The subtitle---New Settings of African-American Spirituals---pretty much tells the story. “Go Down, Moses”, “Give Me Jesus”, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” and 13 other songs are heard in contemporary arrangements, several recorded here for the first time. I admire the soulful elegance of the singing, there’s a nice booklet, and Gothic’s engineering is everything you could want; so let’s eliminate any suspense on those counts.

I take my folk music straight, so I’m partial to Moses Hogan’s “I Want to Be Ready” and “Wade in the Water”, where the harmonies remain simple and unadorned. Joseph Jennings (“Nobody Knows the Troubles I’ve Seen” and “Way Over in Beulah-lan”) also knows how to stay out of the way of a good tune. Some arrangements are more elaborate, but so cleverly done that the extra gingerbread isn’t bothersome. Jonathan Miller, for example, crafted a medley of “Little David, Paly on Your Harp”, Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” ‘Go Down, Moses”, and “Joshua fit de Battle” with arpeggiated “doo doos” a la Bobby McFerrin approximating the sound of David plucking the strings of his harp and a resounding shofar blast from the fellows celebrating Joshua’s conquest of Jericho. It’s a creative set.

There are several other arrangements, though, where the harmonies are tightened within an inch of their lives and the spirituals mutate in jazz. That’s not my thing, but who’s to say it isn’t yours?

---American Record Guide