Cornell H. Williams
is a blind Chicago street singer (his professional moniker is
the Big DooWopper
) who tackles
blues
,
doo wop
gospel
R&B
, and
jazz
with an amazing, ravaged, and beautiful voice that proves angels can show up in the most unlikely places.
Williams
isn't some down on his luck savant, though, but a skilled piano and organ player with big-time arranging skills and a solid vision of what he wants to do. His first album from
Delmark Records
, 2000s
All in the Joy
, was a marvel, with
multi-tracking his vocals (his reach can rise into the female contralto range) into celestial choruses over endlessly funky Hammond B3 rhythms.
Feel the Spirit
is his second release from
Delmark
, and it features
on 19
traditional gospel
and sacred songs from the
Mahalia Jackson
songbook. Although there isn't a lot of variety here (
was wonderfully eclectic), the accumulative power of
' jagged and utterly gorgeous vocals makes this album equally as impressive. This is the voice
Tom Waits
aspires to, a voice that has been battered by the world, but still aches with a hoarse beauty that is completely unlike any vocalist in the
pop
field. Listen to the warmth, power, compassion, and conviction
brings to
"Elijah Rock,"
"Didn't It Rain"
(where he sounds a bit like a sanctified
Little Richard
), or
"Bless This House,"
the album closer, which is so full of heart-breaking emotion that you may well find tears welling up in your eyes. But the most stunning track here (on an album that is full of stunning performances) is
' version of
"Soon I'll Be Done With the Troubles of the World,"
where his voice seems to convey all the pain and weariness of the world in a compassionate plea for deliverance. If the angels aren't listening, they should be. ~ Steve Leggett