Jimetta Rose is a fantastic singer on her own, but this set may well be her most heavenly, most righteous record to date – as it features Rose at the head of a larger ensemble of singers – blending gospel structures with soul and spiritual jazz – all with a sound that's completely sublime all the way through! Some of the tunes here are older cuts from the world of soul and jazz, redone in a mode that's nicely different than the originals – with voices moving back and forth, trading lines, and rising together – while light rhythms keep things moving forward, yet never get in the way of the singers on the record. The approach might look like gospel, and the messages here are righteous – but in a way that's also got strong secular soul appeal too. Titles include a great remake of "Spirits Up Above", plus the cuts "Let The Sunshine In", "How Good It Is", "Ain't Life Grand", "Operation Feed Yourself", and "Answer The Call". (Neo Soul, Gospel) LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty fantastic selection of rare disco tracks from the American underground – all of them infused with a spiritual message, but served up with grooves that go head to head with some of the best underground club of the time! The mix of positive energy and upbeat grooves is wonderful – and if you've ever heard the Clark Sisters club classic "You Brought The Sunshine", then you'll definitely know the spirit of these tunes! If you're worried about the message being one that you're not into, don't – because there's sort of a universal spirit going on here – one that gets past conventions of the church, and which really goes for a general uplifting message that's totally great – almost a precursor to some of the positive house in more recent decades. And speaking of house, there's less of that here than you'd expect – as most of the instrumentation and production are strongly in the best New York underground modes from the disco years – with less of any 80s or electro soul elements. Titles include "I Believe" by Calvin B Rhone, "Imitations" by Johnson Family Gospel Singers, "Change" by Wisdom, "On That Other Shore" by Harrison Jones & The Voices Of Harmony, "I've Been Converted" by The Converters, "Ain't No Way To Do Wrong" by New Creation, "Take It To The Streets" by Prophecy, "Let The Lord Come In Your Life" by Wisdom, "Keep The Fire" by Paradise, and "Jesus Is On The Mainline" by Mr Jesse R McGuire. (Funky Compilations, Gospel) CD