A killer killer compilation – the sort we've been dying to own for years! It's a well known fact that there's plenty of funky nuggets hidden amidst 70s gospel recordings – massive grooves and break-heavy tracks that rank right up there with the best indie funk from the same time. Yet tracking down these tunes has always been plenty tough – given that most gospel records sold in different circles, had different distribution, and often are less easy to decipher for the crate digger than more conventional funk and soul. Enter the folks at Numero – who have really gone all out this time around, and dug through piles and piles of rare gospel records to come up with a whopping batch of great tracks! This set is definitely ground zero for getting into funky gospel – and it's filled with far more obscure work than the Soul Gospel set on Soul Jazz – all indie numbers from small labels that only got minor distribution at the time. As usual with Numero, the notes and package match the soulful depth and righteousness of the music – and the set is one of the most perfectly wrapped-up genre compilations we've ever seen! 18 tracks in all – with titles that include "I Thank The Lord" by Mighty Voices Of Wonder, "This Old World Is Going Down" by The Modulations, "Look Where He Brought Us" by The Apostles Of Music, "Thoughs (sic) Were The Days" by LaVice & Company, "Bad Situation" by 5 Spiritual Tones, "God Been Good To Me" by Mighty Walker Brothers, "O Yes My Lord" by Voices Of Conquest, "We Don't Love Enough" by Triumphs, "Heaven On Their Minds" by Sam Taylor, "God Will Dry My Weeping Eyes" by Horace Family, and "I Call Him" by Masonic Wonders. (Funky Compilations, Gospel) CD

A heavenly set of funky tracks from the indie scene of the 70s – titles that were all recorded as singles for the gospel market, but which have a fair bit of funk in the rhythms! These tunes all have massive appeal well beyond their spiritual message – heavy drums, amazing basslines, and nicely gritty instrumentation that sets these cuts up right next to funky 45 treasures from the mid 70s – but which also gives them a slightly different feel, too – thanks to some uplifting messages in the lyrics, which also means that the vocal styles are nicely changed up from more standard funk-based lyrics! The blend is wonderful, and completely captivating – and we'd not heard most of these cuts before digging into the collection – which goes every bit as deep as the Good God gospel/funk collections on Numero. Titles include "If You See Me Doing Wrong" by Wearyland Singers, "I Don't Want To Be Alone" by Allen Gauff Jr, "Troubles Of The World" by The Christian Harmonizers, "Save A Seat For Me" by Vocal Aires, "Blackman Keep On Doing Your Thing" by The Original Christian Harmonizers, "Days Are Just Like People" by Zella Jackson, "I've Got Power In My Mind" by Preacherman Isidore Womack, and "Who's Your Boss" by Pearl Farano & The High Lites Of Joy. (Funky Compilations, Gospel) CD

A really cool collection – one that's maybe best summed up by the word "ecstatic" in the title – as the package presents a blend of work from artists who easily skirt both the spiritual and secular side of soulful music, united together with a very joyous, uplifting vibe in their sound! This isn't classic gospel from the years when you might hear a guitar or organ behind a small group of harmonizing vocals – and instead, much of this work was created at a time when soul music had already been going strong for years – and while gospel might have initially helped in the formation of soul, it's clear that things are also moving the other direction in these tracks – as many of these artists borrow from the power of righteous soul styles, and use it to inflect their joyous message with a great new energy! Titles include "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" by Keith Barrow, "Is There Anybody Here" by The Alvin Darling Ensemble, "Trouble's Brewin" by The Meditation Singers, "Satisfied" by Andre Crouch & The Disciples, "Let Your Feet Down Easy" by Dorothy Norwood, "If You Believe Your God Is Dead" by Swan Silvertones, "The Upper Way" by The Violinaires, "Elijah" by Roscoe Robinson, "Till I've Got This Feelin Of Love" by Dyson's Faces, and "Nothing Can Stop Me Now" by Destiny. (Funky Compilations, Gospel) CD

A really cool collection – one that's maybe best summed up by the word "ecstatic" in the title – as the package presents a blend of work from artists who easily skirt both the spiritual and secular side of soulful music, united together with a very joyous, uplifting vibe in their sound! This isn't classic gospel from the years when you might hear a guitar or organ behind a small group of harmonizing vocals – and instead, much of this work was created at a time when soul music had already been going strong for years – and while gospel might have initially helped in the formation of soul, it's clear that things are also moving the other direction in these tracks – as many of these artists borrow from the power of righteous soul styles, and use it to inflect their joyous message with a great new energy! Titles include "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" by Keith Barrow, "Is There Anybody Here" by The Alvin Darling Ensemble, "Trouble's Brewin" by The Meditation Singers, "Satisfied" by Andre Crouch & The Disciples, "Let Your Feet Down Easy" by Dorothy Norwood, "If You Believe Your God Is Dead" by Swan Silvertones, "The Upper Way" by The Violinaires, "Elijah" by Roscoe Robinson, "Till I've Got This Feelin Of Love" by Dyson's Faces, and "Nothing Can Stop Me Now" by Destiny. (Funky Compilations, Gospel) LP, Vinyl record album

Damn funky gospel soul – the sort you'd hardly expect from spiritual folks like these, but which flourished strongly alongside more standard church-related work in the 70s! The package is a stunning follow up to Numero's first Good God volume – and really digs even deeper than that great set – pulling out a mad flurry of rare funky 45s that easily match any hip secular soul at the time, at least in the spirit of the groove! The lyrics are definitely on the righteous tip, but never too much so – and the earthly rhythms at the bottom of most tracks is more than enough to help pitch the grooves strongly towards anyone who's never even set foot inside of a church. As usual, Numero do an excellent job with the notes and details on all cuts – showing they really put a hell of a lot of thought into the collection – and titles include "I Know I've Been Changed" by Victory Travelers, "Pray A Little Longer" by Lucy Sister Soul Rogers, "Packing A Grip" by Golden Echoes, "Like A Ship" by Pastor TL Barrett & The Youth For Christ, "Been Trying" by Chicago Travelers, "The Same Thing It Took" by Inspirational Gospel Singers, "Somebody Watching You" by Sacred Four, "Peter & John" by Andrew Wartts & The Gospel Storytellers, "I Thank You Lord" by Little Chris & The Righteous Singers, and "Share Your Love" by Sensational Five Singing Sons. (Funky Compilations, Gospel) LP, Vinyl record album

If you never went to Skippy White's record store in Boston, you really missed a hell of a shop – a surprisingly great outlet for rare and underground soul, located way up in New England – and a place that was giving the world wonderful music over the course of many decades! Back in the early days of the store, Skippy really had his ear to the scene – and managed to capture all sorts of great artists who were working very underground on the Boston scene – mostly soul acts, but a bit of blues and gospel too – all featured here in the first-ever collection to look at White's work at this level. The package was put together by Eli Paperboy Reed, and has notes from Boston contemporaries Peter Guaralnick and Peter Wolf – yet it's far hipper than any of those references might imply – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Do The Thing" by Earl Lett, "I Love What I Found In You" by The Precisions, "I've Been Lifted Out Of Sin" by Sons Of David, "Evil Woman Blues" by Guitar Nubbit, "Treason" by The Precisions, "Holy Ghost & Fire" by The Lord's Messengers, "Skippy White (parts 1 & 2)" by Junior Washington, "I Was Standing" by Lynn Harmonizers, and "Now Is The Time" by Earl Lett. (Soul, Gospel) LP, Vinyl record album

A treasure trove of gospel from one of the greatest labels in the business – the early Excello Records, which later morphed into gospel powerhouse Nashboro, but already had a great ear for the best of the genre right from the start! Excello's roots in the south gave it key access to some of the best groups of the period – the kind of acts who were really pushing gospel forward with the same sort of inventive harmonies and richly expressive phrasing that secular acts were bringing to R&B and vocal group work at the time! The collection is wonderful – one of Ace's very well-done collaborations with Excello, still yet to be topped as a representation of that label's work – and titles include "On The Beautiful Shore" by The Hendrix Sisters, "Step By Step" by The Boyer Brothers, "In My Heart" by The Silvertone Singers Of Cincinnati, "I'm Waiting & Watching" by Sons Of The South, "After Awhile With Jesus" by Jewel Gospel-Aires, "One Day" by Sons Of The South, "Trust Him Today" by The Waldo Singers and "I Can Call Jesus Anytime" by The Young Gospel Singers. CD

A really really beautiful little compilation – one with a sound that's every bit as powerful as the image on its cover! The music here all comes from the Gospel Roots label of Miami soul powerhouse TK Records – a key force in mainstream soul in the 70s, but also a company who issued some excellent spiritual material at the time! The work here isn't rootsy gospel – and instead reflects all the hip, righteous changes that were coming into the music during the 70s – bits of blacksploitation funk in the rhythms, powerful lead singers upfront, and an impeccable production style that often mixed deep soul vocals with modern soul presentation. This side of the TK legacy has been crucially ignored over the years – but this wonderful package more than corrects that fault – by offering up some of the key tracks from the Gospel Roots label, alongside a lavish booklet that's filled with notes, photos, and record images – all recounting the overdue tale of this great music. Not all artists are southern – there's a number from up north, and even a few from Chicago – and titles include "Tell Me" by The Fantastic Family Aires, "After The Rain" by Pastor TL Barrett, "Will You Save Me" by The Jordan Singers, "Never Say What You Want" by The Phillipians, "Help Me To Carry On" by The Fabulous Luckett Brothers, "I've Got To Make A Change" by Bright Clouds, "Wake Up Everybody" by The O'Neal Twins, "On Jesus Program" by The Original Sunset Travelers, "Blessed Be The Name Of God" by The Brooklyn All Stars, and "Christians Catch Hell" by Reverend Edna Isaac & The Greene Sisters. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning overview of work from the small D-Vine Spirituals label in Memphis – a really homegrown imprint who were as important to the sound of the city's spiritual music as Stax Records was to soul in the 60s! In fact, the vibe here is often more 60s than 70s – maybe a testament to the finances of D-Vine when it came to recording this music – but also an indication of the way the company was able to go to the roots of what makes these tracks great – which is usually just a great lead voice or tight harmonies, and an important message in the music! This wonderful collection brings together rare 45rpm tracks issued by the label – and titles on this first volume include "God's Going To Blow Out The Sun" by Elder Ward & The Gospel Four, "I Feel Like Flying Away" by The Joy Of Memphis, "When I Looked" by The Traveling Stars, "The Reason I Love Him" by The Kingdom Airs, "Where You Gonna Run" by The D-Vine Spiritualettes, "One River To Cross" by The Seven Brothers, "Look At Your Life" by Evelyn Taylor, and "I'm A Soldier In God's Army" by The Southern Sons. CD

A stunning overview of work from the small D-Vine Spirituals label in Memphis – a really homegrown imprint who were as important to the sound of the city's spiritual music as Stax Records was to soul in the 60s! In fact, the vibe here is often more 60s than 70s – maybe a testament to the finances of D-Vine when it came to recording this music – but also an indication of the way the company was able to go to the roots of what makes these tracks great – which is usually just a great lead voice or tight harmonies, and an important message in the music! This wonderful collection brings together rare 45rpm tracks issued by the label – and titles on this first volume include "God's Going To Blow Out The Sun" by Elder Ward & The Gospel Four, "I Feel Like Flying Away" by The Joy Of Memphis, "When I Looked" by The Traveling Stars, "The Reason I Love Him" by The Kingdom Airs, "Where You Gonna Run" by The D-Vine Spiritualettes, "One River To Cross" by The Seven Brothers, "Look At Your Life" by Evelyn Taylor, and "I'm A Soldier In God's Army" by The Southern Sons. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning overview of work from the small D-Vine Spirituals label in Memphis – a really homegrown imprint who were as important to the sound of the city's spiritual music as Stax Records was to soul in the 60s! In fact, the vibe here is often more 60s than 70s – maybe a testament to the finances of D-Vine when it came to recording this music – but also an indication of the way the company was able to go to the roots of what makes these tracks great – which is usually just a great lead voice or tight harmonies, and an important message in the music! This wonderful collection brings together rare 45rpm tracks issued by the label – and titles on this second volume include "The Lord's Prayer" by The Dynamic Hughes Singers, "I've Got To Tell It" by The Southern Bells, "My Time Ain't Long" by The Shaw Singers, "It's A Shame How This World Has Changed" by The Gospel Wymics, "Stand By Me" by The M&M Singers, "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Elder Ward & The Gospel Four, "Jesus He's A Miracle Worker" by The Gospel Six, "I Know I've Been Changed" by Sister Jessie M Sherley, and "I Got Jesus" by The Angelic Five. CD

A stunning overview of work from the small D-Vine Spirituals label in Memphis – a really homegrown imprint who were as important to the sound of the city's spiritual music as Stax Records was to soul in the 60s! In fact, the vibe here is often more 60s than 70s – maybe a testament to the finances of D-Vine when it came to recording this music – but also an indication of the way the company was able to go to the roots of what makes these tracks great – which is usually just a great lead voice or tight harmonies, and an important message in the music! This wonderful collection brings together rare 45rpm tracks issued by the label – and titles on this second volume include "The Lord's Prayer" by The Dynamic Hughes Singers, "I've Got To Tell It" by The Southern Bells, "My Time Ain't Long" by The Shaw Singers, "It's A Shame How This World Has Changed" by The Gospel Wymics, "Stand By Me" by The M&M Singers, "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Elder Ward & The Gospel Four, "Jesus He's A Miracle Worker" by The Gospel Six, "I Know I've Been Changed" by Sister Jessie M Sherley, and "I Got Jesus" by The Angelic Five. LP, Vinyl record album

Damn funky gospel soul – the sort you'd hardly expect from spiritual folks like these, but which flourished strongly alongside more standard church-related work in the 70s! The package is a stunning follow up to Numero's first Good God volume – and really digs even deeper than that great set – pulling out a mad flurry of rare funky 45s that easily match any hip secular soul at the time, at least in the spirit of the groove! The lyrics are definitely on the righteous tip, but never too much so – and the earthly rhythms at the bottom of most tracks is more than enough to help pitch the grooves strongly towards anyone who's never even set foot inside of a church. As usual, Numero do an excellent job with the notes and details on all cuts – showing they really put a hell of a lot of thought into the collection – and titles include "I Know I've Been Changed" by Victory Travelers, "Pray A Little Longer" by Lucy Sister Soul Rogers, "Packing A Grip" by Golden Echoes, "Like A Ship" by Pastor TL Barrett & The Youth For Christ, "Been Trying" by Chicago Travelers, "The Same Thing It Took" by Inspirational Gospel Singers, "Somebody Watching You" by Sacred Four, "Peter & John" by Andrew Wartts & The Gospel Storytellers, "I Thank You Lord" by Little Chris & The Righteous Singers, and "Share Your Love" by Sensational Five Singing Sons. (Funky Compilations, Gospel) CD

A treasure trove of rare and unusual gospel recordings from the Memphis scene – work done for the tiny JCR imprint of the also-tiny D-Vine Records label – a real wellspring of under-discovered talent from the south! JCR was kind of the bush league for D-Vine – a custom label that let gospel acts press their own records, some of which were then pulled up to record for the main imprint – some of whom never fully got their due – a great assortment of soulful groups collected here for the first time ever! There's some really wonderful material here – and the set really shows that embrace of deeper soul styles that the gospel world was making in the late 60s on labels like Chess or Peacock, carried over strongly here with a very special Memphis sort of vibe. Titles include "Rock My Soul" by The Masonic Travelers, "Too Late Too Late" by The Chosen Wonders, "You Can't Hurry God" by The QCs, "In The Last Day" by The Hewlett Sisters, "Keep On Pushing" by The Calvary Nightingales, "Call On Him" by The Silver Wings, "Someone Who Cares" by The Dixie Wonders, "I Want To Move A Little Higher" by The Seven Souls, "Sinner Man" by The Bible Tones, "Every Knee Must Bow" by The Southern Nightingales, and "Just Over The Hill" by The Spiritual Harmonizers. CD

They definitely got the title right on this one – as the box set's overflowing with rare gospel tunes from the late 40s and 1950s – a period when the style was really coming into its own, thanks to a confluence of great talents, key songwriters, and important indie labels! The package was put together and annotated by Opal Louis Nations, who clearly knows his stuff – and the 4CD set features 105 tracks in all, all remastered too! Includes work by Deep River Boys, The Charioteers, Hazel Chatman, Five Blind Boys Of Alabama, Brownie McGhee, Golden Gate Quartet, The Orioles, Dixie Hummingbirds, Golden Melodeers, and many others. CD

A treasure trove of rare gospel recordings from the Chicago scene of the 70s – all served up on a family of labels that were tied together in the same way as some of the indie soul and funk labels of the time! Producer Harold Freeman recorded most of this music, at a time between big opportunities for gospel acts on larger labels – and the work includes some much bigger names who'd later go onto great fame, and some key Chicago artists who might never have gotten exposure otherwise – represented here with recordings that appeared on the Righteous, Peace, and Michael record labels. The 2CD set is a fantastic look into this small local scene – presented with very detailed notes on Freeman and his recordings – in support of a batch of 46 tracks that includes work by the Gospel Sensationals, Inspirational Singers, Rev Maceo Woods, James E Lenox, Brother Ed Smith, Wings Of Heaven Choir, Sammie Cheatham, Voices Of Cosmopolitan, Reba Harris, Pearl McGhee, Windy City Four, and many others! CD

An insanely fantastic look at the strong legacy of gospel music from Savoy Records – a company who were initially a powerhouse in the fields of jazz and R&B, but who moved into the gospel world and dominated that market for decades! Savoy is a bit like Chess Records – a company who really learned how to record blues singers and soulful styles from the secular world, then used that same ability to work some real magic on songs from the more spiritual side of the spectrum – an approach that really made for top-shelf music, even as the decades moved on! Savoy's gospel legacy has always been a bit underground – not nearly as reissued for larger audiences as their jazz and blues material – but this collection does a great job of correcting that lack, by presenting their music in a wonderful format – all in a mix of rare cuts and classics from the gospel underground. This second volume features work from Savoy's prime 70s gospel years – 20 tracks by artists who include The Metro Tones, Betty Hollins, Gene Martin, Swan Silvertones, Artistic Sounds, James Moore, Holy Lights Of Baltimore, Brooklyn Skyways, World Wonders, Myrna Summers, Brockingham Ensemble, Prof Charles Taylor, Exciting Supreme Highlights, and Highway QCs. LP, Vinyl record album

An insanely fantastic look at the strong legacy of gospel music from Savoy Records – a company who were initially a powerhouse in the fields of jazz and R&B, but who moved into the gospel world and dominated that market for decades! Savoy is a bit like Chess Records – a company who really learned how to record blues singers and soulful styles from the secular world, then used that same ability to work some real magic on songs from the more spiritual side of the spectrum – an approach that really made for top-shelf music, even as the decades moved on! Savoy's gospel legacy has always been a bit underground – not nearly as reissued for larger audiences as their jazz and blues material – but this collection does a great job of correcting that lack, by presenting their music in a wonderful format – all in a mix of rare cuts and classics from the gospel underground. Savoy kept going strong into the 80s, in a mix of styles that includes some funk and boogie – served up here on 17 tracks by artists that include Solomon Burke, Genobia Jeter, World Wonders, Edith Moreno, Glenn Jones & The Modulations, Hollywood Stars, James Cleveland, Holy Lights Of Baltimore, Sensational Williams Brothers, Gospelaires Of Dayton, Helen Hollins Singers, Edith Moreno, and The 4th Of May. LP, Vinyl record album

A really really beautiful little compilation – one with a sound that's every bit as powerful as the image on its cover! The music here all comes from the Gospel Roots label of Miami soul powerhouse TK Records – a key force in mainstream soul in the 70s, but also a company who issued some excellent spiritual material at the time! The work here isn't rootsy gospel – and instead reflects all the hip, righteous changes that were coming into the music during the 70s – bits of blacksploitation funk in the rhythms, powerful lead singers upfront, and an impeccable production style that often mixed deep soul vocals with modern soul presentation. This side of the TK legacy has been crucially ignored over the years – but this wonderful package more than corrects that fault – by offering up some of the key tracks from the Gospel Roots label, alongside a lavish booklet that's filled with notes, photos, and record images – all recounting the overdue tale of this great music. Not all artists are southern – there's a number from up north, and even a few from Chicago – and titles include "Tell Me" by The Fantastic Family Aires, "After The Rain" by Pastor TL Barrett, "Will You Save Me" by The Jordan Singers, "Never Say What You Want" by The Phillipians, "Help Me To Carry On" by The Fabulous Luckett Brothers, "I've Got To Make A Change" by Bright Clouds, "Wake Up Everybody" by The O'Neal Twins, "On Jesus Program" by The Original Sunset Travelers, "Blessed Be The Name Of God" by The Brooklyn All Stars, and "Christians Catch Hell" by Reverend Edna Isaac & The Greene Sisters. CD

A treasure trove of rare and unusual gospel recordings from the Memphis scene – work done for the tiny JCR imprint of the also-tiny D-Vine Records label – a real wellspring of under-discovered talent from the south! JCR was kind of the bush league for D-Vine – a custom label that let gospel acts press their own records, some of which were then pulled up to record for the main imprint – some of whom never fully got their due – a great assortment of soulful groups collected here for the first time ever! There's some really wonderful material here – and the set really shows that embrace of deeper soul styles that the gospel world was making in the late 60s on labels like Chess or Peacock, carried over strongly here with a very special Memphis sort of vibe. Titles include "Rock My Soul" by The Masonic Travelers, "Too Late Too Late" by The Chosen Wonders, "You Can't Hurry God" by The QCs, "In The Last Day" by The Hewlett Sisters, "Keep On Pushing" by The Calvary Nightingales, "Call On Him" by The Silver Wings, "Someone Who Cares" by The Dixie Wonders, "I Want To Move A Little Higher" by The Seven Souls, "Sinner Man" by The Bible Tones, "Every Knee Must Bow" by The Southern Nightingales, and "Just Over The Hill" by The Spiritual Harmonizers. LP, Vinyl record album