Revolutionary gospel sounds... could be all I need to say about this album. The Loving Sisters are Gladys McFadden, Jo Dumas, Ann James, and Lorraine Leeks, who took the risk of having a full band for their gospel music at a time when their contemporaries like Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe kept the music to bare-bones instrumentation. It was believed by many in the gospel community that the less music there was, the more sacred the music. This risk is reflected in a scathing review from the Chicago Defender belittling the “so-called gospel music”. An audience member, after seeing them perform, wrote to the paper saying, "I was so ashamed of the entire thing, I never expected to hear rock-and-roll at a religious service. We must be real and stop playing with God.”
This record came across my way at Melodiya Records in Calgary, as it was tucked away in the used section, and with a cover like this one, I will always take a chance on grabbing it without a listen or second thought. Once I got home, I went straight to the turntable and dropped the needle to the start of a random song. Walking back to the couch, I was stopped in my tracks as this album began to melt me away, with the start of what I'd learn to be track 3, Joy.
Right when the bass begins to rumble, and hair begins to stand, the vocals of Gladys McFadden start to bring you deep into a meditative float, and all you can do is take a long breath and prepare yourself. This song brings to light the necessity of finding joy through all the pain and suffering in life. "Look within yourself, and there you will find that little something you call joy and peace of mind." The two singers begin to ask for help finding that joy from their fellow neighbour or from God; you can decide. Ending the song with "love is mine to share, this I can prove, I have found joy"
(Most of these songs I couldn't find a file for or a YouTube upload, so I've added tracks recorded directly from my copy of the record)
Something that grasps at that never-ending need to fight for hope when no joy seems to be found somehow feels exactly like this song as it pulls you down to sit, relax, and reflect. The whole tone of this album brings across this whole idea of not just Jesus and God and giving yourself to the holy spirit, but music to signify the sound of the struggle, the Black struggle more specifically that led so many to the church to begin with. Something about each of these tracks transports you to that feeling of needing to grasp at that call for salvation.
Cosmic Consciousness, track 4, is just funky and honestly a surprise awakening after going through track 3. Not something you'd expect from a gospel record from this time, but nonetheless a great end to side A and for sure worth checking out, with some fun effects to give it that cosmic feel. This album is a special piece in the group's discography, as honestly none of their other albums hit the same mark as this one. Although Running Short Of Love, Today does come close if you ever come across it.
The group was also pretty active in the cause for social justice, often being a performance group before civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The sister would also end up speaking at various protest functions. As McFadden put it: "We were in every state with Dr.Martin Luther King Jr, and Klansmen were trying to run us off the road, and that’s what we were singing about. You write from your own experiences. I wrote ‘Trying Time’ when we were marching in Tupelo, Mississippi. People were marching in front of the hotel, and we were behind the barricade in the hotel, and the hotel didn’t want us to come out, so I was locked in there. I wrote that song because those were trying times.” As we have all learned, the plight of those trying times has led to some of the greatest music created and continues to influence the great music we receive now.
I think it’s important to recognize and know about albums like this. Albums that hold the essence of loving music and using that music to convey a purpose in life towards something larger. It’s the best part about digging through records and finding archival messages and passion from the ancestors that, if you study enough and pay close attention to, can lead you towards a powerful path of understanding your surroundings. This album is exactly that, and if you pay close attention past the religious mantra of it all, you have a highly inspirational album that keeps giving you a beautiful care of the world around you
That brings us to track 7, Forgiving Is Easier Than Forgetting.... That honestly speaks for itself. Just hit play and see for yourself.
Save The World, not only the truest statement but a beautiful song with the highlight of a vocal performance on the whole album, littered with the warmth of a church organ. The final track on this album brings in a truly church-felt experience as the sisters give a resonating harmony behind McFadden’s leading voice as she sings about protecting the youth and saving the whole world (from things like LSD, which ironically would probably be a great album to listen to on LSD). The amalgamation of everything this album has had to offer is shown on this final track, which brings together the final message from the sisters and their sons. Just like I'm sure they hoped, I also hope we can save the world, and I hope this album helps you feel a little more saved and find some joy in your life.
"I'd like for the horns to talk to you while now...."
If you'd like to buy the album, here's the Discogs link