The Greater Abyssinian Baptist Choir Of Newark, N.J. - Shakin' The Rafters [1991][EAC,log,cue. FLAC]

MOJO Magazine: Buried Treasure "Album That Time Forgot."

Artist: The Greater Abyssinian Baptist Choir Of Newark, N.J.
Release: Shakin' The Rafters
Discogs: 3587105
Released: 1991
Label: Columbia
Catalog#: CK 47335
Format: FLAC / Lossless / Log (100%) / Cue / CD, Reissue
Country: US
Style: Funk / Soul, Gospel

Tracklisting:

01. I Want To Ride That Glory Train (3:35)
02. You've Got To Bear The Consequence (3:17)
03. Heaven Belongs To You (If You Live Right) (4:22)
04. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody (5:51)
05. He Stays In My Room (8:17)
06. Sweet Jesus (5:41)
07. You Can't Make Me Doubt Him (4:56)
08. He Is Such An Understanding God (7:00)
09. I Can Call Him (He Always Answers Me) (6:11)
10. Restore Unto Me (The Joy Of Thy Salvation) (Previously Unreleased) (6:39)
11. The Lord's Prayer (3:15)
12. The Lord Will Make A Way (Somehow) (6:45)


The rhythm sections that toil behind gospel choirs can usually be found way in the back of the mix, providing unobtrusive backbeats designed to send the singing higher with as little fanfare as possible. Professor Alex Bradford, a stage personality, pianist, and singer who was the music minister at Newark's Abyssinian Baptist Church in the 1960s, alters that approach on this live recording, to thrilling effect. The musicians serve as catalysts, not accompanists—their crisp, unified attack sets the tone for the soloists. It galvanizes the choir. Runs the show.

The three mortals who make up this screaming locomotive of a rhythm section jolt the 120 Abyssinian voices out of the Sunday-services routine into near-ecstatic communication they sustain from the beginning of this disc to the end. The songs are mostly Bradford originals, expressions of faith and praise that emulate the works of legendary gospel composer Thomas A. Dorsey (see p. 233). Several of them belong alongside Dorsey's best, including "Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody," which is resolute from the opening line, and the 6/8 blues "He Is Such an Understanding God." Loaded with crackling call-and-response exchanges and outbreaks of intricately contrapuntal soul-clapping jubilation, these feature hot solo singing from Calvin White and Margaret Simpson, but they're never really solo vehicles. The choir is right there, contributing asides and shouts, blasting past doubt and despair with a contagious energy most often associated with the early days of rock and roll.

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