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John Charles Thomas - Still A Winner

James B. Saunders | Astoria, NY USA | 04/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's good to hear John Charles Thomas again and this is a "must have" CD for anyone who loves his voice, or anyone who wants to hear how great a spiritual can be sung. These recording are taken from a series of more than 200 hymns JCT recorded in 1949. They are, by all accounts, the last recordings he ever made. (The exception being the delightful "Golpher's Lament" which he recorded privately in the early 1950's, and which is a very rare recording today.) Some of these recordings were released in the 1960's on Word Records "This I Leave You" and "Favorite Hymns", both now out-of-print. None of the songs on those albums are duplicated here. In this recording JCT is joined by organist Roy Urseth, and the Kingsmen Quartet who performed frequently with Thomas. Thomas was 58 years old when he made these recordings (he died in December 1960) and the clarity of the CD sometimes shows the age in his voice on some of the songs, but this might also be attributed to the age of the master tape. On other selections he drowns out the quartet and the organ -- the only singer I've ever heard do this. The printed notes on the CD are not very informative or accurate. They claim that John Charles Thomas introduced "Onward Christian Soldiers". Not so. That song was written by Sir Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) before Thomas was born. If you like to hear a glorious, robust baritone voice unlike no other, this is a CD for you. We look forward to the release of more of these recordings, and maybe a reissue of the old Word Record albums."