Reviewed by Tony Cummings

For my money, the 1949 recording of "The Day Is Passed And Gone" by the Spirit Of Memphis Quartet is one of the greatest gospel recordings in the history of the genre. On it a sermonette of raw passion is cocooned in an eerie cushion of oohs while a hauntingly soulful singer draws out a mournful melody. The Spirit Of Memphis were crammed with stunning switch-lead singers - first tenor Willmer "Little Axe" Broadnax, tenor/baritone Jethro "Jet" Bledsoe and the staggering baritone Silas Steele whose rasping, bellowing baritone could remove the rafters from the church roof particularly when he broke into sermon mid-song. With such dazzling singers and a flamboyant stage act which saw the group dressed in brightly coloured suits, the group were stars of the early '50s gospel programmes. On record they sold well too, even if record boss Syd Nathan of King/DeLuxe Records kept most of their royalties. Now this lovingly compiled and exhaustively researched double CD offers 47 tracks of their cathartic, emotional music. If you've yet to encounter these classic practitioners of acappella gospel or you're a long time fan wanting to replace rare and scratchy vinyl this album will be an essential purchase.

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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