Search - Praise the Lord-Gospel Musi, Various Artists :: Praise The Lord! Gospel Music In Washington, DC

In April 1998, a call went out to members of the Washington, D.C., church community: The Smithsonian Institution's Anocostia Museum and the Center for African American History and Culture was going to host an open gospel recording session. The result is Praise the Lord, a collection of 15 performances offered by 8 acts and recorded over the course of 3 days at the city's Bible Way Temple. Washington, D.C., has long upheld a reputation for being a gospel hotbed and this fine anthology indicates that the tradition continues. In those three days solo artists, duos, quartets, and choirs turned up; what's heard are bedrock vocal styles fused to contemporary instrumentation (one can't help but long for a little more piano and organ, and a bit less newfangled keyboard stylings), providing a view into a living tradition that borrows from contemporary pop and R&B. The smartly assembled package includes comprehensive notes, lyrics, and a list of suggested listening. --Steven Stolder