Converted Mind: The Early Recordings

Converted Mind: The Early Recordings

Converted Mind is a stunning collection of ‘70s-era homegrown gospel that blends the Pentecostal ferocity of holiness singer/preachers like Louis Overstreet and Utah Smith with the soulful, bred-in-the-blood intimacy of family outfits like the Staples Singers and the Womack Brothers. Dready Manning was a hard-drinking man who made his living by playing blues in the rural clubs and roadhouses around Gaston, North Carolina when an unexpected seizure brought about a spiritual awakening that caused him to turn away from the worldly environs of the blues and embrace gospel music. Yet the devotionals that Manning recorded with his tightknit family band are as raucous and electrifying as the most unvarnished juke-joint blues. When Manning lets loose with a joyful shout and proclaims, “Good music makes me feel good anyway!” on the rambling guitar workout “If You Miss Me” he exudes an all encompassing joy that overcomes the distinction between the sacred and secular and neatly encapsulates the considerable appeal of Converted Mind itself, a set bound to inspire good feeling in the hearts of blues and gospel devotees alike.

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