American Odeon
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 Various Artists
A Night with Daddy Grace
American Odeon
CD
$12
Reissue of what is said to be one of the rarest of all black gospel LPs, and it's a killer. These recordings, made at Daddy Grace's House of Prayer for All People in Harlem during the '50s, are full of rousing singing, piano, and handclaps, as well as heaps of blazing horns. The closing "Jericho March" is over 11 minutes of glorious collective honk that I would rank up there with Otha Turner's Everybody Hollerin' Goat and Albert Ayler's Live in Greenwich Village. I can offer no higher compliment.

This issue of the CD features informative liner notes written by Opal Louis Nations that detail the history of Daddy Grace and his church, along with several photos of a Grace baptism service. Unfortunately, there is a minor glitch on one of the tracks, where there's a digital "jump" of a second or two. It may pass by undetected for those who haven't previously listened to the record a million times (as I have), but since my experience is all I have to go by in this regard, I feel that it should be noted.
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 Various Artists
Harlem Congregation
American Odeon
CD
$12
Robust, passionate uplifted voice from the congregations of two Harlem churches, recorded in the 1950s. Church members, preachers, pianists – everybody here is digging in and delivering. The real showstopper here is the very intense “Lord God is My Shepherd,” which is as heavy as the best Rev. R.C. Crenshaw and gives me chills every time. Released by the now-defunct American Odeon label that also brought us the CD reissue of the all-time great “A Night with Daddy Grace”.