Rev. Gary Davis — Harlem Street Singer (2024 Remaster)
Qobuz reissue review (November 2024)
Harlem Street Singer is one of the most important albums of the early ’60s folk/blues revival, thanks both to the superlative performances of Gary Davis, but also to the crystalline engineering achieved at Van Gelder Studio. While visually presented as a sort of verite documentation of a blues busker, Harlem Street Singer is, in fact, a meticulously recorded and thoughtfully sequenced album that benefits from Davis’ decades of experience as a performer — stretching all the way back to the mid-’20s Durham, North Carolina, blues scene — as well as his extensive contextual understanding of the importance of his work. Davis knew that the music he was playing was culturally vital, and, as an ordained minister, he also wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to share the gospel. Thus, the dozen spirituals that make up this album are delivered with a conviction and intensity that’s very nearly shocking, given the one-man-and-his-guitar arrangements. (Again, credit due to Rudy Van Gelder: the clarity and warmth of this 1960 recording ranks among his best sessions.) Musically, Harlem Street Singer is as much a testament to Davis’s choice of notable material as it is to his remarkable guitar technique, which is rooted in intricate fingerstyle that blends country blues with ragtime, gospel, and even jazzy elements. It all combines to make a fluid, rhythmically rich foundation for his robust — but notably grizzled — singing voice. “I Am the Light of the World,” is a powerful statement of faith, with Davis singing about the divine light that leads him through darkness, while “Samson and Delilah” is a retelling of the Biblical story. (Davis’ arrangement of this traditional number was later covered by the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and others.) However, it’s the stark and emotionally tense original song, “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” that is perhaps the album’s most powerful moment, offering a meditation on mortality and the power of faith in overcoming life’s struggles. Harlem Street Singer has been reissued a number of times since its original release on Bluesville (sometimes with a completely different name!) but this 2024 remaster restores this classic to its original greatness. Essential listening.
