The Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir - Shakin' The Rafters

Choosing which albums I would like to share with those of you who visit here can often be a difficult process. I've tried to offer a rather eclectic selection of music here, which makes it difficult at times to pin down exactly what type of music some of you would prefer to see posted here. Often times, albums that I think will receive a lot of attention fail to get a single comment, while albums that I think are risky choices are the ones that receive the most attention. When I first started the blog I had intended to primarily focus on sharing albums from my punk rock collection, but I eventually decided I would rather post whichever weird or obscure album I happened to be digging at the time, while trying to cover a wide variety of genres. I have yet to test the waters here with a gospel album, but hopefully this one will satisfy the uninitiated, as well as those who are familiar with it.

I am not a Christian, and I'll be the first to admit that I despise most aspects of organized religion; however, I'm a sucker for energetic and soulful music such as this, regardless of the religious message the music carries. I don't have much time on my hands to go into depth about the various songs on the album, but I will try to give a somewhat adequate overview of the album as a whole.

I picked this album up because it was on Tom Waits' list of favorite albums, and it has received a number of favorable reviews describing it as one of the greatest gospel albums to ever be recorded. I did expect the music to be much rawer than it turned out due to the hype of a few reviews, yet it still satisfies the need for energetic and exciting gospel music. This was recorded in 1960 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and features a massive 120 member choir, led by Professor Alex Bradford, performing a number of energetic and soulful gospel songs. During the 1950's, the Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir started out as a small local church, but rapidly expanded into the largest Baptist gospel group in the area, largely due to Bradford's gifts for writing and arranging in the classic call-and-response gospel style.

One thing is certain, while this album might not be as wild and raw as some claim it to be, it remains a very energetic and soulful album throughout. At times the choir slows down the pace, but you can still feel the tension of numerous souls waiting to let loose at any moment. If you're a fan of gospel music then you should love this, and if you've never given it a chance, I can't think of too many albums that would serve as a better introduction.

Year of Release: 1960
Genre: Gospel
Bitrate: 160kbps

Track List:
1. I Want To Ride That Glory Train
2. You've Got To Bear The Consequence
3. Heaven Belongs To You
4. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody
5. He Stays In My Room
6. Sweet Jesus
7. You Can't Make Me Doubt Him
8. He Is Such An Understanding God
9. I Can Call Him
10. Restore Unto Me
11. The Lord's Prayer
12. The Lord Will Make A Way

Download: The Abyssnian Baptist Gospel Choir - Shakin' The Rafters
Download Size: 75MB