Tom Waits has streamed his take on Blind Willie Johnson’s Soul Of A Man.
It appears on tribute album God Don’t Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson, to be released on February 26 by Alligator Records. It also includes recordings by Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, the Blind Boys Of Alabama and Lucinda Williams, among others.
The almost-mythological blues artist recorded 30 songs between 1927 and 1930, which have influence big names from Led Zeppelin to Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan.
Alligator say: “Johnson sang his sanctified gospel lyrics with overwhelming intensity, his deep, raspy voice accompanying his haunting, blues-drenched guitar playing.”
Trucks comments: “I never heard a slide player, even to this day, play with that much emotion. I’ve only heard a few things that have hit me quite that strongly. He’s one of the few handful of musicians whose music really feels sacred to me – it feels like it came out of a different world.”
God Don’t Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson tracklist
- The Soul Of A Man – Tom Waits
- It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine – Lucinda Williams
- Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning – Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi
- Jesus Is Coming Soon – Cowboy Junkies
- Mother’s Children Have A Hard Time – Blind Boys of Alabama
- Trouble Will Soon Be Over – Sinead O’Connor
- Bye And Bye I’m Going To See The King – Luther Dickinson, Rising Star Fife & Drum Band)
- God Don’t Never Change – Lucinda Williams
- John The Revelator – Tom Waits
- Let Your Light Shine On Me – Maria McKee
- Dark Was The Night–Cold Was The Ground – Rickie Lee Jones
