Reviewed by Tony Cummings

There's quite a slice of fascinating musical history here, including the first ever recording of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand", the Thomas A Dorsey composition which was to become one of the most prolifically recorded Christian songs of the last 100 years. The Heavenly Gospel Singers' reading of the song, with Roosevelt Fennoy's smooth lead and a complicated "chiming" chorus, may seem a tad formal compared with some of the fiery versions that were to follow but it's still interesting and, with the other 23 recordings here, shows the group were fine harmonizers. With personal appearances, a stream of 78s on RCA/Bluebird and regular radio work the group were on a roll in the mid '30s and whether making observations like "This Old World Is In Bad Condition", exhorting people to get onboard the "Heavenly Gospel Train" or simply crooning the "Lord's Prayer" this male quartet of jubilee harmonizers found a receptive audience in an area that covered most of the Stats east of a line drawn from Detroit down to Florida.

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