Rev. Frank H. Evans & the Cleftone Gospel Singers – Are You Ready?

Rev. Frank H. Evans & the Cleftone Gospel Singers

Sharp Records (2012)

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Like Atlanta International Records (AIR) and Malaco, the Sharp Records imprint is one of the few labels remaining that specialize in current artists performing traditional gospel. 

Case in point: Are You Saved? by Rev. Frank H. Evans & the Cleftone Gospel Singers.

The six-track EP by this Jacksonville, Florida group is packed with authentic and soulful gospel ensemble singing.  Rev. Evans earned his trad badge by working with Rev. James Cleveland for five years, though the Cleftone Gospel Singers have been around, in one iteration or another, for more than fifty years.  Impassioned shouting leads by Rev. Evans on Are You Saved? are backed by tight harmonies for a “sweet and salty” listening experience.

A highlight of the album is a cover of Dot Coates and the Gospel Harmonettes’ “You Can’t Hurry God.”  The Cleftone Gospel Singers retain much of the rawness of the original.  “The Other Side” is wistful thinking: in a crying shout evocative of Bishop Paul Morton, Evans sings that whatever indignities he has to ensure in this world, things will be better on the other side. 

On the title track, Evans asks the Big Question (“If Jesus comes right now, will you be ready?”) adding that it doesn’t matter if you sing in the choir or how long you’ve been on the usher board: you have to be saved. 

Are You Ready concludes with a drive-tempo version of the spiritual “Swing Down, Chariot.”  Though quintessentially quartet, the arrangement is different from the conventional harmony version popularized in the 1940s and 1950s.

The album packaging is simple and funky, as is generally the case with Sharp product, but the authenticity of the music is what matters most.

Picks: “You Can’t Hurry God.”