V.A. Life In Heaven Is Free Checker Gospel 1961-1973

Life In Heaven Is Free Checker Gospel 1961-1973 Hjrlp088 2LP £16 The Meditation Singers - Let Them Talk Charlie Brown - The Whole World Is Watching Martha Bass - Since I've Been Born Again The Williams Singers - So Good To Be Alive The Faithful Wonders - Ol' John (Behold Thy Mother) The Salem Travelers - Crying Pity And A Shame The East St. Louis Gospelettes - Soon I Will Be Done Power And Light Choral Ensemble - Stand Up America, Don't Be Afraid The Masonic Wonders - Just To Behold His Face The Majestic Choir & The Soul Stirrers - Why Am I Treated So Bad The Jordan Singers - My Life Will Be Sweeter Lucy Rodgers - I'm Fighting For My Rights The East St. Louis Gospelettes - I'll Take Care of You The Williams Singers - Don't Give Up The Soul Stirrers - Don’t You Worry The Meditation Singers - I've Done Wrong The Jordan Singers - Lord Have Mercy, The Kindly Shepherds - Lend Me Your Hand The Violinaires - Groovin' With Jesus Cleo Jackson Randle - Life In Heaven Is Free The Violinaires - Mother’s Last Prayer, The Inspirational Singers - Bless Me The Bells Of Joy - Give An Account At The Judgement Stevie Hawkins - Same Old Bag The Soul Stirrers - Striving

Gospel melts into Soul in this dazzling collection of sides originally released by the Chess subsidiary.

Devised by the same team supporting the likes of Muddy Waters and Etta James at Chess, the vintage of Checker Gospel celebrated here is distinguished by its expertly raw, rugged, live feel — thumping bass and pounding drums, bluesy guitar and horns — and its keen engagement with contemporary realities and politics, with an underlying, unwavering commitment to the Civil Rights movement. Not forgetting its sheer, startling, richly diverse soulfulness.

Key architects of the Chicago Sound and Motown are amongst the scores of contributors: Charles Stepney, Gene Barge, Eddie Kendricks, and Leonard Caston Jr. are in the house… Morris Jennings, drummer on Curtis’ Superfly and Terry Callier’s What Color Is Love… Louis Satterfield from The Pharaohs and Earth Wind & Fire… Ramsey Lewis’ guitarist Byron Gregory… Phil Upchurch… Laura Lee…

Producer Monk Higgins joined Checker in 1967, bringing his experience of R&B and Gospel hit-making for the labels One-derful and Satellite, together with a loyal cohort of musicians. A protege of Willie Dixon, engineer Malcolm Chisholm set up the Ter Mar studio as if preparing for a live gig, carefully teasing measures of bleed into the microphones. With Ralph Bass from King Records running A&R, they knew exactly what they were after. ‘I’m using horns and an R&B sound in gospel recordings,’ said Bass. ‘We have no charts. All the musicians are given the chord changes. I want the cats to think when we’re cutting. I want spontaneity, and that’s what we’re getting.’ And: ‘There is more to gospel than just finding solace in the church. This follows the same message of Martin King, who was fighting for a new way of life. Kids are tired of hearing Jesus Give Us Help. They want a positive message.’

Focussed on the late sixties and early seventies, the twenty-five recordings here are all killer no filler, but try these four, random entry points: the heavy funk ostinato of the Violinaires’ Groovin’ With Jesus, working itself up into a post-James-Brown brass frenzy, sure to knock your socks off; Cleo Jackson Randle’s title track, for those who like their Gospel straight-up and hard-core; Eddie Kendricks’ achingly timely choral call-to-arms, Stand Up America, Don’t Be Afraid; the East St Louis Gospelettes’ heart-stopping, fathoms-deep rendition of Bobby Bland’s I’ll Take Care Of You. A beautiful gatefold sleeve; a full-colour booklet with excellent notes by Robert Marovich; top-notch sound. Another knockout selection by Greg Belson and David Hill.

A shoo-in for soul compilation of the year.