Daptone Goes Gospel

Gabe Roth feels the spirit move.

By Andy Tennille

From the Daptone desk:

Deep in the heart of Panola County, Mississippi lies Como, a small rural town where children and grown folks alike have been living and breathing gospel for as long as they can remember. In the summer of 2006, Daptone Records placed a small ad in local papers and on the radio inviting singers to come down to Mt. Mariah Church to record their songs. The result is COMO NOW, a stirring, 16-track collection of traditional and original a cappella gospel from the voices of Panola County’s own families.

“When Michael Reilly came to me with his first recordings of the Como Mamas, I remember hearing it and being blown away,” said Gabriel Roth, head honcho at Daptone. “Though I’ve been into soul music for a very long time, it has only been in the past few years that I really got deeper into gospel music. I owe this in no small part to Cliff Driver, who invited me to play bass behind Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens. Through Naomi, Sharon Jones, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Wilson Picket, Aretha Franklin, and several other heroes of mine, the line distinguishing soul music from gospel became much less significant. For me, it was less of an academic lineage than a visceral feeling that I started to get from listening to old records by the Soul Stirrers, The Highway QC’s, Dorothy Love Coates, The Mighty Pilgrim Travelers, The Blind Boys, and The Violinaires. They were the same sounds, the same feeling, as listening to James Brown, Tina Turner and Lee Fields when they were really wailing, Otis Redding when he was really pleading and Al Green when he was really moaning. Sounds that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The recordings Michael played me gave me the same feeling.”

COMO NOW is slated for release on August 19, 2008. To learn more about the music recorded in Como and to watch exclusive videos on the recording of the album, go here.

Track List

1.      When The Gates Swing Open – Mary Moore

2.      It’s Alright – The John Edwards Singers

3.      Can See So Much – Brother and Sister Walker

4.      Jesus Builds A Fence Around Me – Della Daniels and Ester Mae Smith

5.      Trouble In My Way – Como Mamas featuring Mary Moore

6.      If It Had Not Been For Jesus – Irene Stevenson

7.      What Would I Do – Brother and Sister Walker

8.      New Burying Ground - The John Edwards Singers

9.      God’s Unchanging Hand - Como Mamas featuring Mary Moore

10.   I Can’t Afford To Let My Savior Down – Rev. Robert Walker

11.   Talk With Jesus – The Jones Sisters

12.  Lil’ Old Church House – Irene Stevenson

13.  Send Me I’ll Go - Como Mamas featuring Mary Moore

14.  Help Me To Carry On – Brother and Sister Walker

15.  Move Upstairs - Della Daniels and Ester Mae Smith

16.  Somebody Here Needs You Lord – Mary Moore