It would be interesting to know why Telarc decided after 14 years to re-issue this disc. The album itself is something of a curiosity, featuring 14 tracks belonging with varying degrees of comfort to the gospel genre. Or, as the Bob Darden's sleevenotes put it, the disc 'applauds the melting pot that is gospel music.' The album's opener, 'Operator', is easily the standout track, witty lyrics, the most glossily produced, the best performed. Running it close is the next offering, the medley 'Swing Low / Swing Down', the second half an upbeat, entertaining retelling of the original.
There for the most part the fun ends, unfortunately. The next number, 'Walk Him Up' (from Purlie) less impressively repeats the previous number's structural trick – not the cleverest moment in the disc's compilation – something compounded by lo-fi production values that make the orchestra sound distant. Things take a further turn for the worse on 'From A Distance', featuring Maureen McGovern. Together with another well-known pop hit, Bill Wither's 'Lean On Me', it's less the performances and more the oddly disjunctive arrangements that cause most problems here.
It perhaps goes against the disc's all-embracing musical purpose that the four traditional spirituals recorded are the best performed. But credit nonetheless goes to Bruce Healey for his excellent arrangement of 'Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho', whose interweaving vocals will exhilarate, entertain and/or move most listeners. Bob Krogstad's unpretentious variations in 'Honor, Honor / Do Lord' are another of the disc's highlights.
After 'Joshua…' a nod to the subgenre of country gospel comes next in the brief but excellent 'I'll Fly Away', only for another pop ditty, 'Put Your Hand In The Hand', to follow and be awkwardly fused with 'He's Got The Whole World In His Hands'. The impression that this album is a mixed bag is confirmed during the closing numbers. 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' is covered – caricatured would be closer to the mark – and every drop of emotion is similarly wrenched from 'Amazing Grace'. Then, as if to confound any sceptics that remain listening, the traditional 'Amen!', featuring Lou Rawls and once again arranged by Healey, brings the album to a spectacular close.
No doubt essential to gospel enthusiasts, then – an entertaining, occasionally moving listen for others.
By Chris Dromey