Reviewed by Tony Cummings

In 1971 Tommy Ellison And The Five Singing Stars recorded a searingly soulful single "I'm Guilty Of Loving God". It should have sold aplenty. But the problem was that the golden age of gospel quartets had seemingly passed. There was no longer much of a market amongst black churchgoers for "hard" lead singers who would rasp and scream and holler their devotion to God while their harmonising brothers chanted suitable accompaniments. But then the unexpected happened. Although black churchgoers abandoned the old school quartets and moved on to newer, more sophisticated forms of gospel music, a small but vociferous audience - a white one ironically largely of non-churchgoers - came to realise that the old quartets made some of the most joyful, moving and soul-engaging music ever. Groups like the Blind Boys Of Alabama and others belatedly got to play big gigs like Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden. In 2008 Tommy Ellison was diagnosed with lung cancer but rather than fold the group he approached Billie Hardie who, back in 1960, was a member of the original Five Singing Stars before leaving to front his own group, and proposed that he rejoined the Stars. With a new name, the Legendary Singing Stars, Hardie, now 84, was able to share lead vocal duties with 23 year old Michael Boone who has performed with the group since he was 15. And the group still has the chops to excite and uplift any audience, white or black. So the group, along with their trusty instrumentalists (including the wonderfully named guitarist Eddie Cabbagestalk), came to play the Telluride Blues And Brews Festival in Colorado on a balmy September day in 2022. This live album is the result. The recording is a little rough and ready (two mics hung in trees near the stage!) and the ending of this rather short album is distinctly anti-climactic being a couple of instrumentals, but the title track opener - a fiery rendition of Tommy Ellison's song which nostalgically looks back to old time gospel preached and lived out in simpler times -demonstrates afresh that gospel quartet music still has timeless appeal.

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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