CD Single Review: Fred Martin & the Levite Camp

CD Single Review:
“Crossroads/Until I Found the Lord”
Fred Martin & the Levite Camp
From the CD Some Bridges
Concord Records 2006
www.concordmusicgroup.com

If you believe the folktale that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil so he could become a blues guitar prodigy, you will find it improbable that anyone would dare mix Johnson’s down and dirty “Crossroads Blues” with the sacred staple, “Until I Found the Lord.” Fred Martin & the Levite Camp accepted the dare, got Jackson Browne to co-produce, and the amalgam came out delightfully well. The combination offers a powerful message, too.

The musical vibe of Fred Martin’s “Crossroads” is more Cream/Clapton than Johnson, except for the opening strains of authentic bottleneck guitar courtesy of Keb’ Mo’. But aside from a tossed-in verse from Johnson’s “Traveling Riverside Blues,” “Crossroads” is all about being so down and out that only the Lord can save you. “Until I Found the Lord” offers that salvation. The end result of this secular and sacred coupling is soul redemption, the Levite Camp singing “Victory” as the song concludes.

“Crossroads/Until I Found the Lord” is so inspired it could single-handedly absolve Johnson of any sinful deal he may have made at the crossroads in Rosedale, Mississippi.