Reviewed by Tony Cummings

In some of the first words uttered by TD Jakes on this DVD, "When all God's children get together, what a time, what a time, what a time!" As this 2004 DVD proves though, much of that good time referred to by the good bishop is more theological than aesthetic. I trust that like me you view the appalling divisions between today's "black church" and "white church" with disgust and long for the time when more and more bridges are built between the two worshipping communities. But this brave attempt (with its sister volume 'Build A Bridge') in bringing together Southern gospel and black gospel elements is only partially successful as a cultural artefact. The main difficulty is that Bill Gaither has already taken Southern gospel a long, long way from its shape note singing and country harmony origins. Gaither's brand of Homecoming Southern gospel fuses everything from easy listening orchestrations, all forms of hymnody and a liberal dash of theatric corn into the folk art original and when merged with call-and-response gospel choir singing and soulful vocal pyrotechnics the effect is confused and a bit of a musical dog's dinner. Individually though of course there's much talent on offer here - Albertina Walker roaring through "I've Got A Feeling" like the Caravans were still with us (come to think of it, they are!), the stunning harmonies of The Martins on "All People That On Earth Do Dwell", the mighty voiced Joe Liggon and his Mighty Clouds Of Joy rekindling some quartet fire on "I Came To Jesus", all catch the ear and eye. Also, the sight of black and white singers linked hand in hand at the climax of Russ Taff's "We Will Stand" is genuinely moving. But with fussy editing and perfunctory interviews, this is still a DVD which won't really be satisfying to either Southern gospel or African American tastes.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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