Reviewed by Paul Poulton

Time, effort, money, expertise and talent have gone into the 30 tracks on this album and it's hard to fault them. Very nicely packaged as a double CD with an informative colour booklet, it is a showcase for the present slate of American black gospel music, whose soul goes marching on. Kirk Franklin opens up the album saying "For those of you who think gospel music has gone too far, I've got news for you. you ain't heard nothing yet!" All art forms must progress and I'm pleased to report that black gospel music has been growing apace. Urban gospel is the flavour of the present day: tight and neat, using the latest sample with street grooves at the centre. The vocal talent is beyond question. The female quartet Virtue and the vocal band Anointed are easily on par with our Eternal, without using sex appeal to promote themselves. Well, there would be a certain incongruity having a name like Virtue and being sensual. This compilation is well worth having in anyone's CD rack, gospel music being a lot more accessible to white ears than it used to he. I could scout around for something to criticise like the first track on the second CD doesn't quite have enough top end on it. but the sheer exuberance, vitality and hope of the songs make such observations nonsense. All the tracks stand tall but those that stand that little bit taller are "I've Got A Testimony" by Rev Clay Evans: the title track from an album that stayed in the Billboard gospel chart for 70 weeks reaching number one. Also, The Canton Spirituals forced me to stop what I was doing and dance around the room. Helen Baylor gives her very moving testimony. I could go on but better not: except to say get this, it does exactly what it says on the label.

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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