NEW YORK (Virgin Records) - On the heels of double-Grammy honors for There Will Be a Light, the internationally acclaimed collaboration of
Ben Harper and gospel legends The
Blind Boys of Alabama, a concert DVD,
Ben Harper and the
Blind Boys of
Alabama Live at the Apollo, is scheduled for release on March 29, 2005. The performance of the entire album was shot before an SRO crowd at Harlem's historic Apollo Theater, with the instrumental backing of Harper's band, the Innocent Criminals.
From the opening acoustic guitar solo "11th Commandment" to the rousing extended finale of "Satisfied Mind," all the diverse strains of country, blues, and southern R&B within gospel music are heard in the performance of the album that Vibe magazine described as "music that will make you see the light," and that Filter praised as "the very essence of spirituality in song." Calling special attention to the album months after its release, Entertainment Weekly added that Harper's original songs "Pictures of Jesus" and "Take My Hand" "could have been lifted from an old gospel songbook."
"It was so appropriate that Ben and the Blind Boys won Grammys at this moment," noted Virgin Records Chairman and CEO Matt Serletic. "Their album represents an honoring and a renewal of musical foundations."
Special DVD features include a photo slide show and two separate behind-the-scenes documentary pieces, one on the making of the original album, and a backstage peek at the October 12, 2004 taping of the Apollo show. The album There Will Be a Light is also to be released on vinyl on March 29.
Ben Harper has sold over 7 million albums globally. Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama won the 2004 Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album for There Will Be a Light. Harper also won an individual Grammy in the Best Pop Instrumental Performance category, for the album track "11th Commandment."
Additionally, Harper and the Blind Boys were nominated in the Best Gospel Performance category. All are first nominations and wins for Harper; for the Blind Boys of Alabama, There Will Be a Light marks their fourth consecutive Grammy award in the Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album category. Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama Live at the Apollo, Virgin DVD V9RH- 44406.
