Hopeful Side of Secular Soul From Gospel Legends
- Listen to this song on youtube: Everything Is Going To Be Alright
- Listen to these 45s in a Spotify playlist here with other 45s from the blog (though note, spotify doesn’t have all / many of the songs featured on the site so some playlists may be incomplete or feature slightly different versions than the original 45s I’m referring to here.
- This song is available on Musical Episode #013: Singles Mixer v. 4
Bill Moss & The Celestials are pretty well known in the gospel world, a musical genre, I admit, in which I’m pretty poorly versed. As much, this is not a terribly uncommon record- this pressing having distribution from Westbound with another more widely available (and musically different) version being released on Westbound proper.
Listen to that guitar work, that opening is, forgive the expression, sublime! This record has a really timeless feel, while this could have easily been released in 1964- with political undertones reminiscent of The Impressions- the production values are of such a high order you know it had to come at a later date with more sophisticated recording technology. The mix on this record is out of this world. Listen to how crisp and punchy the drums are right along side the xylophone and the simultaneously clean and chunky guitar. Just like, c’mon! I would have taken this record as a one mic recording with Bill & The Celestials transcendent voices carrying the performance but we, the listener, have been gifted so much more.
Just a quick note, though both were transplants from the South to the American mid-west, today’s Bill Moss is not the Bill Moss of “Sock It To Em’ Soul Brother” who I posted about here a few years ago (how time flies!). Today’s Bill Moss was a transplant from Selma, AL who moved to Detroit and recorded and performed with his wife Essie. Bill Moss and The Celestials performed widely and to spectacular crowds for over 40 years. Sadly, Bill Moss passed away in 2007 though his legacy through music lives on.
I hope you enjoy today’s 45 and are having a great end to your summer wherever you find yourself.
Best,
-George / Snack Attack
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