Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Let's start with an aside. For decades now I've had some ancient recordings of a blues singer called Victoria Spivey stored on the Jukebox Of My Mind. Now I've no idea whether Angela is a relation to said Victoria but one thing has now become clear, thanks to this CD. The word is not pronounced "Spivey", rhyming with ivy, as I'd always assumed, but, according to the MC who announces "gospel's anointed princess" here, it's 'Spivvy', rhyming with privy. So what of the music? Well, Angela is an old style gospel shouter, similar to Shirley Caesar, and thanks to some sterling support from The Voices choir, with a good line in call and response fire. By the end of song one, "Jesus Saves", she's also exhorting the audience to get on their feet and I bet they responded too. It's the church wreckers rather than the ballads like the very average "A Praise Unto You Lord" which work best. Best of all is the mid tempo gospel blues "It's The Lord Doing" which rolls along with delicious frenzy. It's a shame that that timeless piece is then followed by a version of "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" which begins absurdly slow then breaks into a cocktail jazz arrangement of irritating fussiness. There's some good stuff here but watch out for the duds.

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