to listen or purchase
Doing Our Father's Business, the new CD by the gospel quartet Soul Tempo, will have long time gospel fans trying to remember when. I can imagine listeners wracking their brains trying to recall the first - and last - time they heard anybody sing "Touch the Hem of His Garment." That's an oldie but goodie most famously associated with the late great Sam Cooke. Ironically, secular songs get rehashed with regularity, but it's nearly impossible to hear a gospel tune that was made 15 years ago, let alone one released 50 or 60 years ago.
That's what makes Doing Our Father's Business such a refreshing recording. Nearly half of the tracks on this album are cuts that could be accurately called loved but neglected, and the Connecticut based quartet lovingly and competently resurrects these classics. The quartet treats each of these numbers with respect. You hear the straight forward rendition of "Touch the Hem of His Garment," and can be forgiven for thinking that sweet tenor belongs to the legendary Cooke. "Jesus is the Answer" is a much appreciated inclusion of a piece recorded during the 1970s and 80s - an unjustly ignored era in gospel music. However, the quartet's imaginative arrangement on "Fix It," shows that the guys weren't interested in recording a museum relic. The arrangement combines the words from this standard hymn with the melody from Stevie Wonder's classic funk cut "Higher Ground."
Soul Tempo fills the album's second half with more contemporary sounding numbers. There's no drop off in quality as quartet moves from the hip-hop cut "Life Could Be Better," to the funky head-nodder "He's Everything To Me." The group employs modern production techniques on both songs, including a not overdone use of auto tune on the latter track. Christianity strives to bring families together, but these days, music often divides young believers from their elders. The kids gravitate to gospel tracks that merge the gospel message with ultra modern hip-hop and R&B, and a lot of adults don't believe that stuff is sufficiently sacred. By combining the classics with the contemporary, Soul Tempo made an album that aims to make old and young listen together. And who knows, maybe each side of the generation gap will realize that the other has something to say.
Notable tracks: Fix It, Further Up the Road, Never Give Up, Work of Art
Vocals: 4.0
Lyrcis: 3.5
Music: 3.5
Production: 3.5
SoulTracks call: Highly Recommended
By Howard Dukes