Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The famed straining preacher from Atlanta, Georgia with 23 more recordings including a couple of alternative takes. There's plenty here to stir interest. "A Sure-Enough Soldier" has a small congregation singing in powerful unison accompanied by driving foot percussion; a couple of smouldering sermons on the theme of self-reliance "Do It Yourself" and "Things You Can Move Don't Ask God To Move"; "The Ball Game Of Life" which uses baseball as a religious metaphor; and a message "Women Spend Too Much Money" where the good Rev harangues the ladies who spend too much money on shoes, hose and underwear. Feminists will be a little uncomfortable with this and a couple of other tracks where Rev Gates' opinions come perilously close to chauvinism. Also, the two-part "Deacon Board Meeting" is a playlet let down by some stilted dialogue. But as usual on the nine volume series, there are some fascinating and powerful cuts here.

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