Friday, June 25, 2010

Lord, Keep Me Day By Day

So I am really into lists. I'm not sure if it's something I was born with or if I have cultivated it, but there is just something about putting stuff into a list that makes me feel comfortable. If my wife wants something to get done, and there are more than 2 things to do, she better put it on my "honey-do list." As a pilot I am a big fan of checklists. Hiking is something I have always enjoyed, but I found out how much more fun I have when I am trying to check off the different species of birds I see (over 250 worldwide now). I have made a list of my 100 favorite albums of all time. Every year I list my favorite albums of the year. Finally, I am working on plenty of other people's lists, including the IMDB Top 250 movies (54% complete), my brother Dan's 100 favorite albums (77%), the Rolling Stone Reader's 100 (70%) and of course, the 1000 Recordings (22%).

The downside to all this listing is that I listened to Captain Beefheart over a week ago, and just made it to the next recording yesterday because I was listening to Jens Lekman and Adele, as they are on Dan's list. But I have finally made it to the next on the list:


Artist: The Caravans
Album: The Best of the Caravans
Album #223

I have always been lukewarm about gospel music. I am all for the idea of it, but I don't listen to it. When it came up in a couple of earlier albums on the 1000 Recordings (The Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir and Marian Anderson) I was really excited. Unfortunately, those 2 albums made me think maybe I really didn't like gospel. The Caravans have brought me back into the fold, if you will. The praise is there, the ceiling shaking vocals are there, but there's something else, too. Rhythm. This album rocks and rolls like you expect gospel to! "I Won't Be Back" kicks off the album, and the Caravans never look back. Even when they slow it down, they never lose that sense of foot tapping, soul moving rhythm. What a great album to listen to when you are exhausted from the newborn to make you remember how great your life really is. I couldn't find this one on grooveshark, except for one song, but I've posted that one, plus a video of another great one from this album. If you have a Rhapsody account, that's where I was able to listen to it (25 free songs per month if you don't have an account).





Buy The Best of the Caravans at Amazon

2 comments:

  1. Awesome looks like we are on the same quest :) good luck!

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  2. I feel like listening should count as equal to one church service...maybe better than a whole service. It's more sincere.

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