Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

For those who don't know, Lou Rawls was a seminal figure in the interaction between gospel and R&B music. In the '50s he was a member of male gospel quartet the Pilgrim Travellers, by the early '60s he was singing with Sam Cooke on his million seller "Bring It On Home To Me" and having his own big sellers with supper club jazz; and by the '70s Lou was hitting with Philly soul. In 2001, though past his best, the singer went full circle by recording this gospel album, his last before his death in 2005. Like many successful mainstream artists who choose to do a gospel project, the material here is pretty obvious stuff. "Oh Happy Day", "Peace In the Valley" and "Amazing Grace" are all present and correct in groovy versions while the accompaniments from such acts as the Mississippi Mass Choir, the Cosmopolitan Church Of Prayer Choir, the Williams Brothers and the Georgia Mass Choir are all quality trad gospel. Lou seems to like the Sam Cooke gospel catalogue as three songs from Cooke are included here with "Jesus Be A Fence" being the best of the lot. Like a lot of soul singers, Rawls had been singing gospel before he enjoyed success in the mainstream and this return to his roots sounds fine to me. A combination of those rich vocals and some well chosen material has met with a fine contemporary gospel production which will please fans of his soul music. Mind you, it's unnerving to find out how much Ron Kenoly's entire singing career sounds like Rawls!

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.