Gerald McClendon — “Sleeping While the River Runs” — Sleeping Dog Records
Sweet soul music – It’s that magical music whose classic sounds made history with such legendary artists as Ray Charles, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Aretha Franklin and Al Green.
Those greats, and most of their contemporaries, have disappeared, leaving only the echoes of their soulful essence.
But there’s one soul stirrer whose voice still caresses a lyric with a lover’s passion – Chicago’s Gerald McClendon. He’s a classic stylist with a voice so smooth and a feeling so deep that he’s known as the “soul keeper.”
McClendon’s been a stalwart keeper of soul for so long, breathing new life into it with every song, that he’s being honored this year by the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation with its Bobby Blue Bland Award for “Outstanding Blues Vocal Stylist and performer in the blues arena.” It’s the 25th anniversary of Jus’ Blues, an organization dedicated to “preserving and promoting the legacy of the Blues.”
In the spirit of that award, McClendon is celebrating the 20th anniversary of one of his early, groundbreaking albums, “Sleeping While the River Runs,” recorded in 2005 on Sleeping Dog Records with a band of Chicago music veterans called Mother Blues, led by songwriter and guitarist Steve Bramer. The album is packed with 14 songs sung by McClendon, mostly written by Bramer, plus two instrumentals and a gorgeous choral finale. The music shapeshifts effortlessly through a variety of musical styles, all brought vividly to life by the soul keeper’s passionate pipes.
The superbly soulful first track, “Pass You By,” launches with McClendon’s pleading vocal, soaring against a melody that builds to a powerful climax, testifying about letting go and moving on: “Time gets the best of most things / And in time this too will pass.” The easy rhythm and smooth vocal of “Smokescreen” combines a stinging guitar solo with lyrical philosophy: “Two things you can count on / You live and then you die.”
Bramer wrote the gentle blues “(Let Daddy) Keep You From Harm” as a lullaby while awaiting the birth of his first child; McClendon’s rendition is beautifully sensitive. “Leaves Tremble on the Tree” turns a harp intro into an R&B tune on deliverance from hardship on the road. “Going Down for the Last Time” is a soulfully sung ballad about a romantic dilemma. “Common Ground” flashes an uptempo R&B delivery: “We’ve had a lifetime to learn / What it means to make the best of things,” then McClendon turns on an achingly passionate vocal in the languorous slow blues of “Bed Down.”
The gorgeous lyrical imagery of the title track, “Sleeping While the River Runs,” floats on an emotional gospel-hued wave that hints at the despair of giving up, but with an undercurrent of constant hope. McClendon’s vocal builds with an elegant chorus behind him: “Find the edge of the shoreline / Under the haze of the Memphis sun / Feel the drift of the water … / sleeping while the river runs.”
“Come To Me” is an easygoing blues shuffle with a sparkling guitar intro. “Thin Line” is smooth, torchy slow blues: “When you toy with affection, you walk a thin line.” “Me & Ian” is the first instrumental, an eloquent jazz-inflected interlude. On “Glory Train,” McClendon’s gospel-infused call-and-response hints at universal deliverance: “And when my time has come, I’m gonna hop that train and ride.”
“Habit of the Heart” is a straight-ahead rocker, leading into the deep-blue darkness of “Chalk Line”: Put your chalk line around him / He’s no longer sleeping with my wife / He was a low-down dirty snake, and it cost him his natural life.” The final McClendon cut is “Walk With Me,” another hard-driving blues, demonstrating his effortless ability to make any song his own. The second Mother Blues instrumental is “Where’s the Fire,” fueled by the majestic harp of Hurtin’ Burt. The perfectly chosen closer is a beautiful choral version of “Sleeping While the River Runs” by the Halsted Street National Uptown Choir, with churchlike organ rolling along behind them.
Gerald McClendon’s breathtaking vocal depth and emotional range on “Sleeping While the River Runs” may be 20 years old, but his sweet soul music is still vital, earning this year’s Jus’ Blues honor. The soul keeper is still keeping on!
Here’s the title track from the album:
Tracklist:
01. Pass You By (3:11)
02. Smokescreen (2:34)
03. Keep You from Harm (3:29)
04. Leaves Tremble on the Tree (3:04)
05. Going Down for the Last Time (4:24)
07. Bed Down (4:47)
08. Sleeping While the River Runs (3:35)
09. Come to Me (2:48)
10. Thin Line (3:32)
11. Me & Ian (2:37)
13. Habit of the Heart (3:30)
14. Chalk Line (5:24)
15. Walk with Me (2:31)
16. Where’s the Fire (2:58)
17. Sleeping (Reprise) (1:34)
Blues Roadhouse 