The D-Vine Spirituals Story Vol 3

‘Gimme that old-time religion…’ The latest 14-track batch of old-time gospel recordings for the Memphis-based D-Vine Spirituals label underlines how close the links between gospel and soul music are. Listen, say, to the two openers, ‘God's Love (is a Mystery)’ by The D-Vine Spiritualettes and ‘Lord Give Me Strength (to Carry on)’ by The Spiritual Clouds: the impassioned lead vocals backed by the doo-wop harmonies take you back to the ‘girl group’ era of the early 60s. Next, the deeply soulful ‘Victory Shall be Mine’ by The Victory Travelers and The Supreme Travelers’ funky ‘Coming Up Through the Years’ could easily be contemporary recordings by the likes of Solomon Burke or Bobby Womack.

The D-Vine label was started by Memphis gospel DJ Pastor Juan D Shipp to help local and regional groups make good-quality records in the city's Tempo Studios. Most of the obscure but righteous numbers on this third volume were performed by singers, choirs and musicians from local churches. It's a rough but remarkable collection of the kind of vocal talent that might never otherwise have been heard beyond the confines of those sacred walls. Yes, that old time religion, ‘it's good enough for me.’