The Singing Drifter (CD) ~ Blind Arvella Gray (Artist) Cover Art

The Singing Drifter (CD)

By: Blind Arvella Gray (Artist)

More About this Product
List Price: $11.98
Tower Price: $9.99
You Save: $1.99 (17%)
Add to BagAdd to Bag Click to go directly to the checkout.
This item qualifies for FREE Shop N' Save Shipping for orders over $25. Check individual shipping price. *Some Restrictions Apply.
Availability: In Stock
Share This:
Add To KaboodleAdd To Kaboodle  Submit To Digg!Submit To Digg!  Share On FacebookShare On Facebook  Add to FavoritesAdd to Favorites  TwitterTwitter 

Product Description

Track Listing

Your browser doesn't seem to have Flash enabled.
In order to access the album preview center, please ensure that the Flash player is installed. You can download it here.

DISC 1 for The Singing Drifter (CD) Album By Blind Arvella Gray (Artist)
1   There's More Pretty Girls Than One
2   John Henry
3   Arvella's Work Song
4   Take Your Burdens To The Lord
5   When The Saints Go Marching In
6   Standing By The Bedside Of A Neighbor
7   Those Old Fashioned Alley Blues
8   Gander Dancing Song
9   Stand By Me
10   What Will Your Record Be
11   If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again - (previously unreleased)
12   Motherless Children Have A Hard Time - (previously unreleased)
13   Take My Hand Precious Lord - (previously unreleased)
14   Cryin' Holy Unto The Lord - (previously unreleased)
15   Untitled
 

Run a Quick Search on "The Singing Drifter" by Blind Arvella Gray to Browse Related Products:

Browse more products related to "The Singing Drifter"

Browse more products related to "Blind Arvella Gray"

Review

Rolling Stone (No. 988, p.120) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...[R]e-creates the open-air energy and down-home truths of his legendary Maxwell Street shows."
Uncut (p.124) - 4 stars out of 5 - "A chugging version of the traditional 'John Henry', punctuated by frantic bursts on his National Dobro, and a revelatory, heart-pounding 'When The Saints Go Marching In' are ageless renditions."
Dirty Linen (p.46) - "[A] worthy document that will delight any who remember Gray and also hard-core blues fans..."

Title Note

Personnel: Blind Arvella Gray (vocals, dobro).

Audio Remasterer: Paul Tavenner.

Liner Note Author: Cary Baker.

Recording information: Sound Unlimited Studios, Harvey, IL (09/22/1972).

Photographer: Jim O'Neal.

Arranger: Blind Arvella Gray.

Blind Arvella Gray's real or imagined life story is, in some respects, a more complete creative statement than the actual music he made. Born Walter Dixon in Texas in 1906, he lost his eyesight and two fingers on his left hand due to a shotgun mishap (Gray's account of the incident involved several different plot possibilities), and he turned to street singing to keep things afloat. At some point in the 1940s he landed in Chicago, where he became a fixture at the Maxwell Street open-air flea market, playing his National Steel guitar and singing a mixed bag of blues, gospel, spirituals, work songs, and field hollers. By the early '70s he had released three 45s on his own Gray Records label, had four songs on a British import album called Blues from Maxwell Street, and had been featured in the video documentary And This Is Free. On September 22, 1972, he recorded his only album, The Singing Drifter, at Sound Unlimited Studios in Harvey, IL. The LP was issued on the tiny Birch Records label that same year, and quickly sold out its limited run in the Chicago area, where Gray's Maxwell Street presence had made him somewhat of a local celebrity. This reissue of The Singing Drifter on Conjuroo Recordings contains the complete original album, and adds four bonus tracks (plus an unlisted fifth bonus track, an alternate take of "Standing by the Bedside of a Neighbor"). Gray was hardly a skilled guitarist, as the missing fingers on his left hand limited him to slide playing, and he wasn't a particularly distinctive singer, either. What he had working for him was a certain joyful ‚lan, which is why seeing him in person was undoubtedly more powerful than hearing him on record. The rhythms and vocal lines are very similar here track to track, which gives The Singing Drifter the illusion of being one long street song. The exceptions are a spirited rendition of what was Gray's unofficial theme piece, "John Henry," and a pair of field hollers, "Arvella's Work Song" and "Gander Dancing Song," where Gray sings accompanied only by his light handclapping. As an embodiment of the old street singer and songster tradition, Gray was undoubtedly a delight to see and hear at the market on a fine summer's morning, but a good deal of his presence is lost when all you have is his voice and guitar in the speakers. The Singing Drifter is certainly a valuable archival release, and those who saw him perform on Maxwell Street (Gray died in 1980) will treasure this disc for the memories it provokes, but it is truthfully a rather so-so musical document. In the end, it was Gray's physical presence as he stood playing that National Steel on the corner, and the long, storied journey (embellished or not) he took to get there, that was the real creative act. This album is the memento. ~ Steve Leggett

Customer Reviews for "The Singing Drifter (CD)" by Blind Arvella Gray (Artist)

There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!

Submit your Review

Explore More Great Tower Sales & Specials

Tower Records music Sales, Promotions & Special Features

Today's Most Popular Music Genres

Tower.com Music Boutique Stores

  • Greatest Hits Boutique
    Expand your musical horizons with our monthly selections for "Greatest Hits" and "Best Of" CD Collections.
  • Tower Records Vinyl Store
    Enjoy some of our favorite new pressings, indie rock releases, and milk crate essentials priced at up to 30% off so you can keep spinning right round (Like a record!)
  • The Beatles Collector's Boutique
    On 09-09-09, experience music history when the original studio albums by The Beatles are re-released, digitally remastered for the first time! Browse our favorite Beatles music, video and book titles!
  • Woodstock Anniversary Boutique
    Celebrating 40 years of Woodstock - Three days of music that changed the world forever!
  • The History Of Indie Rock Boutique
    Browse Our Album Art History of Indie Rock Influencers, from the 1960s to today!

Interact with Tower.com