The Gospel According to Marcia

Accompanied by 4 travelling singers, Adelaide’s Gospo Collective, and a four-piece band led by musical director and drummer Joe Accaria, it is a mild – possibly too restrained – journey via the gospel music of Marcia Hines’ youth, as nicely a few of her best-known work.

For these whose gospel music publicity is proscribed to the likes of Aretha Franklin’s incendiary “Superb Grace” recordings, this efficiency would have been a extra reflective expertise.

The tone is ready from the start, with Hines singing that almost all well-known hymn – “Superb Grace” – a cappella, her muscular pop vocals pared again.

The texture of this new set from Hines, who’s showcasing the gospel music of her youth for the primary time on the age of 68, is maybe reflective of the girl who impressed her to sing in Boston, earlier than she made her now well-known journey to Australia on the age of 16 after touchdown a job within the hit musical Hair (a season, she famous, that was carried out in a fairly different-looking Her Majesty’s).

Her singing roots may be traced to her godmother, Aunty Flo, who took her into the choir containers of church buildings in her house city, and launched her to lovely voices and the wealthy custom of American gospel music. Flo, Hines says, was a affected person lady – prepared to interrupt the principles about having kids sit with the choir, but additionally all the time prepared to hear and reply patiently a younger Marcia’s countless questions in regards to the world round her.

Straight out of this world comes the hymn “How Nice Thou Artwork”, given an virtually ’80s tinged association, and “What a Buddy We Have in Jesus”, with a delicate nation strut. The backing singers are, at this level, very distinctly within the background with what are tasteful and, once more, restrained preparations.

Marcia Hines performs The Gospel In accordance with Marcia. Picture: Claudio Raschella

The gospel theme begins to stretch with Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross”, and one among Hines’ early hits, “I Don’t Know The best way to Love Him”, with choral backing, in fact, from the musical Jesus Christ Famous person.

Till now, it’s all been fairly a well mannered model of this custom, marked in common tradition – however maybe not Hines’ real-life expertise in Boston, I don’t wish to presume – by the swaying, ecstatic, call-and-response between preacher and congregation.

Within the preacher function, Hines is her mild, peaceable self – usually turning to the choir (with whom she rehearsed for the primary time on the day of the live performance after what seemed like a nightmarish flight from Sydney. “Don’t fly!” she exhorted).

A toe-tapping model of Paul Simon’s “Loves Me Like a Rock” begins to take issues to a brand new stage of vitality and pleasure. I’m undecided if amplification changes have been made, however from my seat on the sting of the costume circle it actually sounded that means, with Gospo’s vocals lastly coming to the fore.

The band, I ought to be aware at this stage, is tight, with pianist Stu Hunter significantly notable together with his bluesy piano solos and deft organ work.

For me, the highlights have been a completely joyful model of “Reward You” and a recent gospel hit, “Take Me to the King”, however the many Hines followers have been clearly loving a few of her early radio hits, “You” and “Hearth and Rain”, given a delicate gospel wash.

The finale, George Harrison’s “My Candy Lord”, was a little bit of a downer, tempo-wise and stylistically, for me, nevertheless it clearly hit the spot with the standing viewers, fortunately singing alongside.

Did I desire a bit extra ecstatic fervour on this gospel set? Sure. However this was Marcia’s gospel, not mine, and she or he is nothing however genuine.

The Gospel In accordance with Marcia was a one-off live performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre on June 17 as a part of the 2022 Adelaide Cabaret Pageant, which continues till June 25.

See all InReview’s protection of the 2022 Cabaret Pageant right here.