Reviewed by Tony Cummings

As our feature elsewhere in this issue indicates, Sam Dees is one of the unacknowledged giants of soul music, known to a small cognoscente as one of the greatest singer/songwriters that post war black music has produced. Speaking personally, I have long believed that Sam possesses one of the most heart-stoppingly soulful voices ever to sing into a studio mic so I approached this album with something akin to awed reverence. I have to sadly admit 'Gospel Tribute Album' didn't live up to my towering expectations. Possibly the lack of an adequate production budget gave some of these songs a demo quality, possibly it's Sam's bizarre habit of fading the songs half way through the songs (three of the numbers here run out at 1 minute 48, 1 minute 11, and, worst of all, 53 seconds!), or possibly Sam is simply past his best. There's still some great singing. He breathes soulful passion into the old Dorsey warhorse "Precious Lord", and "Thank God", a self-penned ballad, is by far the best cut on the album. But it's still a good way short of being the classic I expected.

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.

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