90 | NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019
enterpriseisshownbythe
artistsforgoingpayment,
withallprofitsdonatedto
theSalvationArmy.
Sowhataboutthemusic?
Offeringprovesthat,contrary
toanoldsayinginthemusic
world,theDevildidn’tgetall
thebesttunes.
Inthewordsofthewon-
derfulRandyNewman:“My
side,theagnostic,atheist
side,hasgotnothinglikethe
goodgospelmusicI love.
There’snogreatsongthat’s
like,‘Let’sallnotbelieveand
playouragnostichymnals!’”
JerryWexler,a cynical
Jewishrecordproducerin
NewYork,wasn’tkidding
whenhesaidhekick-started
ArethaFranklin’scareeras
thequeenofsoulbytaking
hertoMuscleShoals,Ala-
bama,soshecould“getback
tochurch”.
Offeringisfarfromthe
white-breadSongsofPraise
musicalstyle,wherefeeling
issacrificedforreverence.
There are many high points.Theversionof“Whakaaria
Mai”(“HowGreatThou
Art”)byTeeksandHollie
Smithis allthemoreriveting
forthebeautifullyunderstat-
edtreatmentit receives.
Kimbra,likemostoftheper-
formers,choseherownsong:
MartinLutherKing’sfavour-
itehymn,“PreciousLord,
TakemyHand”,andproduced
it herselfinBrooklynwitha
wonderfulgospeltrio.
Arecurringthemeisthat
manyofthesongsarevery
personaltotheperformers.
Originally,StanWalkerwas
goingtosing“Whakaaria
Mai”,butchangedhissong
twoweeksbeforehewasdue
torecord.“Heperformed‘Ma
TeMarie’athisgrandmoth-
er’sfuneral,”saysThom.“So
wewenttohismaraeatWel-
comeBayandsangit withhis
kapahakagroup.He’soneof
manyperformersintheir20s
and30swhopaystributeto
those who havegonebefore.”THEORIGINSOFthesongson
Offeringcomefromthe
church,andsodotheunex-
pecteddelightsoftheduo
albumWordGetsAround
(RoughDiamondRecords),by
DelaneyDavidsonandBarry
Saunders.Ona 2015tourwith
MarlonWilliamsandTami
Neilson,DavidsonandSaun-
dersplayedecclesiastical
venuesfromtheHolyTrinity
CathedralinAucklandto
KnoxChurchinDunedin.
Inrehearsaltheyfounda
slightlyunlikely,butvery
real,synergybetweenDavid-
son’sdarkersounds,which
couldbelooselydescribedas
countrygrunge,andSaun-
ders’moremainstreamNash-
villeethos.Theresultisan
albumthatcapturesthebest
ofbothworlds,thealmost
overwhelmingintensityof
Davidson’smusicmademore
approachablebytheground-
ed,relatablenatureofSaun-
ders’writingstyle.
Together,ontrackslike
“Stolen River” – with a cho-rusthatfeelslikeit’sbeen
waitingtobesungforyears- they’veproduceda collec-
tionofsongsthatstandwith
theverybesteither man has
ever recorded.
NORAHJONESis theonlyart-
istI’velistenedtowhomight
havecostmemylife.
Inthewinterof2002,driv-
inga rentalcarbacktoDun-
edinlateatnightaftera
lengthyeveningshootinga
rugbyprogrammeforSkyat
theBluffRugbyClub,I was
tiredbutstone-coldsober,
andlookingforwardtolis-
teningforthefirsttimeto
Jones’breakthroughalbum,
ComeAwaywithMe.
Abouthalfwaythroughthe
230kmtrip,tomyhorror,I
foundmyselfnoddingoffto
sleep.OnSH93somewhere
nearClinton,I steppedoutof
thecar,lettingthefreezing
SouthOtagoairsnapmeinto
consciousness.I droveon,
butdozedagain.
OnlythendidI realisethe
silky,soothing,somnolent
tonesofthelovelyMsJones
werea problem.I drovethe
restofthewayinsilence,a
bitbleary,butneversleeping.
I’mhappytosayJones’
music,ashasbeennotedby
othercritics,hasbecome
moreinterestingwithtime.
Shestillhasa voiceredolent
ofluxurysoftfurnishings,
butonBeginAgain(Blue
Note),sheoftenmovesbe-
yondthecomfortofsweet,
predictablelovesongs.
Howcouldanydrowsy
drivernotsitupalittle
straighterwhenshewonders
“Haveyouhadenough?
Shakemeoffinthenight,”in
theslinky“ASongwithNo
Name”,thencroons,“IfI had
a gun.IfI hada knife...I have
silentlyschemed...”
Joneshasn’tturnedintoa
21st-centuryJanisJoplin,but
BeginAgaindeserves,and
willreward,moreattention
thanbeingplayedatlowvol-
ume at a dinner party. +old-fashionedhabit:hekeeps
voluminoushand-written
journals.“Seventeenyears
ago,I wrotedowntheword
‘Offering’,whichI guessisa
veryold-fashionedword,”he
says.“Thegenesisofthisidea
wastheartistsofourtimeper-
formingthemusicofalltime,
thehymnsthathavesustained
thewearyforcenturies.”
Andthatisexactlywhat
he’smanagedwiththealbum
Offering(TheOfferingPro-
ject),forwhich 12 hymnsand
gospelsongswererecorded
byNewZealandartistsat
venuesasdiverseastheSan
DamianoMissionCatholic
Church,inBrooklyn,and
StanWalker’smaraeatWel-
comeBay,nearTauranga.
ThemarketerinThomisre-
vealedbythefactthatthe
12-trackCD,whichcomes
withaninsertfeaturingan
originalartworkforevery
track,issellingat $20for
two:“Onetokeep,onetogive
toa friend.”
The spirit and heart of the
Bytheageof23,MurrayThomwasthehead
ofCBSRecords(nowSony)inNewZealand.
He was also a champion yachtsman.