Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

The Golden Gate Quartet was one of the top outfits in gospel music in the 1940s, but in the post-war years, their status was being threatened by younger groups with a harder, more radical style. As a result, by the early 1950s they were beginning to sound a tad old-fashioned. These 22 tracks, predominantly sacred but with a smattering of secular, were cut for the Mercury label between April 1949 and March 1952 and feature the smooth lead vocals of Henry Owens, ably backed by Clyde Riddick, Alton Bradley, Orville Brooks and Orlandus Wilson. As usual with these vintage recordings, the sound quality is decidedly iffy on some tracks, but despite this, it's easy to tell why the Gates were so influential in their heyday with some intricate harmonies.

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