Heavenly
Heavenlyis an interesting concept gone wrong. Ladysmith Black Mambazo are South Africa's best-known gospel group, the singers who brought thembubestyle of the country to the world via Paul Simon'sGraceland. So it was not a bizarre idea to make a recording of well-known "gospel" songs with other American singers and musicians. It's all in the presentation, and the presentation here is pretty out there. Lou Rawls walks through Sam Cook's "Chain Gang." Dolly Parton leads them in a high-pitched, maudlin version of Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door." A cadre of tunes from the pop gospel pantheon like "Oh Happy Day" and "People Get Ready" get similar treatments. The opening track shows what great singers they are, but the rest of the album hardly showcases this talent. Get one of their "Best of" albums instead.--Louis Gibson