Blind Boys of Alabama & Taj Mahal – Talkin’ Christmas

Blind Boys of Alabama & Taj Mahal
Talkin’ Christmas
Sony Masterworks (2014)
www.sonymasterworks.com

By Bob Marovich

Like the Chieftains, the Blind Boys of Alabama have been embraced by some of today’s hippest rock and roots musicians. On Talkin’ Christmas, the gospel quartet that is now an American icon celebrates the holidays with musical polymath Taj Mahal.

Mind you, this is not the first time the Blind Boys have tackled the Christmas canon. That was 51 years ago, when the group was on Vee Jay Records. They and then-label mates the Swan Silvertones, Charles Taylor, and others delivered fairly standard versions of familiar carols.

Talkin’ Christmas, on the other hand, is a mix of new songs and classics, all given Taj Mahal and producer Chris Goldsmith’s funk-n-groovin’ treatment. Familiar titles “Do You Hear What I Hear” and “Silent Night” are infused with R&B and country roots, respectively.

Taj plays banjo, harmonica, and even ukulele as Jimmy Carter, leader of the Blind Boys, shouts and squalls in the spirit of group co-founder Clarence Fountain, who is not present on the CD. Newcomer Paul Beasley, formerly of the Gospel Keynotes and the Mighty Clouds of Joy, lends his Aaron Neville-like tenor on “Merry Christmas to You,” done originally by the Salem Travelers, and channels Rev. Claude Jeter on Jeter’s own “No Room in the Inn.”

The album’s most compelling track is the Dixieland version of “Christ was Born on Christmas Morn” with its infectious 2/4 beat. Original songs such as “What Can I Do” and the funky title track—Mark Nishita plays the organ like Booker T. Jones on the latter—emphasize the true meaning of Christmas and how Yuletide love for one’s neighbor should be a year-round practice.

With Talkin’ Christmas and the group’s corresponding nationwide Christmas tour, the Blind Boys of Alabama reinforce their status as national treasures.

Four of Five Stars

Pick: “Christ was Born on Christmas Day.”