VA - The Rough Guide To Gospel (2002) FLAC

The Rough Guide series of compilations is generally excellent, but every once a while a dud does pop out. While not bad, this is far from everything it could be, given the range and history of gospel music. It captures some, but not all, the big names. And so listeners have vintage Five Blind Boys of Alabama with "Stand By Me," a song they later revisited, but no Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. And while the Soul Stirrers are here, it's not a cut from their heyday with Sam Cooke, and where are the Highway Q.C.'s? Gospel's real golden age, in the '50s, is woefully under-represented, and while the Golden Gate Quartet, whose influence was paramount to so many, is mentioned in the notes, there's nothing by them. Mahalia Jackson justifiably gets two tracks, but no Clara Ward, and you have to wonder about the inclusion of the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir. The new generation of gospel seems to be lacking, with nothing from the critically acclaimed Sacred Steel school.

Tracklist
1. The Soul Stirrers – Christ Is All
2. Shirley Caesar & The Caravans – I Feel Good
3. The Original Five Blind Boys Of Alabama – Oh Lord - Stand By Me
4. The Staple Singers – New Home
5. Mahalia Jackson – I'm On My Way To Canaan
6. Bessie Griffin – Move Upstairs
7. The Dixie Hummingbirds – Heaven's Grocery Store
8. Montgomery Gospel Trio – Keep Your Hand On The Plow
9. The Staple Singers – Jesus Is All
10. Mahalia Jackson – Run All The Way
11. Dorothy Norwood – Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad (feat. Albertina Walker)
12. The Caravans – I'm Willing (feat. Albertina Walker & Inez Andrews)
13. Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir – Go Tell It On The Mountain
14. Maggie Ingram And The Ingramettes – A Tribute To Granny
15. Sweet Honey In The Rock – Leaning And Depending On The Lord
16. The Fairfield Four – Hallelujah