Brother Claude Ely - Satan Get Back (CD)

All Music Guide

One of the only examples of Brother Claude Ely's work available on CD, Satan Get Back is a recording of an actual gospel revival meeting held in Ely's Free Pentecostal Church of God in Cumberland, KY, in 1953. Complete with Ely's between-song sermonizings and exhalations, as well as prayers offered by other congregation members, this exists as the most complete document of Ely's dynamic stage presence. The first 15 tracks are pre-rock gospel at its best, with Ely ripping through versions of "I'm Cryin' Holy Unto the Lord," "There's a Leak in This Old Building," and "There Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down." Though most of these tracks tend to be cast in a somewhat similar sound, with loud acoustic guitar and Ely's gospel shouting drowning out most of the mandolin and backup vocals of the Cumberland Five, there is no denying that this is the sort of music that launched many a rock roll career in the South. The last eight tracks have been culled from sessions that Ely recorded in t...he early '60s, featuring a much more restrained, contemporary '60s country sound, though still showing flashes of spiritual fervor. One can't help but think this is the type of music that Elvis Presley always wished to make with his gospel albums but could never quite capture on tape. - Matt Fink, All Music Guide Read more Less