| Satan Is Real | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 16, 1959 | |||
| Recorded | August 8–10, 1958 | |||
| Genre | Gospel country | |||
| Length | 31:54 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Ken Nelson, John Johnson(Reissue) | |||
| The Louvin Brothers chronology | ||||
| ||||
Satan Is Real is agospel country album byAmericancountry music duoThe Louvin Brothers, released in 1959.[1][2]
ProducerKen Nelson set up recording sessions in August 1958 to record enough tracks for two albums. The first was to becomeCountry Love Ballads, the second the gospel music forSatan is Real. Over 20 songs were recorded in a seven-day span.[2]
The 3-minute title-track, with only two sung choruses, is largely taken up by a personal narrative monologue describing the dangers of Satan.
Designed by Ira Louvin, the cover features the brothers standing in a rock quarry, dressed in matching spotless white suits and black ties, in front of a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) plywood rendition of theDevil, as several hidden tires soaked inkerosene burn behind them asfire and brimstone.[2][3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
| No Depression | (A)[4] |
| PopMatters | [5] |
While reviewers have generally commented on the distinctive album cover, they have also highly praised the song writing and performances. Mark Deming stated in hisAllMusic review: "You don't need to share the Louvin Brothers' spiritual beliefs to be moved by the grace, beauty and lack of pretension of this music;Satan Is Real is music crafted by true believers sharing their faith, and its power goes beyond Christian doctrine into something at once deeply personal and truly universal, and the result is the Louvin Brothers' masterpiece."[1]
Don Yates ofNo Depression called the album a "bold statement of its title signified the uncompromising nature of the Louvins’ beliefs. Whereas much country gospel of the ’50s was filled with feel-good platitudes that reflected the general optimism of the time, the Louvins’ gospel songs mirrored their own fire-and-brimstone Christianity... the album is an essential document of a side of the Louvins’ music that was at least as important to them as their more famous secular recordings."[4]
Critic Scott Walden compared the Louvins' music tothe Velvet Underground; "Their comprehension of the tortured throes of a drunkard's Satan-infested soul are no less profound thanLou Reed's own understanding of aheroin junkie wrestling with a world devoid of meaning beyond the piercing tip of the needle... The depth is there inSatan is Real. This album transcends the immediatekitsch appeal of its cover. There is a reason why songs from this album have been performed by the more commonly accepted genius of artists such asGram Parsons,Johnny Cash, andEmmylou Harris."[5]
Singer-songwriter Brennen Leigh calledSatan is Real "an absolutely beautiful, sincere, wonderful gospel album." She added, "It's got some stuff in it that might be off-putting to some modern audiences, but I would urge the listener of this record, if you're new to it -- if you can appreciate the spirituality in it, do. If you can't, listen to it for sonic value. Because the sonic value and the musical value of this record, there isn't anything better."[6]
"The Christian Life" was covered byThe Byrds on their 1968country rock albumSweetheart of the Rodeo.[2]
"Satan's Jeweled Crown" was covered byEmmylou Harris on her 1975 albumElite Hotel.
The opening bars of the album's title track "Satan is Real" can be heard at the beginning ofHank Williams III's "Medley: Straight to Hell / Satan is Real", on hisStraight to Hell album of 2006. It is also excerpted inWill Ferrell's 2009 one-manBroadway showYou're Welcome America. A Final Night With George W Bush.
In 2009,They Might Be Giants releasedHere Comes Science, their fourth children's album. One of the album's songs was titled "Science is Real", and was accompanied by merchandise that parodied this album's cover, replacing the image of Satan with an erupting volcano.
The 2010 Christmas album,Santa Is Real, by social media site Red State Update, parodies both this album's title and cover.[7]
In 2014,Martin Guitars released a commemorative guitar featuring theSatan Is Real album cover.[8]
In 2020,Oakland,California bandIdiot Grins releasedThoughts and Prayers, a song for song cover ofSatan is Real.
In 2024,Gravity Falls creatorAlex Hirsch parodied the cover and title with a fictional song calledCipher Is Real forThe Book of Bill. It was later officially released.
Production notes:
satan is real louvin brothers.
