... LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic album from the Dedicated Men Of Zion – a contemporary gospel group, but one who work here with small combo backings that take us back to some of our favorite records of the early 70s – a tremendous blend of spiritual message and very down-to-earth arrangements! The quartet have some fantastic harmonies throughout, and get support from the Sacred Soul Sound Section – a funk combo who use plenty of organ and riffing guitar, which gives the heavenly vocals a nice degree of humanity – on titles that include "The Devil Don't Like It", "Lord Hold My Hand", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "I'm Going Home", "Up Above My Head", "I'm A Soldier In God's Army", and "One River To Cross". CD

A group with a name that might not easily roll of the tongue, but one who've got a sublime harmony sound that's wonderfully fluid overall – a combination of nine young voices from the scene in Soweto, working without any other instrumentation at all! The combination of vocals almost takes us back to the sound of Take 6 on their first album – and as with that group, the message here is spiritual, but not entirely pointed at the church – with much more of a universal appeal that's perfect for the subtly righteous power of the harmonies! Titles include "Too Late For Mama", "Nomalizo", "My Brother", "Who Knows", "Sip", and "Baninzi". (Global Grooves, Gospel) LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure gospel group, but a great one too – thanks to plenty of secular soul inflections in their music, which gives these classic tracks a real crossover appeal! The group hail from San Diego, maybe a bit farther off the gospel map – and they've got this warm way of blending subtle spiritual messages with groovy modern soul styles – groovers on most of the cuts, which are taken from the two rare albums by the group – one from 1979, the other from 1983. The feel is somewhere in the territory of the Clark Sisters at their best – maybe slightly less clubby overall – and titles include "I Feel The Spirit", "No Need To Worry", "Third Day", "He'll Make Everything Alright", "The Time Is Right", and "Psalms 24". 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