brothers - Standing in the Need of Prayer 2:02
05 Carl Smith with the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle - Blood That Stained the Old Rugged Cross 2:21
06 Thomas A. Dorsey - How About You? 2:58
07 Skip James - Jesus is a Mighty Good Leader 3:01
08 Charles Butts Sacred Harp Singers - Murillo's Lesson 3:20
09 Kentucky Ramblers - Glory Glory Glory, Glory to the Lamb 2:37
10 Elder Richard Bryant - Come Over Here 3:05
11 Jaybird Coleman - I'm Gonna Cross the River of Jordan 3:05
12 Trumpeteers - Milky White Way 2:33
13 Johnson Family Singers - Deliverance Will Come 2:16
14 North Carolina Cooper Boys - Daniel in the Den of Lions 2:56
15 Sister Cally Fancy - Goin' to Heaven in the Sanctified Way 3:01
16 Jimpson - No More, My Lord 2:08
17 King's Sacred Quartet - This World Can't Stand Long 2:42
18 Virginia Dandies - God's Getting Worried 2:42
19 Empire Jubilee Quartet - Get Right, Church 2:40
20 Rosie Hibler and Family - Move, Members, Move 1:59
21 Huggins-Phillips Sacred Harp Singers - Lover of the Lord 2:40
22 A.A. Gray and Seven Foot Dilly - The Old Ark's A Moving 2:58
23 Blind Roger Hays - On My Way to Heaven 3:04
24 Uncle Dave Macon - The Bible's True 3:01
25 Price Family Sacred Singers - Ship of Glory 2:55
26 Elders McIntorsh & Edwards - Since I Laid My Burden Down 3:18
27 Elder Effie Hall and Congregation - Precious Lord, Hold My Hand 2:18
28 Blind Willie Davis - When the Saints Go Marching In 2:02
29 Lion and the Cyril Monrose String Orchestra - Jonah, Come Out the Wilderness 2:37
CD3
01 Dinwiddie Colored Quartet - Down on the Old Camp Ground 2:32
02 Norfolk Jubilee Quartet - My Lord's Gonna Move This Wicked Race 2:57
03 Edward W. Clayborn - Your Enemy Cannot Harm You (But Watch Your Close Friend) 3:01
04 McVay and Johnson - Ain't Going to Lay My Armor Down 3:11
05 James and Martha Carson - I'll Fly Away 2:25
06 Alabama Sacred Harp Singers - Heavenly Vision 3:04
07 Blind Willie Johnson - Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Crying 3:03
08 Jubilee Gospel Team - Lower My Dying Head 3:05
09 Two Gospel Keys - You've Got to Move 2:47
10 Flatt and Scruggs - That Home Above 2:22
11 Golden Gate Quartet - Golden Gate Gospel Train 2:37
12 Roosevelt Graves and Brother - I'll Be Rested (When the Roll is Called) 2:32
13 Eddie Head and His Family - Down on Me 3:09
14 Blind Joe Taggart - Goin' to Rest Where Jesus Is 3:14
15 Louis Washington - Got Heaven in My View 3:13
16 Rev. Sister Mary Nelson - Judgment 2:22
17 Cotton Top Mountain Sanctified Singers - I Want Two Wings to Veil My Face 2:46
18 Rev. D.C. Rice - We Got the Same Kinda Power Over Here 2:56
19 Washington Phillips - What are They Doing in Heaven Today? 3:16
20 T.C.I. Women's Four - That Great Day 2:52
21 North Canton Quartet - I'm Bound for Home 2:54
22 Washington White - I am in the Heavenly Way 3:08
23 Sam Morgan's Jazz Band - Over in Gloryland 3:22
24 Rev. Anderson Johnson - Death in the Morning 2:47
25 Maddox Brothers & Rose - In the Land Where We'll Never Grow Old 3:05
26 Dock Walsh - Bathe in That Beautiful Pool 2:59
27 Hank Williams - I'll Have a New Body 2:30
CD4
01 Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper - Walking My Lord Up Calvary's Hill 3:02
02 Sheffield Quartet - Christ Arose 3:01
03 Thomas A. Dorsey - If You See My Savior 2:52
04 Jubilee Gospel Team - Let Jesus Lead You 3:15
05 Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet - Found a Wonderful Savior 2:24
06 Arizona Dranes and Choir - He is My Story 3:13
07 Ernest V. Stoneman and His Dixie Mountaineers - I Remember Calvary 3:31
08 Blind Willie Johnson - Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave it There 2:58
09 Rev. W.M. Mosley - If You Follow Jesus 2:48
10 Blind Benny Paris & Wife - Hide Me in the Blood of Jesus 2:35
11 Wade Mainer - I'll Be a Friend to Jesus 2:44
12 Tennessee Mountaineers - Standing on the Promises 2:40
13 Mother McCollum - Jesus is My Aeroplane 3:23
14 Sam Jones - I've Got Salvation 2:59
15 Blind Alfred Reed - I Mean to Live for Jesus 2:51
16 Heavenly Gospel Singers - When Was Jesus Born? 3:13
17 Blue Sky Boys - Come to the Savior 2:53
18 Dorothy Melton - I Want Jesus to Walk With Me 2:40
19 Laura Henton - He's Coming Soon 3:00
20 Okeh - Atlanta Sacred Harp Singers - Return Again 3:19
21 Blind Gary Davis - I am the True Vine 3:18
22 Bela Lam and His Greene County Singers - Sweet Story of Old 2:45
23 Elder Harris - I'll Lead a Christian Life 3:21
24 Famous Blue Jay Singers - I'm Leaning on the Lord 3:12
25 Blind Willie Harris - Where He Leads Me I Will Follow 3:20
26 Luther Magby - Jesus is Getting Us Ready 3:02
CD5
01 Silver Leaf Quartette - Daniel Saw the Stone 3:11
02 Alfred Karnes - Called to the Foreign Field 3:11
03 Ridgel's Fountain Citians - Hallelujah to the Lamb 2:41
04 Deacon A. Wilson - You Need Jesus on Your Side 3:13
05 Pace Jubilee Singers - You'd Better Mind 3:09
06 J.T. Allison's Sacred Harp Singers - Exhilaration 3:06
07 Ernest Phipps and His Holiness Singers - If the Light Has Gone Out of Your Soul 3:00
08 Brown's Ferry Four - Keep on the Firing Line 2:34
09 Bailes Brothers - Romans Ten and Nine 2:54
10 Wade Mainer - Standing Outside 3:05
11 Monroe Brothers - Sinner, You Better Get Ready 2:37
12 Blind Willie McTell - I Got to Cross the River of Jordan 4:39
13 Dock Reed and Vera Hall Ward - Free at Last 1:37
14 Bessie Johnson's Sanctified Singers - The Whole World in His Hand 2:59
15 Mahalia Jackson - Amazing Grace 2:20
16 Blind Mamie Forehand - Honey in the Rock 2:44
17 Seventh Day Adventist Choir - On Jordan's Stormy Banks We Stand 2:41
18 Elder J.E. Burch - My Heart Keeps Singing 3:09
19 Joshua White - I Don't Intend to Die in Egyptland 2:58
20 Daniels Deason Sacred Harp Singers - Primrose Hill 2:57
21 Carter Family - Keep on the Sunny Side 2:50
22 Mrs. L. Reed & Mrs. T.A. Duncans - Light in the Valley 3:38
23 Georgia Peach - When the Saints Go Marching In 2:45
24 Jimmie Strothers - Down to the Shore 2:21
25 Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Strange Things Happening Every Day 2:45
26 Rev. T.T. Rose - Goodbye, Babylon Pt. 2 2:55
CD6
01 Rev. J.M. Gates - Gettin' Ready for Christmas Day 3:02
02 Rev A.W. Nix - Black Diamond Express to Hell Part 1 2:51
03 Rev. A.W. Nix - Black Diamond Express to Hell Part 2 3:03
04 Rev. J.C. Burnett - The Downfall of Nebuchadezzar 2:52
05 Rev. Isaiah Shelton - The Liar 3:01
06 Rev. Emmet Dickinson - Hell and What it Is 2:52
07 Elder J.E. Burch - The Church and The Kingdom 3:28
08 Rev. T.E. Weems - If I Have a Ticket, Lord, Can I Ride? 3:00
09 Rev. Benny Campbell - You Must Be Born Again 2:38
10 Rev. E.D. Campbell - Take Me to the Water 3:14
11 Jubilee Gospel Team - Oh Lord, Remember Me 3:12
12 Rev. E.S. (Shy) Moore - Christ, the Teacher 3:01
13 Rev. Johnny Blakey - King of Kings 3:15
14 Elder Otis Jones - O Lord, I'm Your Child 3:06
15 Rev. Webb - Moses Was Rescued by a Negro Woman 3:01
16 Rev. George Jones - That White Mule of Sin 3:07
17 Deacon Leon Davis - Deacon's Prayer Service 2:55
18 Rev. S.J. Worell - The Prodigal Son 3:05
19 C.H. Gatewood - Well of Salvation 3:31
20 Rev. F.W. McGee - Jonah in the Belly of the Whale 3:22
21 Rev. J.C. Burnett - The Gambler's Doom 3:18
22 Hallelujah Joe - The Prodigal's Return 2:58
23 Rev. T.E. Weems - God is Mad With Man 3:05
24 Rev. J.M. Milton - The Black Camel of Death 3:06
25 Rev. J.M. Gates - Death Might Be Your Santa Claus 3:00
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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