One More River to Cross

Description

One More River to Cross, sub-titled A Collection of Spiritual Folk and Bluegrass, is multi-artist project by the American guitarist, songwriter and producer Lanny Cordola, released on Metro One Recordings in 2002.

This CD bills itself as being “A Collection of Spiritual Folk and Bluegrass”. However, a more apt description would be acoustic blues with hints of bluegrass and folk. Considering who made this album it is not a real surprise.

While there is no single artist listed on the outside of the album, this is, at heart, a Lanny Cordola project. Given his eclectic styles, this is not a real surprise, nor does it lessen the authenticity of the project. His signature guitar style is all over the album, especially from the «Cincinnati Flow Rag» forward, even breaking out his mandolin on a few tracks. However, it is not just a Cordola album.

Guests on the project include Chris Lizotte, Darrell Mansfield, Crystal Lewis, Sandra Stevens and Philip Bardowell. As a result, there is a lot of really high-quality blues vocal work on this project. Tracks like the aforementioned rag, «Nobody’s Fault But Mine» (covering the original, not the Led Zeppelin or the 77s version), «Gwine Dig A Hole», «John the Revelator», «Death Don’t Have No Mercy Seat», and «Denomination Blues» certainly give the proceedings a bluesy feel, not at all folk or bluegrass. The only track with a truly bluegrass feel is the opening, title track. Some of the remaining tracks, like «Swing Low, Sweet Chariot» and «Down On Me» are very much Americana-folk in style, right down to the mixed chorus of backing vocalists. There is even one original, folksy instrumental by Cordola and collaborator/co-producer/engineer Gary Thomas Griffin.

Despite the CD not quite living up to initial stylistic expectations, it is a hidden gem, if for no other reason than Cordola truly is a master of his craft. Hearing him explore the folk and blues idioms acoustically is a treat in and of itself. This disc simply seems to suffer from being somewhat mislabelled on the packaging. [Alex Klages, The Phantom Tollbooth, 11/2/2002]

CD tracklist:

01. One More River to Cross – 2:34
02. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/Swing Down, Chariot – 3:34
03. Cincinnati Flow Rag – 2:32
04. Stand by Me – 2:44
05. Nobody’s Fault But Mine – 2:21
06. Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In – 2:29
07. I Shall Not Be Moved – 2:34
08. A Shack in Negrev – 2:17
09. Down on Me – 2:28
10. John the Revelator – 2:33
11. Death Don’t Have No Mercy – 3:35
12. Domination Blues – 2:30