I’ll Find a Way

As with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, recording the Blind Boys of Alabama has its challenges. The two gospel vocal groups from different continents are equally iconic and make a glorious and uplifting noise. But after so many albums across so many decades, how do you make one recording distinctive from another? Over the years both have come up with the solution of working with a series of diverse collaborators. On I’ll Find a Way, the Blind Boys – led by the octogenarians Clarence Fountain and Jimmy Carter – turn to Justin Vernon, best known for the spare, stripped-down Americana of his band Bon Iver.

Vernon’s production is elegant and elevated, full of light and space. It is an approach that’s particularly effective on the slower material, especially the ethereal title-track, which features the whispered tones of Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, the New Orleans-flavoured ‘I’m Not Waiting Any More’ and, best of all, a deathless take on Bob Dylan’s spiritual anthem ‘Every Grain of Sand’, on which Vernon himself takes the lead vocal. The upbeat material, such as ‘I Shall Not Be Moved’ is more routine gospel fare, but will reassure traditional fans that the Blind Boys have not forgotten their roots.