Reviewed by Phil Thomson

These guys are so chilled out in their life-long faith, it's every other group that's doing the straining. These living legends lay out their stall with slow, easy, insistent gospel blues "Stop To Praise The Lord" with Joe Ligon's familiar mellow rasp accompanied by those dissonant harmonies to create a piece of effortless exhortation - every note, every syllable accounted for, every clap and sway perfectly designed to move your heart and soul. Such is the confidence, we're four tracks in before the falsetto lead of "Hard Times" ducks and dives at us, but not before we've been jostled and cajoled into tapping it out "At The Revival" which you might well experience as Pentecostal worship at full blast. They do smooth entreaty "He'll Fix It For You" cool preaching "Jesus Kind Of Man" and downright seduction, the breathtaking concert venue version of "Walk Around Heaven" - the classic song that The Clouds first made their own when Paul Beasley sang lead with them back in the '70s. All the cuts here are sung with eyes-closed phrasing of the finest sanctified singing imaginable. In poignant, legitimate acknowledgement, a Cooke Family sleeve note, dedicated to 'Mike', says "The legacy continues". And to prove it, the Mighty Clouds Of Joy sign off by offering us a fine arrangement of the civil rights anthem "We Will Overcome". Listening to this, you could be forgiven for believing they already have.

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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