I Heard the Angels Singing: Electrifying Black Gospel from the Nashboro Label, 1951-1983

Description

I Heard the Angels Singing, sub-titled Electrifying Black Gospel from the Nashboro Label, 1951-1983, is a deluxe multi-artist four-CD boxed set released on Tompkins Square in 2013.

It was preceded by the release of the three-CD boxed set Fire in My Bones: Raw, Rare & otherworldly African-American Gospel, 1944-2007 and the three-CD boxed set This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel On 45 RPM, 1957-1982, and followed by the three-CD boxed set When I Reach That Heavenly Shore: Unearthly Black Gospel, 1926-1936.

This four disc set – lovingly packaged by genre specialists Tompkins Square Records in an LP-style gatefold sleeve – charts the output of the renowned gospel, blues and R&B Nashboro label. Founded by businessman Ernest L Young in 1951, the Nashboro label began as a back of store venture and grew to become one of the genre’s major players before its decline in the ’80s and is widely regarded as the label responsible for the international success of bigger gospel names such as the Radio Four, the Swanee Quintet and the Fairfield Four. Each of these groups are represented in the chronologically ordered discs of this collection but, as ever with these kind of releases, it is the equally talented but arguably less celebrated acts that get their chance to shine. For instance, Rev Cleophus Robinson weighs in with the marvellous «Wrapped Up, Tied Up, Tangled Up» whilst the likes of the Spiritual Five, the Singing Sons and the Jewel Gospel Trio (featuring a very young Candi Staton) all deliver the goods to make this an incredibly varied and enjoyable release. Despite Nashboro’s output spanning three-plus decades, it has to be said that the sound and style of its artists didn’t move with the times and it’s perhaps not surprising that the label itself didn’t survive past the 1980s when slicker and more professionally-produced gospel music took a hold of the market. However, the 80 tracks featured on this sumptuous release and the fact that most of them are performed by different acts guarantee Nashboro’s place as one of the most important and prolific players in the history of American music – something the folks at Tompkins Square Records have thankfully chosen to celebrate. [Lins Honeyman, Cross Rhythms, June 2014]