#2158: Program #2158

New Sounds | May 24, 2010
Gavin Bryars's "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet," is a late minimalist piece for orchestra and tape that has had an almost legendary effect on its audiences. Opening with a homeless man singing a simple melody that is looped over and over again for the entire 74 minutes of the album. Bryars weaves in a beautiful string arrangement that develops slowly underneath the melody, and singer Tom Waits joins in at the end. We hear this remarkable piece on this edition of New Sounds.

PROGRAM #2158 Music with Analog Tape (First aired on Tuesday, 5/27/03)

ARTIST(S)

RECORDING

CUT(S)

SOURCE

Steve Reich

Early Works

It's Gonna Rain, excerpt [1:30]

Nonesuch #79168**
www.nonesuch.com*

Gavin Bryars

The Sinking of the Titanic

Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet, edited [15:00]

Obscure Records, 1975 LP, long out of print. A re-recorded version, with Tom Waits, was released in the mid 1990's by Point Music.
That version is available for purchase at Amazon.com*

Scott Johnson

John Somebody

John Somebody I & III [13:00]

Nonesuch #79133.** www.nonesuch.com*

Phil Kline

Unsilent Night

From Light [6:00]

Cantaloupe #21005
www.cantaloupemusic.com

Robert Fripp & Brian Eno

The Essential Fripp and Eno

Wind On Water, excerpt [1:30]

Caroline #61886
Available for purchase at Amazon.com*

Ingram Marshall

Fog Tropes/Gradual Requiem

Gradual Requiem, Pt. IV [8:00]

New Albion #002.**
www.newalbion.com

*, ** - Find the recordings you've heard - go to the New Sounds Recordings Information page

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

Top Stories

One Refugee’s Journey Through ICE Detention

In 2025, ICE began detaining people at immigration hearings, an unprecedented step. The staff writer Jonathan Blitzer shares the story of one detainee whose life was turned upside down.
The New Yorker Radio Hour |

Black and Latino Leaders React to DSA Wins

Jeffery Mays talks about how Black and Latino political leaders feel as members of DSA have gained power in NYC.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Jewish elected leaders criticize Mamdani’s rhetoric after Upper West Side stabbings

Authorities charged the suspect, Raul Morales, with hate crimes on Friday.
Gothamist |

Cat Cohen's New Comedy Musical 'Broad Strokes'

All Of It with Alison Stewart |
YOU ARE ONLINE