Maceo Woods – Jesus People (1971/2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 47:20 minutes | 1,67 GB | Genre: Gospel, R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
Before it was released on Gospel Truth, “Jesus People” was released by Volt as “Step to Jesus” in 1971, named for its opening and title track. The song “Step to Jesus” is led by vocalist Melvin Smothers and written by Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church Minister of Music George Jordan. Jordan’s original writing fills the majority of the album’s first half, save for his choral arrangement of Diana Ross’ 1970 hit “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand).” On it, Smothers returns for a resoundingly uplifting solo and the Christian Tabernacle Concert Choir provides steady accompaniment.
It’s Woods’ own writing, however, that would accentuate the album’s latter half. On his “Thinking of His Goodness,” soloist Pearl McCombs melds traditional gospel with a nod to piano blues. And with “One Is Missing,” Woods calls to his congregation to minister to their neighbors absent from worship and appeals to potential believers to make their own personal step toward salvation in Christ.
Read more
Maceo Woods – In Concert (1970/2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 41:35 minutes | 1,42 GB | Genre: Gospel, R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
Originally recorded in 1969 and released the following year on the Volt label as “Hello Sunshine,” Reverend Maceo Woods’ “In Concert” highlights the talents of Woods’ Christian Tabernacle Concert Choir. Woods founded the Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church in 1960 in his native Chicago with just 14 members. It’d soon grow to 2,000 members, and Woods would gain prominence as both singer and organist.
The optimistic title track “Hello Sunshine” interpolates Wilson Pickett’s 1968 song of the same name, written by saxophonist King Curtis and Ronald Miller. The mainstream-leaning appeal of the song was in line with Woods’ philosophy for joining the Stax Records’ family: to reach ears that otherwise would not have been in tune with the catalogs of traditional gospel labels. “The Gospel Truth label is an answer to my prayers,” he stated in a press release for the label. “I feel that gospel and other religious-oriented music have a rich reservoir of talent which has been left to deteriorate or to be corralled only in the church. This talent needs exposure.”
Read more
Maceo Woods – Goodbye Loneliness, Hello Happiness (1974/2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 34:11 minutes | 1,35 GB | Genre: Gospel, R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
If only judged by its guitar introduction, handled by Morris Dollison, Jr., Maceo Woods’ “Good-Bye Loneliness” could be characterized as a blues song. Like the majority of the album which bears its name, the track bears enough musical resemblance to the music of juke joints and parlors to provide an unmistakable contrast to its richly sanguine content.
Relying heavily on organ, guitar and bass, the album may, at points, sound downtrodden. But its messaging constantly reminds the masses to look to the sky for inspiration. As is customary with Woods releases with his Christian Tabernacle Concert Choir, soloists are given opportunity to extend the ensemble’s reach. None rise to the occasion with the same effectiveness as Alfredia Burton and Doris Sykes, who ring every bit of their fervor on consecutive songs “More and More Like Jesus” and “Through It All.”
Read more
Maceo Woods – A New Dawning (1973/2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 48:09 minutes | 1,88 GB | Genre: Gospel, R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
Maceo Woods and the Tabernacle Gospel Choir’s “A New Dawning” presents itself with the conditioned poise that only Woods and his choir could have afforded during Gospel Truth’s lifespan. Already regarded as a sought-after organist and showman prior to the label’s founding, Woods and close collaborator George Jordan return for another outing deploying marksman-like consistency.
Doris Sykes begins the record with “He’ll Make Everything Alright,” a traditional praise and worship selection among many album cuts pulled directly from hymnals. Once again, Jordan makes his bid for supremacy in the realm of arrangement, contributing three originals to the album and overseeing the charts of the remaining interpretations of gospel classics.
Read more
Reverend Maceo Woods and the Christian Tabernacle Concert Choir – God Save Your People (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 44:22 minutes | 1,71 GB | Genre: Gospel
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
Settling officially into the Gospel Truth label, Reverend Maceo Woods and his Christian Tabernacle Concert Choir performed their first proprietary release on the label, “God Save Your People,” in 1972. The album’s opening selection picks up where Woods and the group’s previous LP left off, evangelizing to wayward souls with the cadence of “The Magnificient Sanctuary Band (Marching for the Man).” The group’s frequent male soloist Melvin Smothers sings an enthusiastic lead, encouraging all who can hear to drop everything and make a joyful noise about God’s grace. But the gleeful vocal is nearly overshadowed by the military-inspired taps of percussionist Billy Carson.
Read more