Negative Positive
Title: A substandard album.
Review: It pains me to criticise this album, because anyone seeking to keep alive the great tradition of Negro spirituals deserves encouragement. But everything about this album is substandard. Irving is possessed of a pleasant tone, but he swallows all his vowels and rolls his 'r's terribly; his pronunciation of 'Lord' (it crops up a lot, obviously) is little better than a glottal choke. And the packaging is nefarious in the extreme. This music deserves better -- the reissue of Simon Estes's 'Spirituals' would be a good start.
Is the review positive or negative? 