STYLE: Gospel RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 13013-2705 LABEL: Acrobat Music ADDCD3006 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 2 RRP: £12.99
Reviewed by Tony Cummings
For my money, Mahalia is one of the greatest voices ever committed to the recording process and though her later recordings for Columbia in the '50s and '60s were an erratic bunch, her early material is often sublime despite the primitive recordings. This fascinating two CD set offers three albums which originally came out on the French Vogue label and which have so far missed all the numerous Mahalia compilations. There are numerous gems here, the liltingly beautiful "The Only Hope We Have", the bluesily belted "I'll Never Turn Back No More", the moaning "It's My Desire" and many others. Times and tastes have moved on since these tracks were made in the late '40s/early '50s but that magnificent contralto still has the ability to stir the soul.
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