Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

This collection brings together all the songs The Travellers recorded for the Dootone label in the period 1956-62. They may never have been premier league in the same way as The Five Blind Boys or The Swan Silvertones but there is still some brilliant gospel to enjoy here. Occasionally it is possible to pick up references to their more famous contemporaries. The album's opener "Bye And Bye" has a lead vocal from the versatile LC Cohen which is reminiscent of Sam Cooke's work with The Soul Stirrers, whereas chameleon-like Cohen's testifying style on "The Blood" sounds more like Clarence Fountain. There are some creative arrangements and fun things happening underneath all the lead vocals. One of the outstanding features of these recordings are the brilliant bass vocals of Felton Vernon, check out his outstanding singing on "Jesus Said" and "I Gotta Move". If you enjoy doo wop styling, you'll be oohing and aahing along with a lot of this. If you're a gospel music archaeologist, it's unlikely that you'll have managed to track down many of these recordings so this will be yet another welcome release from those clever people at Ace!

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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