William Warfield
Something Within Me
Delmark Records
17 tracks @ 68:11

This 2004 record is a posthumous release with material recorded in 2001. Warfield was long famous for his baritone voice.

“Make Me a Pallet on the Floor” is a Dixieland instrumental featuring Bill Carter’s Jazz Band. “Every Time I Feel the Spirit” is a simple arrangement with vocal and piano.

The traditional “The Old Rugged Cross” features a soulful clarinet, banjo and muted trumpet.

Some tracks, “Up a Lazy River,” “Blue Horizon” and “Swanee River” aren’t really Christian songs but fit Warfield’s style and background. I listened to this disk the night the levees flooded New Orleans and it took on an extra poignancy.

“Just A Little While to Stay Here” is another instrumental and despite its title is joyful in nature. “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” is one of the most interesting songs on this largely pleasing record. It has a banjo-driven open and then a snare drum comes in during the musical bridge, making the song more up tempo. The song really swings, reflecting the joy of what it’s like to enter heaven.

- Rob S.