Embroidering on yesterday´s Jesus Dread thingy, here are three versions of a song called
Spiritual. A dark, soulsearching, brooding plea to a saviour. Now I´m an atheist myself, but that doesn´t stop me from enjoying songs with a religious theme. Same as I can walk into a grand cathedral (or a beautiful Hindu temple) and admire the art and the atmosphere there, or read a chapter in the bible (or the Buddhist teachings) and enjoy its literary merits, music based on faith can warm the hart whether you believe or not.
Spiritual is a moodpiece of the highest order, written in 1995 by Josh Haden for Spain´s debut album The Blue Moods Of Spain. "Jesus oh Jesus I don´t want to die alone, Jesus if you hear my last breath, don´t leave me here, left to die a lonely death I know I have sinned but Lord I´m suffering..." A song more or less made for someone like Johnny Cash, who covered it on Unchained (´96). Cash can sing the Memphis phonebook and I´d buy it, but I guess his age and rep gives this interpretation just that little bit extra. Nice sparse arrangement too. The Soulsavers (featuring singer Mark Lanegan, formerly of the Screaming Trees) also did a worthy version of this song on last year´s surprising It´s Not How Far You Fall, It´s The Way You Land. You can´t get much more atmospheric I guess. More on the Soulsavers and Lanegan in the next post btw, folks. I really can´t decide which version of the three I like most, so please post a comment if you have a preference and why ok?
Spain - Spiritual MP3
Johnny Cash - Spiritual MP3
Soulsavers - Spiritual Mp3
