Disco de Linda Ronstadt: “None but the Righteous: The Masters of Sacred Steel”

Simply defined, sacred steel is a sect of gospel music that puts the pedal-steel guitar front and center (as opposed to the organ, which is the traditional gospel lead instrument of choice). Until the 1990's, this amazing music was known only to the members of the House of God and Jewel Dominion church communities. In these Pentacostal churches across the country, this music has been an essential part of their services for close to 100 years. Having been first "discovered" by the seminal Arhoolie label, the amazing musicians on this album and their performances have been lovingly hand-picked by John Medeski. Featuring both the elder originators of this style and spectacular up-and-coming innovators, this collection is the must-have introduction to what has been called "the last true new musical treasure."

Artists on this glorious album include Sonny Treadway, The Campbell Brothers, Glenn Lee, Aubrey Ghent, Willie Eason, Maurice "Ted" Beard, and Calvin Cooke. Find out more about these artists on the NBTR site.

...in all my 30 years have I heard such sanctified bliss pounded out by first rate church musicians like this CD. I saw it, read the back and knew immediately this was for me. Mixing the best of blues and old timey gospel, with a dip of funk into a swirl of public domain spirituals you end up with deeply accessible tunes that will make you just sway, bob your head and close your eyes or get up and catch the Holy Ghost. This is music at it's finest, sharing the soul like a tumbling ball of energy from the purest of muses: the inner spirit.

...in all my 30 years have I heard such sanctified bliss pounded out by first rate church musicians like this CD. I saw it, read the back and knew immediately this was for me. Mixing the best of blues and old timey gospel, with a dip of funk into a swirl of public domain spirituals you end up with deeply accessible tunes that will make you just sway, bob your head and close your eyes or get up and catch the Holy Ghost. This is music at it's finest, sharing the soul like a tumbling ball of energy from the purest of muses: the inner spirit.

You dug THE WORD... Think Robert Randolph is the KING? Come to our electric church and find out where the magic REALLY comes from. Curated by John Medeski, this album features the greatest sacred steel guitar players in the world on seventeen glorious tracks.

Although I may listen to some of his work only a few times, John Medeski usually delivers what I like about music. Much of what I think about performance has to do with what he does and doesn't do. Somehow related, most of what I know about jazz, I learned from the participants in a Medeski Martin and Wood mailing list. Yadda yadda yadda, Medeski is god, and I'm bound to check out almost anything he touches, just to get a better sense of the breadth of and variation in his wholeness.

So when he put together a collection of folks playing sacred steel (the music I've long known but recently remembered via Robert Randolph and the Word), I was on board before I read the second line of the advertisement. I didn't hesitate, and was right: Particularly as I write on this cool November morning, this is exactly what I needed.

It's got plenty of energy but with a molasses thick rhythm that keeps everything down low even in the face of that trebly steel, opening up this great big space that reminds me of the liveliest of gospel, the ragingest of the Allman Brothers, and the most honest of Nawlins funk, and gives each musician a space to move around while holding up their piece, and gives each listener a sort of all-embracing comfort zone.

At least that's what I got out it. If Medeski does a collection of hula music, I might have to skip it - or, in other words, you will need to be open to bluesy southern grooves for this to be approachable. But for those willing, I think you'll enjoy it.