Download - Downbeat

BEYOND
by Frank-John Hadley
Surrender To
Good News
Various Artists, Fire In My Bones
(Tompkins Square 2271; 79:45/78:52/
77:53) AAAA 1 /2 The subtitle “Raw &
Rare and Otherworldly African-
American Gospel (1944-2007)” tells
us that Mike McGonigal’s compilation
of 80 tracks dares to be different
from other collections. Nearly all of
these sacred steel guitarists, harmonica
players, sermonizing ministers,
fife and drum bands, vocal groups
and soloists are complete unknowns
who recorded their heart-driven,
blues-connected offerings for regional
labels, radio or folklorists. The quality
of the supercharged music stays
at a high level all the way. Rejoice to
the sacred sounds of singer Little Axe (a
woman posing as a man) and one-manband
Abner Jay and the Mosby Family
Singers, all clamoring for the Maker’s
approval. These soldiers for the Lord have
gone to their heavenly reward but thanks to
this blockbuster set they are no longer forgotten
here in the temporal world. Bless
them.
Ordering info: tompkinssquare.com
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir: Declare
Your Name (Integrity 47302; 65:12) AAA
Grand is the word to describe the worshiping
of this 180-voice juggernaut-for-Jesus,
active since the early 1980s, with 27 albums
released to the tune of four million-plus
sales. At their home church last June, the
regulars welcomed four consecrated guest
singers, including Israel Houghton, and a
sleek r&b-pop band into the fold. Strings
added later. The singers exalt to seventh
heaven with original songs of praise like “I
Surrender” until mid-concert, when the
soaring slacks some and a pop sweetness
takes hold of the material.
Ordering info: brooklyntabernacle.org
Various Artists: Shoutin’ Down The
Aisles (Time Life/Sony 24917; 77:11/76:11)
AAA Thirty modern-day gospel artists
deliver delirious invocations while under
the sway of their Lord. From the blues sass
of Candi Staton and Dottie Peoples (“Shut
Up And Start Praying”) to the funk-inflected
approach of Fred Hammond (“Jesus Be A
Fence Around Me”), everyone comes by
their conviction naturally. Nice surprise: H.
E. Dixon and two other vocal group leaders
give samples of the undervalued Low
Country gospel style of the South Carolina
coast. The devil’s work? Contrived, garish
Smokie Norful:
transcendent
energy
pop production swamps several tracks.
Ordering info: TimeLife.com
Shirley Smith: In Hymn I Trust (The
Sirens Records 5017; 40:28) AAA
Supported by an organist and a drummer,
singer-pianist Smith shouts out new gospel
and classic hymns with such resonant
enthusiasm that there’s no doubting the
claim of the clever album title. Mel Gibson
would relish the vivid imagery of “I Know It
Was The Blood.” In the studio, she harmonizes
three vocal parts.
Ordering info: thesirensrecords.com
Smokie Norful: Live (EMI 50999; 74:49)
AAA The singing preacher is a spectacular
concert energizer with an understanding of
emotive manipulation and how to deliver
the messages of transcendent psalms like
“Jesus Is Love” to faithful followers at the
Cannon Center in Memphis, Tenn. Songs
further burst their seams with testifying
back-up singers and a contemporary r&b
band. Seeing is believing; the accompanying
DVD runs 90 minutes.
Ordering info: smokienorfulministries.org
Soweto Gospel Choir: Grace (Shanachie
66043; 69:33) AAA 1 /2 Singing in English,
Zulu and Sotho, 26 of the most stirring
church singers in Johannesburg’s Soweto
township celebrate their God and universalism
on the best of their five albums. Solo
singing and harmonies, laden with feeling,
are as attractively colorful as the dashiki and
long-sleeved boubou they wear. Aside from
rusted-out “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”
and stiff “Ave Maria,” the lineup of African
and American gospel songs is impressive.
“Ingoma” makes glorious connections with
Jim Pepper’s Native American music. DB
Ordering info: shanachie.com
CLAY PATRICK MCBRIDE
March 2010 DOWNBEAT 79