Customer Reviews

Power & The Glory

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not at all a religous person, but this music is so good I'd
attend church to hear it! I have a lot of Mahalia Jackson
albums, and they are all good or better,
but this is the best of all
due the terrific string accompanyment Percy Faith lends
to these songs. Songs like The Holy City are enough to
take your breath away.

Excellent songs and breathtaking performances by Jackson.

Just wonderful.

dap

At age 51 I feel qualified to critique Mahalia Jackson. If you really know her you have to admire her. Power and the Glory is just what it says: simply put "she's the mother of them all." Her voice in this is incredibly beautiful. Unparalled! It's not gospel as a specific genre--but it is sacred music at its best. Percy Faith drove her to her highest heights. She outperformed herself. She won awards for it and rightly so. Who else sounds like an archangel? This album proves this: if you have faith in God and in yourself, the sky is the limit. Listen and see! Her "Rock Of Ages" is the most sublime ever.

The Power & The Glory is not Gospel; it is a collection of beautiful old hymns that Mahalia makes her own and sings them with such incredible power and majesty all who listen will be taken to another place, a beautiful place. This album must rate as a musical masterpiece.

In the Power and the Glory with Percy Faith and his Orchestra, Mahalia Jackson really lives up to her title. I have at least 5 discs by her and each time I listened, i'm uplifted. Her voice makes me feel good.

Anyone who loves Gospel and beauty must have this album. The combination of Percy Faith, Choir and Mahalia Jackson are as close to Heaven as I'll know on earth. The choice of music and the blending of the orchestra, voices and the Magnificient Mahalia will lift your spirits and your heart. Enjoy and share with all your friends.

This was our Sunday Morning breakfast after church music when I was growning up. She's back in all her glory

The review of June 27, 2007 contains an intriguing opinion about "people who don't like black gospel music" which I won't dwell on; the author needs to be aware that there are many in this climate of political correctness that would take considerable offense at that statement. No that I do; I am a classical orchestra conductor who is always on the lookout for great gospel music, especially choral.

The point is---as is well-documented in the liner notes--the album WAS a major departure in musical idiom for Mahalia Jackson, and she did indeed approach the project with hestitation and lack of confidence, since she had never worked with symphonic arrangements, a full orchestra and conductor. And occasionally things DO seem a bit "loose" in terms of coordination between singer and accompaniment.

However, none of this really matters; this is a STUNNINGLY powerful document in many ways. I wouldn't necessarily suggest that anyone listen to it at one sitting, since the hymns all travel pretty much the same path. Percy Faith's arrangements are routine in some cases, exceptionally bold in others. I bought the cd to hear Mahalia's version of the HOLY CITY, which is truly a powerhouse performance. Then I listened to MY COUNTRY 'TIS OF THEE"....my favorite of our standard "American" anthems....and by the end found myself gripping my chair to avoid being knocked out of it. It is BEYOND intense.

You may find Ms. Jackson's odd pronunciation of some words in the opening lyric a bit off-putting at first, but by the time Percy's arrangement picks up steam (with back-up chorus and the most off-beat yet compelling harmonization of this great anthem imaginable), you will find yourself swept along until Mahalia nails the final note with a white-hot intensity that defies description. But she also uses her amazing technique to caress and nuance the music throughout; the closing ABIDE WITH ME has both a sense of heavy emotional weight and sadness to it, yet is uplifting and inspiring at the same time. My only complaint is the brevity of this track and some of the others. The sound is typically dry and edgy 1960 Columbia, which in a way adds to the bite of the performances.

A unique musical/spiritual document.

LR

Oh boy. It's up to me to be the first/only voice of dissent, and I'll probably garner a bunch of negative votes. I had heard a lot of Mahalia before I got this album. I'd heard all the Apollo sides and I'd heard a lot of the Columbias, and I liked them all, even the ones with strings that many fans speak disparagingly about. I knew this album had an orchestra and expected it would be more Mahalia with strings.

Mahalia refused top dollar offers to sing at Vegas or to sing more secular music. She always refused, staying true to her roots. The liner notes for this CD (and the original LP) state--proudly believe it or not--that she made several attempts to get out of making this album, claiming she was no opera star. But in the end, Columbia won.

Mahalia is far removed from her natural environment here. This is NOT gospel music. It's religious music in dated arrangements. There is no organ, piano and church choir; this is a full orchestra with brass and tympani and full chorus. Mahalia sounds very stilted by the arrangements. She does not improvise nor clap her hands nor sound like she's having a good time.

Some people disagree, like everyone who posted a review prior to mine. Give the samples a listen before you buy. To my ears, this is Mahalia for people who don't like black gospel music. And if that's what you want, by all means get this one.