Buddy Miller - Universal United House Of Prayer

Buddy Miller typically sings about broken hearts and busted romances, which makes his recent outburst - captured on his new album, Universal United House of Prayer - all the more surprising. He recruited gospel singers Regina and Ann McCrary, the daughters of Rev. Sam McCrary, the founder of the Fairfield Four, to sing back-up. He dusted off the Louvin Brothers' 'There's a Higher Power' and the seed of this project came from a nine-minute cover of Dylan's With God on Our Side. 'When the war broke out, I couldn't get that song out of my head,' he explains. 'The melody is so incredible, and the words don't seem 40 years old.'

Songwriter friends Jim Lauderdale and Victoria Williams co-wrote a few tunes, while Wide River To Cross, Shelter Me, and Is That You, all co-written with wife Julie, are courageous, sparingly-made statements that tap into Miller's personal beliefs without ever sounding heavy-handed or sanctimonious.

'I think this is my best record,' Miller says. 'I don't think this is just a gospel record or just a political record,' he says. 'It concerns themes that seem to follow us everywhere we go.' ~ Memphis Flyer (Andria Lisle)

Listen to samples:

• Worry Too Much
• There's A Higher Power
• Shelter Me
• With God On Our Side
• Wide River To Cross
• Fire And Water
• Don't Wait
• This Old World
• Is That You
• Returning
• Fall On The Rock