★★★☆☆
The church was full, the congregation eager to hear some testifying. This was, if you like, the religious equivalent of the Frith Street gigs by that fun-loving group the Blues Brothers Band.
Seventy-odd years after the original members of the Blind Boys of Alabama gave their first public performance, their shows have become a ritual. Although collaborations with Peter Gabriel, Jackson Browne and their like have brought Jimmy Carter and his colleagues a rock following, the formula remains pretty much the same.
The only survivor of the original line-up, the octogenarian Carter still summons up enough energy to deliver his share of lead vocals alongside Eric McKinnie, Benjamin Moore, Paul Beasley and a demure backing band. He has a droll line in stage patter too; he may be spreading the Lord’s word on the bandstand, yet he drops enough hints to let you know that the Blind Boys, ageing gentlemen in dark glasses and crisp pink suits, are flesh and blood too. “We have a lot of habits — some good, some bad,” he archly announced towards the beginning of the set.
His dapper stage presence made up for some of the creakiness in the material, while the guitarist Joey Williams supplied an element of soulfulness that was often missing from the vocal harmonies. At its most inspired, gospel offers a chance to eavesdrop on an ecstatic one-way conversation with the Almighty. Much of this show felt pre-packaged, the emotions shrewdly calibrated for supper club consumption.
There were enough flashes of inspiration, though. Spirit in the Sky was an example of a pop hit being transported back to its gospel roots. Sacred and secular were neatly entwined too on Amazing Grace, which was sung to the melody of House of the Rising Sun. At the end, guided by a friendly hand, Carter took a lap of honour through the audience, shaking hands and receiving a kiss or two. He could almost have been a rock star.