Reverend Freakchild – Blues & Spirituals/Hymn Hustler
Treated And Released Records – 2026
www.treatedandreleasedrecords.com
Blues & Spirituals: 10 tracks; 38 minutes
Hymn Hustler: 10 tracks; 42 minutes
The Reverend Freakchild should be a familiar name to readers as he is one of the most prolific artists on the scene today. However, this is a reissue of his first two albums, 2000 and 2002 respectively. Blues & Spirituals is a solo acoustic effort, just guitar and occasional harmonica, on a set consisting of three covers, two traditional tunes and five originals, one of which quotes from Bo Diddley, Dylan and the 23rd Psalm! Hymn Hustler finds the Reverend solo and with a band on a few tracks, Jon ‘Bones Ritchie’ Robinson on upright bass and ‘Dr’ Patrick Carmichael on drums, the Rev himself providing vocals, guitars, slide, banjo, harmonica and “demonstration of Holy Ghost Power”! Michael Gomez plays pedal steel on one track, Alan ‘Ajax’ Grubner (viola), Drew Glackin (lap steel) and Cleophus Jones (baritone vocal) all contribute to one track and CC adds ‘other voices’ to one. The material on this second album again contains two traditional tunes and one cover, alongside seven originals, one of which contains lyrics by Dylan again, this time combined with Peter Tosh and Dr Martin Luther King. Apart from the basic info on tracks and personnel, the sleeve notes are the usual mash-up of spirituality, drug references and hippie philosophy that those familiar with the Rev will recognise.
Blues & Spirituals opens with “Jesus On The Mainline”, the Rev showing that he has a reasonable voice and is a good picker, that being even more evident on “Lose These Blues”. “Mo Betta Blues” makes reference to Greek mythology as the Rev tries to escape the labyrinth, his harmonica adding a bleak tone to the tune. A short instrumental entitled “Blues For No One” gets us away from the gloom of the preceding cut before two familiar tunes, the traditional gospel tune “True Religion” and “God Bless The Child”; “True Religion” is given a jaunty reading but “God Bless The Child” is played very slowly and quietly, removing the drama of Billie Holiday’s version. “Rollin’ On” has high-pitched harp and lyrical references to seeking God before a trio of tunes that will be more familiar: “Cheeba Cheeba” is the tune that draws from Bo, Dylan and the Bible, and sounds as confused as that sounds! A mournful version of John Lennon’ s “Yer Blues” is barely recognisable but Lowell George’s “Willin’” is OK, albeit not as good as Little Feat’s many versions.
Hymn Hustler opens with “Rollin’ And Tumblin’” and also incorporates lyrics from “If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day”, the Rev accompanying himself on dobro, followed by “In My Time Of Dying” on which he adds harp. Pedal steel comes in for “Supersubconscious Mind” (a classic Rev Freakchild title if ever there was one!) before the rhythm section joins the Rev on “Strange Magic”, a trippy tune with eerie harp in the background. Another strange title, “Hawaiian Cowboy Lost In NYC”, turns out to be an instrumental blending The Rev’s slide work with traffic noise (presumably recorded in NYC); however, at nearly six minutes in length the track is not an easy listen. We return to more familiar territory with The Rev Gary Davis’ “Search My Heart”, well picked on guitar with a strong vocal from the Rev, another solo effort. “A Day Late And A Dollar Short” brings back the rhythm section for a classic shuffle, along with CC, credited for ‘other voices’. “WW3 Blues” mixes Dylan, Tosh and Dr King lyrics as well as the viola, pedal steel and baritone vocalist; it’s a rambling tune that runs over eight minutes, the background vocal elements interfering with understanding the lyrics – confusing! “Don’t Miss Nothing” has a discernible tune which emerges from an initially quiet segment to include lyrics about a “blood red moon”, as well as incorporating elements of “You Don’t Miss Your Water” and the album closes with another piece of typical Freakchild material; entitled “Memento Mori” (Latin for ‘remember you must die’), it’s a collection of disparate snippets of words and sounds (including a snatch of “My Babe”), with some harp and dobro.
Existing fans of The Rev Freakchild’s distinctive music will welcome the opportunity to acquire these first releases, but this one is definitely an acquired taste for the rest of us.
