Reviewed by Tony Cummings

There's a marvellously emotive photo of a mass baptism in some unnamed Deep South river which captures the mood perfectly. And though the sound of some of the rare 78s that sourced this CD are distinctly primitive (with the two tracks from singing preacher Rev George H Sims even being truncated due to a bit missing from the original 78!) there is still much here to fascinate connoisseurs of vintage gospel. Female preachers were rare on record so the Rev Leora Ross expounding Ezekial's vision of dry bones is a fascinating discovery. She preaches with passion while the Church Of The Living God Jubilee Singers give her full throated support. Just as intriguing are the six sides recorded in 1935 by the Rev Nathan Smith. On these you get a Sunday school service complete with testimonies given by candidates for baptism. Elsewhere the Rev R H Taylor recorded in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1927 on his searing indictment "Almost A Christian" declares that "you can't be a pig and a puppy too." Not everything here is good preaching or good theology and The Three Deacons And Sister Lowdown are an act who present fragments of vaudeville skits which lampoon the songs and teachings of the Church (eg, "I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Say" becomes "I Heard The Voice Of A Porkchop Say") while the Rev Webb's two sermons are extracts from his book The Black Man Is The Father Of Civilization where he lists various Bible characters the good reverend claims were black. But there's still plenty of stuff here worth hearing today.

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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