In 1961 Mahalia toured Europe in the company of her regular pianist Mildred Falls , criss-crossing the continent after arriving in England on 4th April. Her previous appearances in the United Kingdom, almost nine years earlier, had not been well-received, but there was no such muted reception this time – her first concert, at The Royal Albert Hall, brought her a standing ovation. The first nine of this CD were recorded in Stockholm on either 18th or 20th April (though most discographies give the earlier date) and feature a mixture of spirituals, older recordings (“In My Home Over There” was one of her first for Apollo back in 1947), gospel numbers such as Dorothy Love Coates’ “He’s Right On Time”, and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from her first Columbia session. Her voice is beautifully recorded, way out in front – though this has the unfortunate effect of relegating the piano to a very minor role at times – and certainly this is preferable to some of the big arrangements she was saddled with in the studio around this time. Mahalia also has a habit of clapping her hands together when feeling the spirit, which is a little disconcerting at first as the microphone picked it up loud and clear –seemingly at random. The original album finished with the barnstorming seven a half minutes long version of “How I Got Over”, another title originally on Apollo. The final five titles are from a concert at the Olympia in Paris on 25th April but nestle alongside the other titles seamlessly. If you have followed this series this far, you will want this regardless of what i write. As an introduction to “The World’s Greatest Gospel Singer” (as her 1954 debut album for Columbia dubbed her), go for the Apollo recordings if possible, but this is not too far behind.
Par Norman DARWEN – BLUES & RHYTHM
Par Norman DARWEN – BLUES & RHYTHM
