Thunderstruck

Sometimes you come across a piece of music that just leaves you thunderstruck by its brilliance. I was listening to Brian Eno discussing his passion for gospel music on Jarvis Cocker’s excellent 6 music show the other day, and as an example of the sense of community in a good gospel tune he played ‘Peace be still’ by the Rev James Cleveland and the Angelic choir.Based on the Biblical story of Jesus calming a storm at sea, It builds quite slowly but when it reaches its peak it's a glorious thing to hear.It swells and swells and just when you think it’s peaked it goes just that little bit further. I remember the first time I ever saw an orchestra live, I couldn’t believe what a fantastic noise all these various instruments made when combined together. (Jarvis made a similar point himself), this recording gives me exactly the same feeling. The combination of massed human voices gives a sense of warmth and feeling lacking in so much music. You don’t have to be a believer to be enthralled by the best gospel music, you just have to have a little bit of soul.