Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Listening to sermons recorded and originally issued back in the '20s and '30s on 78s is a strange but sometimes exhilarating experience. Information about most of the nine preachers reissued here has been lost in the mist of time but whether it's the Rev C Gatewood exhorting us to seek "The New Birth" or female preacher Sister O F Franklin expounding "The Twenty-third Psalm" the results can be pretty soul stirring. Sometimes the tracks are let down by very poor sound (one or two of the 78s used here have more than the usual amount of hiss and crackle), sometimes the effect is spoilt by some painful singing (the aforementioned Sister Franklin should have left off trying to sing) but there's still plenty here to stir the believer. Rather spoiling the compilation are acts like Hooten And Hooten whose "Brother Lowdown's Prayer" is actually a "comic" skit from the vaudeville stage as too is Brother Fullbosom's "A Sermon On A Silver Dollar". But on the plus side is Rev M H Holt's "The Beaver" on which the Memphis reverend is joined by the great gospel singer Bessie Johnson who powerfully sings a fragment of "Jesus Is Getting Us Ready For That Great Day". Despite the vaudeville embarrassments, there are some good recordings here.

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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