Search - Various Artists :: When Gospel Was Gospel

Best Black Gospel - 1947 - 1963

Hank n Tennessee | Virginia, USA | 03/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is THE best rocking, shouting, one CD overview of Black Gospel from 1947 to 1963, produced by the man best qualified to do the job, historian and self-described gospel "monomaniac" Anthony Heilbut, who has devoted his life to the music. If you like the singing of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, Whitney Houston or Lou Rawls, or `60's soul from Motown or Stax-Volt - you'll love this CD. This is where it all came from. It's all here, the sweet falsetto crooners (R.H. Harris, Claude Jeter), the church wrecking baritone shouters (Silas Steele), the earthshaking basso profundo's (the classically trained J. Robert Bradley, equally at home in German lieder or Gospel shouting), the choirs (St. Paul's Baptist Church), the quartets (Dixie Hummingbirds, Soul Stirrers, Swan Silvertones), the women (Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward, Delores Barret Campbell), the men (Brother Joe May, Professor Alex Bradford), and one caught in between (Wilmer "Little Ax" Broadnax, a woman who lived her life as a man in the macho world of male gospel quartet as the much admired tenor lead for the Spirit of Memphis Quartet).



There is not a weak number on this album, and most are gloriously good. There are half a dozen rare "in the spirit" "LIVE" recordings, including the rarely recorded legend Queen C. Anderson, and an absolutely scorching Swan Silvertones medley that segues from a searing Dewey Young baritone shout to a soaring Claude Jeter falsetto tour de force. I think it is the best thing ever captured by this much recorded group. The packaging and liner notes are impeccable, including an authoritative 20 page history of the music and performers.



This project was clearly conceived as an ideal follow up to the seminal 2 CD set "The Gospel Sound" produced on Columbia 30 odd years ago by Heilbut and the legendary John Hammond. There is NO overlap at all between the two collections - they focus primarily on different artists, and where the same artists appear (Mahalia Jackson, Dorothy Love Coates, Dixie Hummingbirds) different (and equally powerful) songs are used. You'll want the Columbia collection as well, since one CD covers the pre-1947 roots, including the unbelievable precision harmonies of the Golden Gate Jubilee Singers on 3 tracks, and the second CD rivals this for coverage of the period from WWII to the 1960's. After these 2 albums you might check out Heilbut's other Gospel collections on Shanachie, "The Gospel Women, Vol 1 and Vol 2", "Kings of the Gospel Highway", "The Great Men of Gospel, Vol 1" or the Dorn/Friedlander collection "Gospel Music" or "Jubilation, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2".

"

Good God Almighty

J. M. Olivarez | Rural, TX USA | 07/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection is beautiful. The Queen C. Anderson medley is AMAZING (wish we could have heard more from this great singer)!!! Dorothy Love Coates is perfect (as always) and Rosetta Tharpe is impeccable as ever. Love it!!!!!!"

When Gospel Was Gospel

Mariah | Maine mountains | 02/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was introduced to Robert Harris and The Soul Stirrers through this album, and followed up with the 2 CD set "He's My Rock", see my review. On this album of When Gospel Was Gospel, #5 is mislabeled, giving credit to "The Roberta Martin Singers, for the song "Yield Not To Temptation", which is definitely done by Robert Harris and The Soul Stirrers. I have played the first 6 songs of this album, over and over, for much comfort, as they are so beautiful. Also a close second are #8,9,13,14 and 15!

Sincerely,

Bob McKenney"