Resurrection: The Amplified Bible of Heavenly Grooves

Description

Resurrection, sub-titled The Amplified Bible of Heavenly Grooves, is a multi-artist compilation collected by DJ Martin Green and record compiler Johnny Trunk (a.k.a. Jonathon Benton-Hughes), independently released on their own label Trunk Records in 2001.

And then He said “make a compilation of all the grooviest, hippest religious recordings you can find.” So we searched far and wide, across fields and valleys and in all good charity shops. This album is the result. There is something here for believers everywhere. Odd British jazz, beautiful folk, a few beats, musical experiments, godlike garage and more. So come now, rejoice, dance, dance and spread the word. [Note on the cover]

I can’t do better than quote a slice of the sleevenote from Mojo magazine’s Will Hodgkinson, “I’ve always maintained that the finest psychedelia is created by people who have only imagined what drugs are like rather than experience them first hand, so who better to make groovy acid rock than Christians? From the shockingly out of tune garage punk of All Things New’s «Jesus Is Coming Again», to John Yivisaker’s Dylanesque slice of sardonic Lutheran whimsy «A Gay Cliché», here you will find the hipsters, the beatniks, the swingers and the Bible-heads who lived from church congregation to sermon-reading group.” Now the thought of a secular deejay (Martin Green, who’d previously made a killing compiling albums of obscure easy listening tracks for a hip post modern audience) turning his attention to late ’60s/early ’70s Jesus music obscurities will fill some believers with unease. Aren’t these new secular listeners simply laughing at the guache naivity of many of the performances and, more worryingly, laughing at the Gospel of Jesus Christ? But if you can make the quantam leap in perceptions to appreciate the weird jazz narrative of Pete Levin and Bill Comeau’s «The Nativity (Birth Narrative)» or the naïve lilt of Judy Mackenzie or the gauche rockers the Torchbearers you’ll find music that despite all the odds, like zilch budget and mainstream church disapproval, has it’s own appeal. My favourites are the two tracks by Ted Taylor (not the American soul singer but the ’50s Brit who hit with «I Am A Mole» and was a mainstay of British telly’s first pop show 6:5 Special) who does astonishing things with two hymns aided by jazzman Tubby Hayes. If you’re an avowed anorak the sheer obscurity of the tracks unearthed from their scratchy vinyl hidyhole will delight. If you’re a Christian with an irony-transplant (and there’re plenty of those) you probably just won’t get ‘Resurrection’. But for some this compilation, available in Our Price and HMV now, will be a revelation. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, August 2001]

Old-fashioned Christian dogma and ass-shaking funk have never exactly gone hand in hand, but every now and again, almighty God and the almighty groove have divined a common ground – at least, that’s the message of Resurrection: The Amplified Bible of Heavenly Grooves, a fantastic collection of rare funk, soul, and jazz cuts assembled from Christian records of the 1960s and 1970s. According to the liner notes, compilers Martin Green and Jonny Trunk spent years scouring thrift shops and bargain bins in search of their personal Holy Grail: hard-edged, street-savvy toe-tappers that preached faith and funk in equal measure. And while there are a few familiar names here, like Tubby Hayes («Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken» and «He Who Would Valiant Be»), a pair of collaborations with Ted Taylor, and the Crusaders («The Little Drummer Boy»), most of this stuff is as obscure as the liners would suggest. There’s an obvious risk to high-concept compilations like this one, but whether your personal savior answers to the initials “J.C.” or “J.B.,” there’s more than enough here to lift your spirits high. Highlights include Johnny Pearson’s «Cantante Domino», Ralph Carmichael’s «The Addict’s Psalm», and John Ylvisaker’s «A Gay Cliché». [Jason Ankeny, AMG]

> Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/4bhcd9tlNPH6tZBTq87gyZ)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. The Sunworshippers – The Sunworshippers Speak (spoken)
A2. The Torchbearers – “Know They’re You”
A3. Ted Taylor Organization feat. Tubby Hayes – “He Who Would Valiant Be”
A4. John Ylvisaker – “A Gay Cliche”
A5. Pete Levin and Bill Comeau – “Some Beautiful Day”
A6. Judy Mackenzie – “New Song”
A7. Ted Taylor Organisation feat. Tubby Hayes – “Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken”
A8. Pete Levin and Bill Comeau – “The Nativity (Birth Narrative)”

Side Two
B1. All Things New – “Jesus Is Coming Again”
B2. Ralph Carmichael feat. Pat Boone – “The Addicts Psalm”
B3. John Ylvisaker feat. Dick Hyman – “Wade In The Water”
B4. Judy Mackenzie – “Sally Brown”
B5. The Torchbearers – “Jesus H. Clown”
B6. The Crusaders – “Little Drummer Boy”
B7. Johnny Pearson – “Cantate Domino”
B8. The Sunworshippers – The Sunworshippers Speak Again (spoken)

Note: Released on both CD and 12-inch vinyl LP.

---