The Storm

Born in the Mississippi Delta, Elder Jack Ward died this April after a lifetime of singing soulful gospel. The Storm testifies to his song-writing and vocal prowess. Produced by Bible & Tire founder Bruce Watson and recorded with his crack in-house band The Sacred Soul Sound Section, this is the second album he made with this team, following 2021's Already Made. Ward revealed that he “used to do a lot of blues singing but… broke from that and got into the gospel,” and listening to ‘The Time is Now’ ‘there ain’t nothing you can do’ but recall Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland. The Elder's voice is that strong, even at the end of a long life singing with groups like The Sunset Travelers (as a temporary replacement for the legendary OV Wright), The Christian Harmonizers and The Gospel Four. The last two he recorded for Chalice, a Stax subsidiary (with Isaac Hayes on piano), and D-Vine Spirituals respectively. The Stax connection is apposite: the marvellous title track and others like ‘Do Lord’ could be drawn from The Staple Singers, while the blistering, bluesy ‘Payday After While’ would leave Albert King mopping his brow. Gospel? Soul? Whatever… The Storm blows up a tempest.