Where Day is A-Breakin’ in The Soul

The ST CHARLES SINGERS' AMERICAN REFLECTIONS imbues the listener with a sense of being on hallowed, holy ground, closer to the essence. Texts by RAINER MARIA RILKE, OCTAVIO PAZ, AARON COPLAND and others.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Leaving the Stillness of Peace in Its Wake

The first essential reissue of 2019, the French import ROBERTA MARTIN SINGERS: 1947-1962 charts the gold standard early years of this most influential African American mixed-voice gospel ensemble.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Glorious Simplicity

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, SILVER LAKE 66 offers an interesting take on folk-country in its new album, RAGGED HEART. Attention must be paid, says our JOSEPH MCSPADDEN.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Being About the Persistence of Love

At long last, 83-year-old MARY LANE asserts herself at the forefront of contemporary blues with TRAVELIN' WOMAN, her record of a lifetime and of hanging in and hanging on to love, body, soul and heart intact.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Chronicling a Spiritual Exodus from Modern-Day Anxieties

One of the first great albums of 2019, GOSHEN, by DONALD LAWRENCE PRESENTS THE TRI-CITY SINGERS, is a concept album ranging from worship songs to topical numbers to rages against the machine--and the power of faith.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Enter, And Feel the Spirit

Soaring emotions and exquisite quartet harmonizing abound on TRAVELIN' SHOES, a foray into southern gospel (with a stop along the way at western gospel!) by the redoubtable MARLEY'S GHOST
by David McGee
 

 

 

‘Voices Raised in Determination and Triumph’

On this, its fifth CD, The Ebony Hillbillies' old-timey sound evokes, on the one hand, bygone eras in the jubilant bones- and fiddle-fired title track and horrific modern-day tragedies rooted in racial animus...
by David McGee
 

 
 

And The Word Was Good

KIMBERLY KAYE BACHMAN'S new EP, OLD TIME GOSPEL 'is like listening to an early Sunday morning radio broadcast emanating from an AM station in her native Iowa,' says BOB MAROVICH
by David McGee
 

 

 

The Deep Roots Elite Half-Hundred of 2018, Pt. 1

Part 1 of the Deep Roots Elie-Half Hundred of 2018 features ROGER MCGUINN, MELODY GARDOT, RORY BLOCK, RODNEY CROWELL, et al.
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Deep Roots Elite Half-Hundred of 2018, Pt. 2

Continuing the Elite Half-Hundred of 2018 with JUNIOR SISK, SARAH BORGES, SISTER SADIE, et al.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Musical Muscle & An Open Heart

Flexing musical muscle and an open heart, DULCIE TAYLOR returns with her most adventurous and piercing album yet in BETTER PART OF ME
by David McGee
 

 
 

A Paean to Living, Remembering, Carrying On, Moving Forward

The pieces on this expertly produced Open G Records disc ask the listener not only to absorb the complexities of the sonic layers but also to consider their meaning.
by David McGee