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Mo Leverett
Comment on April 8th, 2010.
PASTE MAGAZINE
In Katrina’s Wake, A Song of Hope
Writer: Reid Davis
Scrapbook, Issue 19, Published online on 08 Dec 2005 Page 1 of 2 Next >
In New Orleans, locals had always talked about “the big one,” but when it came, it caught musician Mo Leverett by surprise.
“I’d forgotten about it and taken my kid to a babysitter’s class,” he recalls. “When I dropped her off they said, ‘look, we’re gonna cut the class short and cancel tomorrow.’ I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘You don’t know about the storm?’ I said, ‘what storm?’ They said, ‘Katrina.’ I said, ‘Katrina? Katrina was a little Category One.’ They said, ‘Well, it’s a Category Five now.’”
Leverett lived and worked in the city’s Ninth Ward, one of its lowest-lying—and most impoverished—districts, where he led a ministry that operated a school for at-risk children, hosted a health clinic and participated in small-business- and community-development efforts. Now, 15 years of work—begun by Leverett but now carried on by a staff of 50—lay directly in Katrina’s path. In a few days, the Desire neighborhood—only feet from the Industrial Canal, site of one of the major levee breaks—would be almost completely underwater.
Fighting an initial urge to stay so he could be on the frontline of relief efforts, Leverett and his family departed ahead of the storm, along with others from the community. “I looked at my children and stared at them for a period of time, and I realized, just do the safe thing for them because they can’t make the decision for themselves.”
Just weeks after the storm, Leverett’s latest, Blades Of Love, was released—a pre-planned event, but one fortuitously timed. It’s a gritty slice of hard-won hope, with Leverett’s growling, Macon, Ga.-bred voice and acoustic guitar augmented by horns, piano and upbeat grooves that provide touches of his adopted Crescent City home.
Leverett now shakes his head at the seeming prescience of lyrics like “Trouble always finds you / Tribulations rise / But love is what designed you / For undiscovered skies.”
“Frankly, I wrote all of this stuff before Katrina but I found so much of it relates to Katrina,” he says. “I talked about flood, I talked about storm, I talked about wind, I talked about loss, and listening to it even myself now, I’m moved. To think not so much about how well I did … but the themes themselves of ‘things aren’t what they seem,’ and ‘troubled times are your best friend,’ and ‘you should welcome these types of events into your life.’
“After you’ve endured it, that’s the last thing you’re thinking, but I know that one really doesn’t grow in an environment where he gets what he wants. We only grow when we lose and we suffer and we sacrifice and are hurt or wounded. If there was a theme, it would be something along those lines.”
Justice and Mercy
Despite his status as a Christian minister, and probably owing to his long presence in a neighborhood once called the “worst place to live in America,” Leverett doesn’t spend much time trafficking in churchified language, particularly on his latest. His songs—delivered in an earthy drawl similar to Alabama native Pierce Pettis—strongly resemble his heroes Bruce Cockburn and Mark Heard.
“After my first CD [in 1992] was picked up by a Christian label, one bookstore owner wrote the label and said, ‘we love his music, it’s beautiful melodically, but why is he ashamed of Jesus?’ … I am not ashamed of my faith or anything, but frankly, I don’t like using music as a sermonette, which most Christian music [has] become.
“I think that it’s fairly unmistakable when you read it—this is a spiritual guy, and you might expect that I’m a Christian, but like on the project If You Know What I Mean, I write a song called ‘Little White Lies’ and it’s about the history of racism, and writing it from the perspective of a black guy, well, I think Christians ought to be talking about that. I write about the things I care about and I care to talk about.”
Like Cockburn, the thing Leverett cares most about is the poor, the dispossessed and those at the mercy of the world’s power brokers. He stops short of rocket launchers, but justice nonetheless is an insistent concern. In his music, it’s what draws him to look for humanity in even the most unlikely places.
On “Schizophrenia,” Leverett draws upon his experience to put himself in the skin of a street person. “Paranoia / Coming for ya / Will destroy ya / We talk to myself / We sleep in my clothes / We’re taking our steps / Careful and slow.”
“I’ve come to realize that none of us are that far off from being crazy,” Leverett says. “And there are certainly times when I feel closer than others, where I’m struggling for my sanity in the midst of trying to change the culture or the social construct under which people are living. I mean, it’ll drive you nuts and leave you talking to yourself.”
A Beachhead of Hope
Desire Street Ministries was at the top of its game prior to Katrina’s devastation. In one of the toughest neighborhoods, it had established a beachhead of hope, with simultaneous efforts underway in economic development, education (via tutoring and its own private school), housing and even healthcare, partnering with CURE, a local association of churches, to maintain a pediatric clinic. It had also developed many of its own leaders from within the neighborhood.
In Katrina’s wake, almost all the local work was put on hold. Staff homes (including Leverett’s) were flooded and ruined. Desire Street Academy, the school, was intact but won’t be usable for some time, and it has since moved to Destin, Fla., as a boarding school for the present time. The future is unclear, but Leverett says it’s bound to inspire more songwriting.
“I’ve been moved to write and I’ve not had the opportunity to do it. … I’m working on a few things right now. I got a phone call from the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. They’re wanting to produce [my song “Louisiana”] with Aaron Neville and maybe some others and make it the state anthem. So they wanted me to write a bridge, and I wrote the bridge, so we’re gonna go into recording soon.
“I’ve always said that that song was written for Aaron Neville to sing. I’ve said that to a lot of people, and now it may just happen. We’ll see.”
Mo Leverett
Comment on April 8th, 2010.
Cross Rhythms
Mo Leverett - The Sacrament Of Life
STYLE: Blues
RATING
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 22345-12280
LABEL: Justice Road
FORMAT: CD Album
This product is currently not available from Cross Rhythms Direct
Reviewed by Ewan Jones
Mo Leverett ministers out of Desire Street, a ministry based in New Orleans committed to social change. ‘The Sacrament Of Love’ describes “the story of richness of my life unto God among the poor.” This CD is moving, funny and funky resonating with a wonderful mix of jazz, blues, soul and funk. The 12 here songs exude energy and enthusiasm for life and the wonder of God’s work among the poor. “Holding On To Randy” is perhaps the saddest of the songs, written from the point of view of one of Mo’s co-workers, who lost both of his brothers to suicide. However, for the most part these songs are full of joy, in spite of the harsh surroundings that they often spring from. The recording is spot on, with wonderful percussion and accompanying instruments. There are touches of Santana, Van Morrison and Paul Simon hidden away, but the clearest influence is geographical, a dirty, southern blues. The musicianship is of such a high standard that every song is a pleasure to listen to.
Mo Leverett
Comment on April 8th, 2010.
The Phantom Tollbooth
Of Orphans and Kings
Artist- Mo Leverett
Label: Indie
Length: 13 Songs
Mo Leverett has a gritty voice lends itself well to country and blues influenced music. And that is what you get on his new album, Of Orphans and Kings. The songs by the New Orleans musician sound as if they are born out of the tragedy of hurricane Katrina.
The listener will hear a contrast with songs of sorrow and loss that are sprinkled with joy and thankfulness. It is this contrast that connects you with the struggles Mo Leverett has experienced in his life over the last few years.
The songs that are scaled back to a few instruments are the ones that really shine, such as “Watch and Pray.” It is a Neil Young inspired arrangement of soulful singing with a gentle guitar strum The song becomes very emotive when the soulful background vocals chime in. Leverett borrows the lyrics to an old hymn and creates what is probably the best song on the album. In fact, I really desire more of the flesh and bone songs on the album. Another such song found later in the album is, “The Ditch,” where all you hear is the strum of his guitar interacting with his staccato voice singing the lyrics. It is another gem on the album. Overall, I would like to hear more of the bare bones songs from Leverett it makes his guitar playing and voice shine more.
The fourth song is a rousing country anthem, “Like Hell Inside,” the first song Leverett states he wrote after the hurricane. I really enjoy the burn a hole in your pocket harmonica by Buddy Greene. The song is packed with energy and gets your foot to tapping. There are several more songs interwoven throughout the album that have the up tempo country blues fell to it. It is what helps to give a more joyful and thankful emotion to balance out the other songs.
Overall, it is a well-balanced album with lyrical themes that are consistent and biblical. A Mo Leverett fan should enjoy this album.
By Robert W. Blake
js
Comment on May 12th, 2010.
Wood Between the Worlds
Kirk’s quantum links and cultural review.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Mo Leverett: Shards of Light
Mo Leverett: Shards of Light
(Hymns and Spiritual Songs – (Pirate Edition*)
I think this came out real late 2009.
Genre: Rogue Folk, at the intersection of Creole blues and the great Awakening.
Synopsis: Original and “Old-School” hymns, as sung by a poet-pirate. Lean production, mostly guitar and small ensemble. One of the finest “New-Hymn” collections ever created on the Face of the Earth.
Mo Leverett: Shards of Light (order)
Mo Leverett is one of those guys whose music you just have to know about – or you will never find. He doesn’t seem to show up in any kind of stores, or lists, or even reviews…..and he even dumped me on Facebook. (Truth is, he may have dumped everyone. For whatever reasons, I stopped seeing his post, then went to see if perhaps I had been relegated to Facebook purgatory, only to find that Mo doesn’t appear to be there right now. You can however, follow him through one of his ministry music outlets, or on a Facebook page. You can even read him on this defunct blog, or read a charming review of the process behind Shards of Light.
For the unacquainted (most everyone) Mo is musician-slash-pastor with an intentionally urban church, Centerpoint of Tallahassee, Florida. (Given the lack of a denomination in the name, I guess I’ll skip it too, except to say that Pastor MO works out of a church identified with Puritans, Presbyters, Churches in America, Total depravity, conservative social-sensibilities, and largely white suburban professionals.
It is with some intrigue then, that MO has dedicated his musical and pastoral life to shattering the demographic. He lived and worked for years in an inner city ministry in New Orleans. (Mo founded Desire Street Ministries in 1990 and led the same till 2006. You can trace his ministry –through tribulation, growth and hope —then deep lamentation, following Katrina’s wrath — across multiple albums.
Mo’s music is mostly muscled folk, but steeped in an alt-bayou sound. It’s not just theatre, Mo knows the blues. I cannot now find the lyric, but some of Mo’s best music is angry music – including a song in which he hears the Star Spangled Banner from a street side perch. I don’t know if Desire Street Ministries is still going, but I get the sense it took it hard on the chin with the rest of his devastated “parish.” Mo’s since moved his family to higher ground, and opened Rebirth International, an organization with a focus on the revitalization of urban communities worldwide.
All of which is interesting, but has virtually nothing to do (except for the “everything of forging the man) with the music of Shards of Light.
In Short, Shards is one of the MOST SATIFYING collections of hymns and spiritual songs ever created on the Face of the Earth.
And I am not an easy audience. I have an ear for old hymns (but seldome get to hear them) — And really like the idea of introducing those same hymns to new generations – even if it sometimes means changing the tune. Just the same, I’m mostly underwhelmed by efforts to do just that. Part of the glory of old hymns is their structure. Why trade a tune of enduring beauty for something modern, especially if you trade it for something which is just soggy and unmemorable?
But Mo is not about the business of simply trading tunes or adding beat. He is about the business of making “old” content— dangerous, and desperate and lovely.
The first and big surprise. Mo’s voice.
Mo makes no bones. He likes a good cigar. But I hadn’t heard a Mo CD in some half a dozen years. Now I am going to go back and fill in the gaps. Mo never had a polished voice… He was always a folk singer’s singer… but his is the voice of one who talks tobacco… or weeps, or sings – like a violin - multiple tones at the same time. (This may be harsh, but my first mental image was of the guy who loses the chariot race to Ben Hur and is gurgling for life… There are times MO’s voice is tortured raspy. Think Pirate, or some kind of cross between Lyle Lovett and Leonard Cohen.
According to the promo material, Shards is Mo’s 9th album, and considered lighter and more hopeful than recent recordings. …. Which in turn, makes me want to go back and hear the misery I’ve missed. Shards dishes a range of emotions, from unbridled jubilation, to quivering reflection — but there is mass and a depth to Shards that is missing in so much of modern music. When Mo laments sin, or sings of grace you understand that he understands he has been freed from a death sentence. But Augh… The Jubilation. Refiner’s Flame is hands down one of the most Joy filled songs I’ve ever heard. (and in the face of great irony)
That we could call our failures friend, and praise our darkest day…And hidden in the worst of times…a mystery to appear, it is in darkness light will shine, and cries which draw God near.
Then there is that splendid “Last Song”
If this be my last song , let me like a clarion, like a seraphim angel I’ll be, singing all to your glory..If this be my last day…all my burdens will fly away, I will lift crooked hands to the sky and the flame of your name….
You have my permission. Sing it when I die.
Beyond that, Shards is graced with two songs sung by Mo’s daughter…the beauty and virtue that wells from her voice blesses the soul, and would make any Dad proud.
Production on Shards is delightfully lean. The album opens with an instrumental guitar track. Remaining tracks are built on an acoustic guitar base, with swirls of piano or cello and a touch or two of old-church-organ, hand-drum, upright bass, electric guitar, even trumpet — but never in a way that overpowers the songs. I wish more people would catch the ear for this kind of real music – the kind you could play in your living room if you only knew half a dozen primo musicians and some swampy black vocalists.
—
All in all, someone may wonder why these are called hymns. We know Rock of Ages was a hymn, but is it a hymn when Mo sings it without the familiar tune or structure? Some may quibble with the word “hymn” but where Shard bumps heavy into song craft of a century or two ago is at the point of content. (Shards also uses some of the rhyme style I associate with the Psalter, an old English adaptation of the Psalms. Some of the words look hokey in print, but they really do work in song.) Take for example the song, Shards of Life. Mo joins the saints of old and sings with conviction of the sinfulness of sin — and of a boldly loving God we associate with the likes of Amazing Grace.
There I was in darkness found
Lying prostrate on the ground…
Bended like a shattered reed
Fallen like some scattered seed,
Oh I (or Whoa – I)
Slow I walked on sorrow’s path
Bruised within by sorrow’s wrath
Where to find the hope of cure
Where’s the strength for to endure
Ohhh-I, whoa I
Shards of Light with arrow speed
Downward flight to pierce my need
Now I’m wounded from above
Wounded by redemptive love
Grace from Grace and Grace alone
Now the only judgment known (Not sure on this)
Now no condemnation planned
Only mercy in His hand
Whoa I, OOh I (?)
Shards of Light with arrow speed
Downward flight to pierce my need
Now I’m wounded from above
I was wounded by redemptive love
As is, I have only one beef with this exceptional album. Given limited print, self production and a modest budget, the Shards CD offers NO linear notes. I recognized several of the lyrics as belonging to old hymns, but am not sure—in the end, how many of these songs are MO’s or how many belong to ‘Public Domain”. I figure at least part of my 15 bucks could have been used to throw in an extra piece of paper. But hey, if that extra thirty cents goes to his family, his ministry or the next CD, I’m for it.
Posted by Doc Op at 8:26 AM
Labels: blues, folk, gospel, hymns, Mo Leverett, Save the Hymns
Mo Leverett
Comment on June 27th, 2010.
sovereign surgeon: Mo Leverett, The Sacrament of Life
December 25, 2008 by David Baer
Mo Leverett’s New Orleans jazz, a vehicle of the most streetworthy and reflective Christian faith, is just the thing.
Sensuous, anchored, penetrating, persuasive, Leverett’s music celebrates life as a gift that is capable of thriving and enlightening journeys walked out in otherwise insufferable darkness.
Leverett’s convincing voice is ragged in the very best sense yet so very sure of itself. He celebrates his family—not least his ‘Cajun queen’—with no hint of embarrassment. If he’s preaching—this reviewer suspects he is—his words get into the listener’s ears and perhaps even through his pores before any defenses can be raised.
Leverett performs ‘Martyr of Mercy’, arguably the album’s jewel, like a craftsman intimately acquainted with his material:
Mercy is the beggar’s call
it’s the new beginning
let’s the shamed stand tall
mercy is the wailing wall
keeps the wayward winning
it’s the highest law
I’m listening waiting willing
to hear the quiet call
to let my spirit say
to sacrifice it all
to give it all away
like a martyr of mercy
Mercy is the judge’s friend
it’s the rich man’s glory
and the poor man’s pride
mercy is a gentle wind
it’s the favorite story
of the turned aside
Mercy is the love of God
it’s the song of angels
and the prayer of fools
Mercy is the golden rule
it’s the cry of kingdoms
and its crowning jewel
The voice of the biblical prophets, crying that justice might flow down like a rushing stream, is to be discerned in this remarkable music. At times it is best simply to sit, to be quiet, and to listen. Please do.
The Sacrament of Life is available at http://www.desirestreet.com.
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