Had some high hopes for this LP. Found it sealed somewhere for a dollar. It would appear to be soulful gospel, it's on a local label that released a really great kid's choir LP, and the ubiquitous cover that turns up on tons of sought after private press releases. The only hold up was the year: 1982. Not a lot of funk or soul going on in 1982, but again, for a dollar, wasn't going to pass up a possible gem.
The LP doesn't live up to the high hopes, but it's not a total loss. Laverne Harvey is a strong, soulful singer. Had she been surrounded by the right players, this could have been great. Everything is just done up so average with little excitement, putting this into middle of the road territory. Outside of Harvey's pipes, there isn't much going on. A few organ breaks, but, nothing really exciting. Fortunately, it doesn't get all slick and contemporary like it could have in 1982. To the albums benefit, it stays pretty traditional with live instrumentation.
It was recorded at the Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. I'm not sure of the size of the church, but I'm guessing it's large as the recording also brings this to the middle of the road territory. It goes loud to soft over and over. Even Harvey's vocals get to quiet at times. Again, not a total loss though, it's far better than white gospel and like many regional releases, there are a couple highlights worth exploring.
However, despite the middle of the road gospel. The thing that has to be mentioned is the album was arranged by Charles Love Jr. of Bloodstone Fame. Despite Bloodstone's busy touring and constant travel, Love Jr. seemed to stay grounded to Kansas City. He probably arranged the record primarily because, Laverene Harvey, was his daughter. That said, it's still pretty middle of the road, but man, this should have been amazing.
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