Ollabelle

"Oh Lord, take me I'm yours/I'm ready for the land of stars/I've been searching the skies/Ready to come on home"
— from "Two Steps"

Just four months since the release of their self-titled debut, Ollabelle is already considered the hottest act in roots music today. All six musicians come from different musical backgrounds — pop/rock to jazz to folk to classical. In late 2001, a popular bar regarded for its varied roots music scene decided to feature gospel nights on Sundays. Without any dreams of becoming anything more than a side project, the sextet began playing the once-a-week gospel jams … and ended up taking New York's East Village by storm.

This collaborative band of vocalists — all but one play the instruments — soon began honing their arrangements while forming Ollabelle, taking their name from traditional country singer Ola Belle Reed. They soon attracted the attention of independent producer and label owner Steve Rosenthal, who oversaw Ollabelle's debut and then sent it to T-Bone Burnett, best known for the soundtracks to O Brother Where Art Thou? and Cold Mountain. Burnett immediately signed Ollabelle as the first artist on his label imprint.

Since then, Ollabelle has been making waves opening for Alison Krauss + Union Station on The Great High Mountain Tour. Like The Blind Boys of Alabama and Eastmountainsouth, this group interprets the American musical heritage of gospel, folk, and blues for a contemporary generation. By fusing these styles with modern production and their stylized harmonies, Ollabelle brings new vigor and energy to old songs, creating a sound that is not only familiar and consistent, but also new and eclectic.

That much is apparent throughout their debut, which pays tribute to many of the great traditional spirituals. Ollabelle renders "Soul of a Man" with a typically bluesy take while reveling in old-time gospel for "No More My Lawd." Things take on a slow R&&B gospel shuffle for "I'm Willing to Run All the Way," "Jesus on the Mainline" sounds more like soulful roots pop/rock, and Fiona McBain's sultry vocals overlay a silky smooth jazz/blues arrangement of "Elijah Rock." There's also an appropriately alternative sounding rendition of "John the Revelator" with distorted lead vocal, gritty guitar, creepy organ, and thunderous toms. The album closes with a wonderfully understated version of "All Is Well" — quiet with just three-part harmony and pump organ, somber for its meditation on death, and inspiring for its hope of life eternal.

Ollabelle diversifies their sound by drawing from other sources too. They open with a simple a cappella and percussion arrangement of "Before This Time" by Bessie Jones and Alan Lomax, apparently inspired to sound like the Georgia Sea Island Singers. A cover of Andrae Crouch's "Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus" offers a joyful blend of acoustic blues, rock, and gospel. McBain sounds much like Alison Krauss singing over a sparse acoustic arrangement of The Carter Family's "The Storms Are on the Ocean." There's even a cover of The Rolling Stones' "I Am Waiting" from their 1965 album Aftermath; though abstract in spirituality, it's certainly applicable to a gospel context.

Perhaps most surprising is how well Ollabelle's three originals stand up against the oldies. Organist Glenn Patscha's "Get Back Temptation" sounds like classic gospel blues by Blind Willie Johnson or Mississippi Fred McDowell, and his similarly themed "I Don't Want to Be That Man" could be mistaken for a newly uncovered folk spiritual. The rest of the band wrote "Two Steps," excerpted above, which delivers country gospel along the lines of Krauss or Over the Rhine while longing for life in heaven.

Ollabelle was born out of fun, camaraderie, and the love of making music. It's unclear whether the members subscribe to Christian beliefs or if they are simply enjoying American folk spirituals for the style. The songs clearly stir emotions in listeners, and as McBain says, "I'd like the music to make people feel good or happy or sad or whatever, but I also hope that the music makes them feel something that's deep." Whatever their motivations, they don't preclude the content of these songs, which need no explanation with such clear and simple expressions of the gospel.

Unless specified clearly, we are not implying whether this artist is or is not a Christian. The views expressed are simply the author's. For a more complete description of our Glimpses of God articles, click here.