This Train

was in his early 80s by the time the majority of the tracks on were recorded, but he still blows his harp with all the power and energy of a man half his age. Performing solo, with his wife, and with a Mississippi church congregation, he plays with astonishing ease and skill, ripping apart cuts like and Nevertheless, the six sides he unwittingly cut in 1948 backed by his three children are the real treat here, ranking among the most original and exciting sounds in all of postwar gospel. Together, the family members seem to share an almost telepathic bond, their harmonicas soaring and dive-bombing in and around each other with acrobatic daring. ~ Jason Ankeny