HOLY SPIRIT-SPIRITUAL SOUL AND GOSPEL FUNK.

dereksmusicblog ♦ July 21, 2012 ♦ 1 Comment

HOLY SPIRIT-SPIRITUAL SOUL AND GOSPEL FUNK.

In an increasingly overcrowded compilation market, certain labels can be relied upon to release quality compilations. Three labels spring to mind, BBE Music, Strut and Harmless Records. Whilst other labels, including major labels continue to recycle the same collections of familiar and sometimes tired songs, albeit using different titles. Meanwhile, BBE Music, Strut and Harmless Records, three British labels continue to a plow lone furrow releasing innovative, imaginative and inspirational compilations. Harmless Records latest compilation sees them release their first volume of gospel music, Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk, a double-album featuring forty-one tracks from Jewel Records. Considering gospel music’s historical importance, this is a very welcome release. Without gospel music’s vocal techniques and arrangements there would no R&B, rock and roll and soul music. For far too long, many labels have shied away from releasing gospel music. That wasn’t the case forty or fifty years ago, with Chess and Stax releasing gospel music on subsidiary labels like Checker and Chalice. Nowadays, many labels perceive gospel music to be very much a niche market, given its lyrics and religious nature. To me, that’s wrong. Surely, you can appreciate and enjoy gospel music without buying into the religious message, given how uplifting and inspirational the music is? I defy anyone not to find the music on Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk truly uplifting and inspirational. You’ll realize that when I tell you more about the music on Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk. 

Jewel Records was founded in 1963 by Stan Lewis in Shreveport, Louisiana. Stan was then a record distributor and jukebox operator, who was encouraged to start his own label by Leonard Chess, founder of the legendary Chess Records. However, Stan Lewis was a man steeped in music. His introduction to the music industry came when he bought five jukeboxes in 1948, placing them in various part of Shreveport. From there, he opened his first record shop, in a store measuring just eight feet by twelve. Stan’s Record Store was born at 728 Texas Street, Shreveport. Paula, Stan’s wife worked in the shop, while Stan worked a variety of other jobs. After a while and lot’s of hard work, Stan bought a bigger store. Then he started to branch out, making contacts in the record industry.

By now, Stan Lewis was meeting record promoters from the various small, independent labels whose records he stocked. He was, it seems, an early networker. Another example of Stan Lewis pioneering and innovative spirit was his decision to drive around Shreveport selling records from his car trunk. Obviously, he’d figured if the customer didn’t come to his shop he’d go to them. Eventually, Stan started dealing with new, up and coming labels. Among these labels were Modern, Imperial, Speciality and a label whose owner would become a friend of Stan’s Chess Records’ Leonard Chess. Having established a relationship with record labels, Stan started promoting records in-store, and sponsoring a program on the Shreveport’s radio station. The radio station would play an important role in Stan’s next venture.

Having sponsored a program on the local radio station, Stan was able to use the station’s downtime to produce various artists. This was long before radio stations were on-air twenty-four hours a day. The only problems was this meant Stan had to record his sessions in the middle of the night. One of his early productions was Dale Hawkins Suzie Q. Having started producing records, the natural progression was to found a record company. 

This was something one of his contacts and friends from another label Leonard Chess, founder of Chess Records had been trying to persuade Stan to do for awhile. Eventually, Stan founded Jewel Records a gospel label in 1963. The chess connection came into play again, when Chess pressed the many of Jewel’s early releases. Two years later in 1965, Stan founded another label Paula, named after his wife. Paula saw Stan branch out from gospel music, releasing pop records. Then in 1966, Stan’s duo of labels became a trio, when he founded Ronn, which released blues, R&B and and jazz. However, out of Stan Lewis’ trio of labels Jewel was truly the Jewel in the crown, building up a roster of some of the biggest names in gospel music. 

Having founded Jewel in 1963, Jewel was at the peak of it’s powers throughout the sixties and seventies. By the eighties, Jewel wasn’t releasing as many records as before. Stan decided to sell the label to Sue Records founder Henry Murray. Maybe this was a wise move, with Stan Lewis having been at Jewel Records’ helm during its heyday. On Harmless Records’ double album Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk From Shreveport’s Jewel Records, many of the biggest names from Jewel Records’ history feature. The recordings on Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk From Shreveport’s Jewel Records are from the period between 1971 and 1984 and I’ll now tell you about some of the highlights of the compilation.

DISC ONE.

Disc One of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk features some of Jewel Records’ gospel jewels. This includes apiece two tracks from The Meditation Singers, The Brookylyn Allstars, The Soul Stirrers. Among the other artists are Dorothy Norwood, Roscoe Robinson, Ernest Franklin, Keith Barrow, Leomia Boyd and the Gospel Music Makers and The Chimes. These truly are some of jewels in Jewel Records’ back-catalogue. So good is the music and so consistent is the quality of music, that choosing just a few tracks isn’t easy. However, here are the highlights of Disc One of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk.

Having mentioned The Meditation Singers, their uplifting Trouble’s Brewin’ opens Disc One. Good as that track, The Meditation Singers other contribution to Disc One trumps that track. It’s a beautiful, heartfelt and totally inspirational the Sam Cooke penned A Change Is Gonna Come. Of all the versions I’ve heard of this track, this one of the best, delivered with sincerity and humility. 

Many people will be familiar with Ann Peebles classic track If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Want To Be Right) released in 1972. Written by Homer Banks, Carl Hampton and Raymond Jackson, this is a true Southern Soul gem from Hi Records. However, how many people have heard the gospel version of the track by The Brookylyn Allstars. Entitled, If Loving God Is Wrong (I Don’t Want To Be Right) there are some similarities with Ann’s version. A Hammond organ opens the track, before an equally emotive, impassioned vocal unfolds. While, it might lack the fire of Ann Peebles version, it gets across the message just as well.

There’s another Hi Records connection to The Brookylyn Allstars other contribution to Disc One. Al Green wrote I’m Glad You’re Mine, a track from his 1972 album I’m Still In Love With You. During this time, Al could do no wrong, with his albums topping the US Charts and gold discs a regular occurrence. The Brookylyn Allstars’ version is very different to Al’s version. While Al delivers the track with tenderness, The Brookylyn Allstars deliver the lyrics with passion and power. Both versions have one thing in common though, their heartfelt, sincere delivery. 

Dorothy Norwood’s He’s A Friend is another cover version, this time of Eddie Hendricks’ track. Listening to the track, you realize why Dorothy was called “The World’s Greatest Storyteller.” She has you spellbound, hanging on her every word. So good is her vocal, that she’ll turn an unbeliever into a believer. The finishing touch are some of the best and tightest, soaring, inspirational backing vocals. They help the track swing along as Dorothy weaves her magical storytelling skills.

The Soul Stirrers have two tracks on Disc One, I’m Trying To Be Your Friend and Crying On The Mountain. Of these two tracks, I’m Trying To Be Your Friend, a track from their 1973 album Strength, Love and Power is the best. It has a much more understated sound than other tracks. This works really well, meaning you focus totally on the vocal and backing vocals. Both are deeply soulful, with lead vocalist reminding of Sam Cooke. This is even more noticeable on Crying On the Mountain. Here, The Soul Stirrers roll back the years, revisiting a sound that’s reminiscent of Sam Cooke’s time as lead singer. 

Roscoe Robinson wrote Do It Right Now, a track from his 1972 album He Still Lives In Me. Like The Soul Stirrers’ I’m Trying To Be Your Friend, this track has a much more subtle sound. That doesn’t matter when the vocal is as good as Roscoe’s. He has you mesmerized, hanging on his every subtlety and nuance. His voice is emotive, believing deeply in the “message” he’s delivering. Not only that, but there’s a real Southern Soul sound to the track, one that fans of soul music will adore.

While I’ve only mentioned eight of the twenty tracks on Disc One of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk, I could just as easily have mentioned several other tracks. Among these tracks are Ernest Franklin’s Trying Times, Keith Barrow’s Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, Leomia Boyd and the Gospel Music Makers’ Need More Love or The Chimes’ Woke Up This Morning. That shows the consistently high standard of music on Disc One of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk From Shreveport’s Jewel Records. Truly, there isn’t a bad track on Disc One. Mind you, this is Jewel Records we’re talking about. They didn’t release bad records, just quality gospel music. Given the standard of music on Disc One, I’m sure there will be more quality gospel music on Disc Two of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk.

DISC TWO.

On Disc Two of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk several of the artists that feature on Disc One feature again. Given how important a role groups like The Soul Stirrers, The Meditation Singers and The Brookylyn Allstars played in gospel music and Jewel Records’ history, this is totally acceptable. Dorothy Norwood and Roscoe Robinson both feature again, while new names on Disc Two include The Southerners, The Silver Gate Quartet Of North Carolina, Mighty Sons Of Glory and the Armstrong Brothers. In total, there are twenty-one tracks on Disc Two of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk, which I’ll pick the highlights of.

Bill Moss & The Celestials’ You’ve Got To Serve Somebody is my first choice from Disc Two. This is a cover version of a Bob Dylan track, released as a single in 1980. There’s a big difference in the two versions, with Bill Moss & The Celestials energizing the track. It comes alive, Bill’s vocal powerful and impassioned, with The Celestials adding soaring, dramatic backing vocals. Add to that an arrangement that’s downright funky and the result is one of the real highlights of the compilation. 

Mighty Sons Of Glory’s Don’t Forget The Bridge (That Brought You Over), a track the group cowrote was released in 1982. It’s a track that fuses blues guitars, soul, funk and gospel in four magical minutes. Not only that, but it features one of the best vocals on Disc Two. The vocal is from the heart, delivered with sincerity, accompanied by tight, soulful and uplifting harmonies. Truly, this is an absolute gem of a track, one I can’t praise highly enough. I just hope a record label somewhere rereleases some of Mighty Sons Of Glory’s music. It deserves a wider audience.

There’s Got To Be Rain In Your Life is the best of a trio of tracks from Dorothy Norwood on Disc Two. Good as Come and Go With Me and Winding Up are, for me There’s Got To Be Rain In Your Life is her best offering on Disc Two. Again, she shows why she was called “The World’s Greatest Storyteller.” Having delivered a half-spoken vocal, she kicks loose, revealing one of the soulful vocals on the compilation. She mixes power and passion, accompanied by subtle but soulful backing vocalists and an understated arrangement. 

When I first heard Robert Blair & The Fantastic Violinaires’ I’m Not Worried, I immediately heard similarities with Otis Clay and O.V. Wright, with its grizzled, gravely quality. Then when the vocal changes hands, an impassioned falsetto takes charge of the vocal. From there the interplay between both vocals is compelling and heartfelt. This is gospel music, it’s music for the heart and soul. The icing on the cake are the cascading close harmonies. They make a great song even greater.

Although I’ve already mentioned two of The Brooklyn Allstars’ tracks, it would be remiss of me not to mention their version of In the Ghetto. My favorite version is Candi Staton’s, rather than Elvis Pressley’s overblown version. Here, The Brooklyn Allstars slow the song way down, with the heartfelt vocal delivering against a stripped-down arrangement. Just a piano, Hammond organ and rhythm section give the track a Southern Soul sound, while soaring harmonies augment the vocal. This helps give a familiar track a new twist.

Closing Disc Two of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk is Stanley Winston’s No More Ghettos In America, released as a single in 1965. His half-spoken vocal is accompanied by just a piano and backing vocalists, before he unleashes an impassioned vocal. Stanley’s vocal is from the heart and full of hope, accompanied by pleading backing vocalists. He alternates between the two styles. The result is rousing, uplifting and anthemic and a perfect way to close Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk.

The quality and consistency of music that features on Disc One of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk, continues on Disc Two. On Disc Two, we hear more from The Soul Stirrers, The Meditation Singers, The Brookylyn Allstars, Dorothy Norwood and Roscoe Robinson who all feature on Disc One. We’re also introduced to some new faces on Disc Two. We hear the gospel delights of The Southerners, The Silver Gate Quartet Of North Carolina and the Armstrong Brothers. That’s not forgetting Robert Blair & The Fantastic Violinaires, Bill Moss & The Celestials and Mighty Sons Of Glory who are responsible for some of the real highlights of Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Fun. So good is the music on Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk, that when you hear one stunning track, and think it can’t be topped, another one trumps it. Although these tracks are described as gospel, there’s more than one side to gospel music. Truly, there’s much more to gospel than meets the eye. Some of the tracks reveal a soulful side of gospel, while the other side reveals a gloriously funky side of gospel music. This means that soul and funk fans, as well as lovers of gospel music will welcome the release of Harmless Records’ latest release and first gospel compilation Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk. Given the quality of music on Holy Spirit-Spiritual Soul and Gospel Funk then I for one hope that it won’t be Harmless Records last gospel compilation. Standout Tracks: The Brookylyn Allstars, If Loving God Is Wrong (I Don’t Want To Be Right), Dorothy Norwood He’s A Friend, Bill Moss & The Celestials’ You’ve Got To Serve Somebody and Mighty Sons Of Glory’s Don’t Forget The Bridge (That Brought You Over).

HOLY SPIRIT-SPIRITUAL SOUL AND GOSPEL FUNK