Reviewed by Tony Cummings

In this era of Christian rock and holy hip-hop, Jake Hess could seem an obscure or worse, a ridiculous, figure. With his decidedly dodgy wig and beaming persona this Southern gospel legend was long past his best before Bill Gaither's hugely popular Homecoming videos began to put the spotlight on Southern gospel's elder statesman. But Jake's credentials are impeccable. He formed the Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister in 1948, started the Imperials (who were the first Southern gospel group to move into CCM) in 1963 and with his highly distinctive vocal stylings was Elvis Presley's "favourite gospel singer." This compilation of tracks from numerous Gaither albums pays tribute to Jake who died in 2004 aged 76. There are a generous 21 cuts here, each a song associated with Hess and include the Gaither Vocal Band's rendition of "You And Me Jesus", Bob Cain's run through of "Floodstage" and the Talley Trio's version of "I Just Old People" while a Statesmen oldie "The Fourth Man" clearly provided Bill Gaither, Tim Lovelace, Rex Nelson, George Younce, Willie Wyman and Jake himself with some hilarious moments when they gave it a run through. In truth, it was the interview that Bill Gaither conducted with Hess in 1999 which was the most interesting aspect of 'A Tribute To Jake Hess' video/DVD. But if you're nostalgic about Hess' golden years and can't find Statesmen compilations, this might do you.

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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