Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Well, not exactly the best ... but considering how few British black choir albums have been recorded in the last decade (compared with the deluge of American ones), this is a useful enough delve into Word UK's vaults pulling out tracks from three long deleted albums, the Merrybell Choir's 'Tell It To The People', COGIC's 'Forgiven' and the Highgate Gospel Choir (whatever happened to them?) 'How Good Is The Lord'. Considering they were recorded live, the tracks here were at least produced with a modicum of care (a nice riffing horn section on the Merrybell Choir's "Solid Rock" for instance) though because of the inadequacy of the sleeve I can't tell you who produced them (well, actually, it was me. Ed). My favourite track is by the COGIC's (would you believe it ... that's the album I didn't do, Chris Head produced that one. Ed) The COGIC's epic gospel ballad 'Forgiven' though amaz­ingly long still produces goose bumps. Other highlights are the Merrybell's reggae-tinged "This Train", and the Highgate's stomping "How Good Is The Lord". Worth looking into this one

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.