Sunday, April 01, 2007

God on the good foot


It’s a Sunday, so time for some gospel. Or gospel funk to be more precise. Gospel funk? you may ask. What's that? Well, gospel funk was never a real genre or musical movement, and there were no labels concerned with the funk of gospel, as the sleeve notes of the compilation Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal tells us.

Rather, the tracks on this excellent collection (which was released in the US last year, but has only just come to my attention via the import section in Rough Trade) have come to light due to the labours of patient people who have invested a lot of time sifting though a whole load of fairly bland 70s soul and R 'n' B 45s and LPs. Tucked away on these records are some great examples of Christian artists experimenting with the funk. The results are quite stunning. God’s name being praised on the Fender bass and wah-wah pedal, as well as the organ and massed voices.

There’s an amazing collection of artists on here, all of whom you’ll never have heard of before, but who will surely move your ass, even if they don’t make your praise the Father, Son and Spirit. These tunes made me do both. Praise the Lord for the crate diggers!

Download: 5 Spiritual Tones – Bad Situation
Download: Horace Family – God Will Dry My Weeping Eyes

I previously posted Cliff Gober’s awesome version of Wayfaring Stranger a few weeks ago.

Buy Good God! from Amazon (if you’re in the UK it’s cheaper to buy from amazon.com, even with the postal charges).

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