Reviewed by Tony Cummings

In August 1934 a tobacco factory worker, a mason, a coal dealer and a truck driver made the long journey from Kinston, North Carolina up to New York City to record for the American Record Company (ARC). And so began the fascinating recording history of Mitchell's Christian Singers who never toured, were never able to quit their day jobs, yet left behind a body of work which with its home spun harmonic and a rhythmic quality all of its own were amongst the most original acts in gospel music. In his Gospel Sound book Anthony Heilbut described their harmonies as "precise and self-conscious but shot through with blue notes, the flattened quarter tones which derive from moans and inform every black song style." If you want to catch a glorious example of what Professor Heilbut was talking about listen to "Gonna Shout All Over God's Heaven" while elsewhere on this fascinating 23 song assemblage of recordings you've got gems like "Here Am I", "Are You Working On The Building" and "Traveling Shoes" about which Jerry Zolten writes in his sleevenotes, "None of the voices stand on their own, but there is brilliance in their unity, the way they work together, weave in and out, move the song to its completion. The harmonies are unconventional, angular and the beats per measure counter to European notions of rhythmic symmetry." Timeless acappella folk art.

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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