Say Yo' Business.

Say Yo' Business, by Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir.

Led by the charismatic Clarence Fountain, the Blind Boys of Alabama are still going strong more than 60 years after coming together at the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind. Fountain and the two remaining core members of the group, George Scott and Jimmy Carter (no, not that Jimmy MUSIC Carter)--backed by a lean and tough studio band of roots-music warriors, including guitarist John Hammond and harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite--have made a new recording that is rooted in the sound of hardserabble Delta blues and old-time gospel.

On Spirit of the Century, the Blind Boys bring their strong and gritty harmonies to traditional gospel tunes like "Motherless Child" and "Good Religion" and put their stamp on songs by well known rock-and-roll writers such as Torn Waits, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards. In a dramatic tour de force, the group transforms the classic spiritual "Amazing Grace" by setting it to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun." Their version of the Rolling Stones' "Just Wanna See His Face" is a rip-snorting shouter that makes you wanna raise your hands and holler.

Recorded live at several folk festivals, the music on Say Yo' Business is a terrific celebration of spiritual, traditional, and international folk music by Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. Graced by several guest artists of considerable stature--including Richie Havens, Odetta, Laura Love, Eric Bibb, and Kelly Joe Phelps--these great singers are backed by a tremendous rhythm section of drummers from Senegal and Venezuela. The tunes presented here make for a wonderful listen, especially "Don't You Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down," with its rousing vocal by the "Wicked" Wilson Pickett.

With its title taken from a passage in Frederick Douglass' seminal abolitionist autobiography, the two-CD set Every Tone a Testimony tracks the very essence of the African-American aural tradition, from the interpretations of the field calls of slaves to the driving beat of modern day hip-hop. Culled from the treasure trove of the Smithsonian Folkways recordings, Every Tone a Testimony takes the listener from the years of slavery, through the period of Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement, and into today's sounds.

While this may sound like an exercise in dry academia, that description would be wholly inaccurate. Great speeches are interpreted by some of the greatest actors and orators of the 20th century. There are also interviews, and songs in the tradition of gospel, spirituals, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and rap--plus work songs, protest songs, and love songs. Every Tone a Testimony is like Thanksgiving dinner at grandma's: It samples the gamut of the African-American experience and serves it as a tasty meal to be savored.

Larry Bellinger is assistant editor and advertising manager at Sojourners.