The Soul Of Designer Records is a four-disc box set containing
nearly five hours of gospel music from the 1960s and 1970s. You don’t have to be
religious to enjoy this set. There is a lot
of great music contained on these discs, music that is impossible to dislike
regardless of your personal philosophy and spirituality. There is a lot of
passion in these recordings. These singles are, of course, dominated by some
phenomenal vocals, but it’s the artists’ obvious love of music that really
makes these tracks shine.
Interestingly, the
artists and groups on these discs paid to record their singles, sometimes on an
installment plan. It’s a bit surprising to me just how great these tracks are,
considering how they came about. You’d think that bands that had to pay to
record their material might not be so hot. But these tracks (with just a few
exceptions) are seriously good. And the box set includes just over one hundred
songs.
The packaging is like
that of a double LP. The liner notes booklet is the size of a record, and
includes some information on the artists and on the folks behind the label.
There are also several photos. I only wish the liner notes included the
original release dates for these records.
Gospel Songbirds
This collection begins
with a couple of tracks by the Gospel Songbirds. The first, “Tone The Bells
Easy,” features some cool guitar (the opening lick makes it seems like this
will be a rock and roll tune) and amazing vocals. How can you go wrong? The
energy, the power, the passion are quite moving. And I love when that slow soul
groove comes in (more than a minute into the song), and the way the vocals rise
above it, like the song is both grounded and reaching great heights
simultaneously. This is such a great track to open this collection.
Dynamic Hughes Gospel Singers
“Viet Nam” is a really good
soul song tackling that giant 1960s political subject. “I’ve just arrived in Viet Nam/Lord, let me survive/Now, here I am.”
The song also mentions segregation. There is some simple, but very effective
work on organ.
Twilight Singers
“Tone The Bells,” from
Twilight Singers, is a slow, glorious, mesmerizing track, and is one of the
highlights for me. The flip side, “Climbing High Mountains,” is a more fun,
catchy song, and another excellent track. “I’m
climbing high mountains, trying to get home.”
Sensational Family Singers
“I’ll Go” is a rockin’
number by Sensational Family Singers, featuring Gilford Evans, with the lead
vocals ripping and tearing. I can’t imagine he could keep singing like that for
very long, but it’s wild to hear. “Listen
to this,” he sings before delivering something between a scream and a sort
of pleasant growl.
The Shaw Singers
“After Awhile,” by The Shaw
Singers, is such an interesting track, combining gospel and country, with pedal
steel as a prominent element. I really like this one a lot. “God Has Done So
Much For Me” is wonderful gospel song, dominated by vocals and piano. It’s a
song of rejoicing and praise, with lines like “When I was a stranger/You know, the Lord he turned me about/He’ll be a
mother and a father too/He’ll do things no one else can do” and “Change my midnight into day.”
This collection also includes The Shaw Singers’ “Since He
Touched Me.” I couldn’t help but take the song’s first line, “Yes, I’ve got a new way of walking since he
touched me,” in a different way from what the group intended. That being
said, this is a really nice track. But then I laughed again when I heard them
sing, “I’ve got a brand new home since he
touched me.” Clearly, the court settlement was significant.
Soul Superiors Of Detroit, MI
I love the sound of Soul
Superiors’ “Whatever You Do, Do Good,” a gorgeous, relaxed soul track with some
wonderful (and surprising) changes in the vocals, in the way the song is
delivered. This is an all-round wonderful track, one of the collection’s
highlights.
And the second track by
this group, “A Great Day,” has a fantastic joy that will transfer to you as you
listen. It has shades of Little Richard.
Alberta Powell
Alberta Powell delivers
two excellent blues-gospel tracks, with some wonderful work on guitar and
smooth backing vocals. I believe Alberta when she sings in “Trusted,” “Lord, I’ll make it somehow/Yes, I’ll make it
somehow.” Of the two tracks, I prefer “Trusted” (it is one of the
collection’s highlights), but “The Same God” is also really good.
The Jubilee Hummingbirds
One of my favorite groups
to be featured in this collection is The Jubilee Hummingbirds. Their first
track, “Stand By Me,” has such a cool sound (almost like garage gospel at
times), with some excellent vocal work. I love it. The flip side, “Something
Within Me,” has a happier, excited feel, with the humorous line, “I met Jesus one Thursday” near the end.
“I Won’t Have To Cry No
More” has such a good groove, and the backing vocalists’ repetition of the
title line is wonderful. The lead singer refers to the others (and perhaps the
listeners) as “church,” like in the
line, “Did you hear me, church?”
The rock groove of “A
Sinner’s Plea” actually reminds me of very early Grateful Dead. Yeah, it’s
great, and comes at you with full force. If church had sounded like this when I
was a kid, I must have stuck with it. Who knows?
The Breckenridge Singers
The Breckenridge deliver
a delicious dose of blues in “God Is Ruler From Above,” a tune with more
fantastic vocals. “Aren’t you glad?”
Oh yes.
The Fantastic Alphonzo Thomas
That one is followed by
another excellent track, this one by The Fantastic Alphonzo Thomas. “I’m On My
Way” is a lot of fun, with some nice work on piano. “I had a mighty hard time, Lord/But I’m on my way.” This is one of
my favorites. I just wish it were a bit longer, as it seems to fade out too
soon.
O’Neal And The Dean Brothers
O’Neal And The Dean
Brothers provide another of this set’s highlights with “I Am Going Home,” a
seriously good R&B track. “The ABC’s” is a bit silly as it goes through the
entire alphabet to describe Jesus: “J,
his name is Jesus/K, he is king of them all/L, he is a mighty good leader.”
“Don’t Give Up” is an
interesting rock tune, playing on a simple groove. It might feel repetitive,
but I got into that groove. Much better is their “It’s Your Life,” with nice
vocals and some good work on both guitar and organ. “It’s your life/Live it like you want to/Ain’t nobody gonna tell you
what to do.” This is one of my favorite tracks of this set.
Traveling Stars
“Beautiful Mansion” is a
good little rock and soul tune in the same realm as some of James Brown’s work.
It’s a fun track, even if it’s a bit repetitive. And I dig that bass line.
Golden Travelers
“Too Close To Turn Around”
is such a fantastic track, with excellent, emotional, passionate vocals, and a
slow, powerful groove. This track from Golden Travelers is one of the
highlights of this set, just one hell of a great song.
George Shields And His Gospel Singers
“God’s Word Will Never
Pass Away” by George Shields And His Gospel Singers is another track that
stands out for me, with its back porch blues feel and those glorious vocals
over that great guitar. They keep it simple, keep it honest, and it works so
well.
The Southland Singers
The Southland Singers’ “When
The Gates Open” is another absolutely wonderful track. The backing vocals are
excellent, the bass is perfect, the groove gets me smiling. This is a phenomenal
tune.
Joe Townsend
Joe Townsend provides
some classic blues, with a couple of recordings that sound decades older than
they are. Here is a guy in complete command of the music, with an honesty and
authenticity. There is a small crowd, like these songs were recorded in a
tavern somewhere, or in someone’s home for the best private show ever. “You know I don’t want to stop,” he sings
in “Going Over The Hill.”
The Original Golden Stars
Things get kind of funky
with The Original Golden Stars’ “Nobody’s Fault But Mine," a fun track that is
some strange combination of funk, gospel and garage. And it rocks. “At The Red
Sea” is a slower track, but just as cool and striking. It’s one that grabs me
right away.
The Wandering Five
The Wandering Five do a cool rendition of “I’ll Fly Away,” with a slow, bluesy groove, and with
backing vocalists repeating “Oh, oh yeah.”
As for the track list,
since there are more than a hundred tracks, I’ve decided to take a photo of the
back of the box rather than type out all the songs.
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