Search - Alan Lomax :: Got the Keys to the Kingdom: South Carolina

"See what the Lord has done"

Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 12/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I know it isn't titled that way at the top of this page, but this is the South Carolina installment of the Deep River of Song series of John and Alan Lomax recordings.



I'll begin by stating the obvious. Lillie Knox is one of the shining lights of the entire series. You may or may not like everything else included here, but I have to assume that most everyone who hears this disc will love Lillie. She has such a gentle quality to her performances, and one of the most lovely voices in the series. Very soft and sweet. I'd choose Got the Keys to the Kingdom and Troubled About My Soul as her top 2 moments here.



Zack Knox is another interesting performer here. He has a lonely, gentle quality to his music that is quite rare for males in the series. We can only wonder what sadness pains his heart. There is a squirrely edit or something in his track #15 that has always bothered me, though. I'm not sure what that is about. Maybe part of the tape did not survive the years, and the Rounder folks tried to do a little fix?



This is one of the most religious discs in the series...a quality which will attract and repel various listeners, depending on their preferences. One quick note... if you buy this disc and like or love it, I also recommend you look into the Spreading the Word box-set of early gospel recordings. There are absolutely some must-haves contained in that perfectly priced set.



Along with the more personal religious performances here, you also get a few prison worksong performances. Most of them do not rank all that highly to me, considering things found elsewhere in the Deep River of Song series, but Oh Lordy Me, Oh Lordy My has one of the best singing groups of prisoners in the series. It must have been tough being around those guys and all the pain with which they were having to live.



As with all the discs in this series, this stuff is not for everyone. It's not fancy, produced, and polished, but it is very real. Recorded from 1934 - 1939 in Murrel's Inlet, South Carolina, as well as Reid State Farm (prison), I would hope everyone can get something out of hearing these lyrics and feeling them within the context of these African-American's lives in this era, in these places.

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