Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

These tracks were cut between 1945 and November 1951 in various studios in New York City, Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, and for once the singers in question are decidedly obscure - even the experts at Document Records can't fill in all of the details. As the title of the CD suggests, it's a mix of sacred and secular, mostly the latter. The 10 tracks by Sonny Boy & Lonnie are true swampy blues cuts but with no gospel in earshot. Of more interest to Cross Rhythms readers is Marylin (or Mary), whose style is very reminiscent of Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Her 16 cuts, half blues and half gospel are all pretty good. Incidentally, it seems that she was Mary Deloatch when in gospel mode, with Marylin Scott being an alter ego she used when singing the blues. Given the age of the recordings, the sound quality leaves something to be desired - some of the cuts have fared worse than others - but this series from Document never fails to fascinate the anoraks amongst us who want to investigate the minutiae of gospel and blues history. All in all, if you enjoy Sister Rosetta you should investigate Marylin Scott/Mary Deloatch.

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