Fairfield Four - Standing In The Safety Zone

Monday 1st February 1993
Fairfield Four - Standing In The Safety Zone
Fairfield Four - Standing In The Safety Zone

STYLE: Gospel
RATING 6 6 6 6 6 6
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 4842-5592
LABEL: Warner Alliance WBD4137
FORMAT: CD Album
RRP: £2.50

Reviewed by Tony Cummings

We've had to wait a long time for this one. In the 1940s this team of delicately precise harmonizers through their broadcasts on Nashville's WLAC became one of the best loved names in gospel. But fame and fortune didn't follow and they all but disbanded until in 1980 gospel archivist Doug Seroff brought the team back together for a performance in Birmingham, Alabama. Now 12 years on the Fairfields finally make it to album. The result is a delight. Timeless acappella renditions of traditional songs like "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and "Children Go Where I Send Thee" are a poignant reminder of just how beautiful the pre-quartet jubilee sound actually was. Black gospel devotees may be astonished that there's a guest appearance by the Nashville Bluegrass Band and that this album was completed in co-operation with the Country Music Foundation but there's always been a closer link between black gospel and Southern (white) gospel than many realise. A heartening release that shows that the CCM industry is at last beginning to acknowledge its roots.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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