Customer Reviews

Gospel at Newport 1959/63-66

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have had this CD for many years. Originally, I bought it for the live recordings of Dorothy Love Coates and the Gospel Harmonettes, whom I absolutely adore. Though I have had long enough with it to become acquainted with the very good performances of some of the other groups--the male quartets and the Staples Singers shine!--Dot and the Girls are still my hands-down favorite. The energy, earthiness, and earnestness of their performances make for absolutely enthralling listening. Those days are gone, and so many of the Golden Age artists are, too. The rarity of live classic gospel musical performances is what makes this a CD to have.

As an anthology album this CD has little to recommend it. There is too much patter between numbers--a result of being recorded live. The music does not represent the best that these artists have to offer. If you like mainstream vintage gospel groups like the Hummingbirds or the Swans, you can find better recordings elsewhere. Don't buy it for the more unusual performers included on the album. The duet numbers on this album are especially weak and uninteresting. Although I am a big Joan Baez fan, the recording of her singing "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" with the Chambers Brothers is truly god-awful! It reveals how little she understood then of the gospel idiom, however useful it was politically toward improving race relations. "Highway to Heaven" is a joyous and powerful song, but you can find livelier recordings of it (check out Marian Williams). I will hold onto this album, but probably never listen to it again. In short, a big disappointment.

One of the best Gospel albums i own. And the best of them all in my opinion: the Swan Silvertones ! Highly recommended !