Search - Various Artists :: Gospel Music

Gorgeous Collection of Black Gospel - 30's through 60's

Hank n Tennessee | Virginia, USA | 03/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"4 big stars and one raspberry for this gorgeous new collection of America's greatest underappreciated musical treasure - the great field of Black Gospel from the 30's to the 60's - which was the birthplace of R&B, Soul and much of rock and pop through church rooted singers like Ray Charles, Sam Cooke (represented on this album singing an uncredited lead with the Soul Stirrers), Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, etc., etc.. If you like Ray Charles and Aretha, then you will LOVE this music, which is worthy of them at their best!



The music that Dorn and Friedlander have collected here is rarely less than stunning. Some of it would make my "all-time best" CD of great American music. Even if you know a little about Black Gospel, you will probably be as surprised and delighted as I was at some of the choices here. You may have known about the Golden Gates, but had you ever heard of the Trumpeters, who sing jubilee style well enough to be right at home on the same CD as the masters? You probably knew about the Swan Silvertones and the Dixie Hummingbirds, but, honest now - had you ever listened to the Consolers or the Violinaires before this album? Did you think that "Jagger and Richard" had written "Last Time", like it said on the old Rolling Stones album? Here you will find two very different takes on the original "Last Time" by the Five Blind Boys of Alabama and by the Staple Singers. This is a CD that you should probably not listen to for the first time while driving - too many "pull off the road" moments here.



Ok, now the raspberry. The incredible artists here deserve liner notes that at least acknowledge their presence! Not even the unmistakable Sam Cooke is credited for his beautiful lead singing with the Soul Stirrers here. Was that a very young Wilson Pickett singing with the Violinaires (probably, but no one tells us)? And how can you let the jaw dropping bass lead singer of the Harmonizing Four on "Motherless Child" remain nameless? (It was almost certainly Jimmy Jones). Black gospel singers have gotten precious little money or recognition for their tremendous contribution to American music. Reissuers have a duty to do better, as Tony Heilbut did with his wonderful "When Gospel was Gospel" on Shanachie, and with the seminal "The Gospel Sound" collection that he and John Hammond put out on Columbia.



Speaking of "The Gospel Sound", which for 30 years has been the 2 CD gold standard of Black Gospel collections and is still available here at Amazon - Dorn and Friedlander generally are admirable in giving us different selections for the giants of the field (Golden Gates, Mahalia, the Staple Singers). But they do stumble twice, duplicating the Dixie Hummingbirds "One Day" and Dorothy Love Coates "Strange Man", which are also on the earlier collection. Of course these two cuts are so fantastic, really pinnacles of passionate American singing that everyone should hear, that it's probably mean spirited to even mention it. Still, two guys with the expertise to introduce us to the Trumpeters and the Consolers could probably have used the space to dazzle us with two other lesser known gems. God knows, there is enough untapped great music out there.



So what are you waiting for? Buy "Gospel Music" (AND "The Gospel Sound" AND "When Gospel was Gospel") and find out exactly where Ray and Aretha and many of America's greatest singers came from . These are all American classics that no one should be without.

"

Weak Packaging Mars Fine Collection

Todd A. Gracyk | Petaluma, CA USA | 04/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very frustrating CD. I've read some great reviews of this CD but when I purchased it I was disappointed to find that it has extremely weak packaging. There is no information about the performers and there is no information as to when the various recordings were made (I like the year tagging in my iTunes to be fairly accurate). There is 1 page of sparse notes by co-producer Joel Dorn explaining why he thinks liner notes are not needed (something about the music being so good the liner notes are not needed). Baloney!



As for the music, many of the later recordings are a little too noisy/rambunctious for my tastes. The opening and closing live snippets are annoying because they offer only fragments of songs. Don't get me wrong, there is some great, great music here, some of it very obscure, but in purchasing this CD be prepared to be disappointed with a less than stellar project.



I much prefer the great new single CD collection on Shanachie titled "When Gospel Was Gospel" (which isn't hurt by its 22 pages of liners notes/discography) and the older, first 2 volumes in Rhino's "Jubilation!" series (regrettably now out of print).



Here are possible/probable years of the recordings:



1. Precious Lord (excerpt) - Slim & The Supreme Angels - 1972?



2. Go Where I Send Thee - The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet - 1937



3. Oh Mary, Don't You Weep - The Swan Silvertones - 1959



4. Strange Man - Dorothy Love Coates - 1968



5. The Last Mile of the Way - Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers - 1955



6. Motherless Child - The Harmonizing Four - 1958



7. What He Done For Me - The Violinaires -1965?



8. Waiting For My Child - The Consolers -1963



9. Where Shall I Go - The Trumpeteers -1954?



10. Stand By Me - The Staple Singers -1961



11. This May Be The Last Time - The Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama - 1957



12. This May Be The Last Time - The Staple Singers - 1961



13. Trouble In My Way - The Swan Silvertones - 1953



14. Get Right Church - Reverend James Cleveland -1974?



15. My God Is Real - Mahalia Jackson -1954?



16. One Day - The Angelic Gospel Singers & The Dixie Hummingbirds - 1951



17. By The Power of God - Troy Ramey & The Soul Searchers - 1977?



18. He Decided To Die (excerpt) - Reverend James Cleveland - 1977?"

DIVINE

D. Hopkins | Brooklyn, NY | 02/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This compilation is purely divine. For anybody, who's not already familiar with gospel greats like Mahalia Jackson, The Staple Singers and The Swan Silvertones, these 18 tracks are a great introduction. Personally, I'm a big Gospel fan and had heard most of the artists before, but what's amazing about this anthology is that there's not one bad track. From beginning to end, it's absolutely amazing. I can't recommend this highly enough to both longtime gospel fans and the previously uninitiated. You'll be swept away by the pure soul power and spiritually revitalized by the beauty of the music here."