Various Artists – Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal
In a relatively short span, the Numero Group has created a remarkable body of work. The label specializes in areas of music that often aren’t commonly recognized genres, or which overlap freely. They’re motivated by a passion for records that obliges them to endure hours and hours of middling works to get the full wallop of excitement that comes from finding one three-minute gem.
Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal is, as the title suggests, a set of gospel-fueled entreaties rolling forth from delectably incessant grooves. The eighteen tracks mostly date from the ’70s and are drawn from fairly obscure Midwestern labels. Based mainly around the major cities of the region — Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, etc. — the performers range from hopped-up James Brown-inspired singers to the more churchly bearing of vibratoed tenors.
The variety within those constraints is remarkable. This is a testament to the set’s compiler, Rob Sevier. Many of these releases were pressed in small quantities and distributed close to their source; some sold just to a particular congregation. “O Yes My Lord” by the Voices Of Conquest offers a choir singing a melodic chant over just drums, similar to what Sun Ra was doing with his troupe around the same time. Sam Taylor’s “Heaven On Their Minds” mixes in grand flourishes (vibes, tympany) over a core combo that supports a ballad punctuated by a chorus singing “Jesus” in a meter which defies the uninitiated to jump on board. (The song was from a cast recording of a funky reinterpreted musical titled The Soul Of Jesus Christ Superstar.) And absolutely not to be missed is the raw-edged “That’s Enough” by Brother John Witherspoon.
Throughout, these songs are all so funky, so honest, so committed that they dare not break the hypnotic grooves by proselytizing. They just exhort listeners to dance, to move, to hear — and to believe.