Reviewed by Tony May

A few of us have consistently nagged you to savour some of those vintage black gospel sounds, knowing you'll drool at the juicy flavour of those pioneering past masters. Ace have come up with a 21 track sampler which plunders the Specialty label treasure chest, all at a painless cheapo price. 10 of the tracks feature many of the gospel giants we've raved about, a mix of quartets and soloists, powerful stuff indeed. Should you still deny the greatness of this material, well there's still plenty of worldly blues, rock 'n' roll and doowop to enjoy. Even if the CD only serves to complete your education with an intro to such as Roy Milton, Smokey Hogg, Art Neville and Frankie Lee Sims it will have been a worthwhile investment. An important page of musical history.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.