(Funky 45's, Gospel) 7-inch, Vinyl record

A genius early combination from BB King – his own majestic vocals and a host of spiritual sounds that bring out a whole new side of his talents! The pairing is unusual – as King hardly cut much other material in this manner – and the record puts aside his famous guitar work to focus on his deeply soulful style of singing – set up in some raw 50s gospel arrangements that feature lots of work on Hammond organ, romping rhythms, and a backing vocal group that support BB in a really great way. Titles include "Save A Seat For Me", "I Never Heard A Man", "I Am Willing To Run All The Way", "Servant's Prayer", and "I'm Working On The Building". CD also features 8 bonus tracks not available elsewhere – including "The Key To My Kingdom", "I Am", "A Lonely Lover's Plea", "Sixteen Tons", and "The Story From My Heart & Soul (take 1)". (Blues, Gospel) CD

A fantastic collection of work from Elizabeth King – a gospel singer who never reached the same sort of fame as singers who moved into the secular world – but one who's got a vocal power that would have made her a star, had she chosen such a move! The tunes here all feature King singing with tight small combo backing in a very rhythmic mode, and with strong support from a male backing group – who offer up this great call/response energy to Elizabeth's lead – which only seems to drive the music even further forward with its power! The tracks were all recorded in Memphis in 1972 – and titles include "Can't Do Nothing", "I Found Him", "This Man", "I'll Fly Way", "I Heard The Voice", "Stretch Out", and "Down Here Waiting". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of wonderful records – reissued here together as a single CD set! The core album Let's Make A Record is a starkly beautiful album from New Orleans street evangelist Sister Gertrude Morgan – recorded in 1968 with only voice and tambourine, but in a way that's got a highly rhythmic groove! Gertrude's been rediscovered of late, due to interest in her artwork – and this record itself is coming back strongly into the spotlight, thanks to King Britt's own brilliant reinterpretation of most of the tunes! But honestly, even if Britt hadn't picked up on this one, we'd still find it extremely compelling – because with only a tambourine to set the groove, Gertrude manages to shake out some tightly snapping little tunes that crackle with an earthy electricity that's pretty darn unique. Titles include "Let Us Make A Record" – which should be chanted at the start of every recording session from now on – plus "Way In The Middle Of The Air", "Power", "I Am The Living Bread", "He Wrote The Revelation", "I Got The New World IN My View", and "I Was Healed By The Wound In His Side". For the other LP, the cosmic talents of King Britt takes older acapella vocals and tambourine rhythms from New Orleans evangelist Sister Gertrude Morgan – originally recorded in 1969, but expanded tremendously here through use of additional keyboards, percussion, and a surprising amount of acoustic instrumentation! Britt's got his usual drum patterns and electronics in the mix, but there's also a fair bit of slide guitar, harmonica, acoustic guitar, and even a bit of lap steel on the set – all of which makes for a sound that's as folksy as it is modern – really opening up a whole new chapter in Britt's career! Titles include "Let's Make A Record", "Living Bread", "Devil's Music", "Power", "New World In My View", "Unceremonious", and "I Was Healed By The Wounds". (Soul, Gospel) CD

(Soul, Gospel) LP, Vinyl record album