Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Los Angeles-based gospel blues outfit Little Faith's second album released in 2011 continues where their excellent debut 'Spirituals' left off by tackling songs from the African American canon but with the addition of more recently penned material and a new recruit in the shape of Nadia Christine Duggin (Miley Cyrus, Natalie Cole) on vocals. Duggin, along with fellow new recruit Ray Wolffe (vocals, guitar) and vastly experienced session man and Little Faith founder Jack Maeby (vocals, Hammond), succeed in using their collective pedigree to offer up something that just hits the spot at every turn with all the blues-busting positivity and hope that the gospel blues genre brings. Out of the many highlights, the group's upbeat reinterpretation of Blind Willie Johnson's "John The Revelator" is particularly satisfying but then again so is the inventive new version of Rev F C Barnes & Rev Janice Brown's "Rough Side Of The Mountain". Not limiting themselves to covering old gospel songs and spirituals there is also a sublime reworking of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" complete with pseudo-classical organ break from Maeby and an albeit perfunctory version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". The icing on the cake is the Wolffe/Maeby original "Rising In Memphis". Recommended.

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