Daryl Coley - Best Of (CD)

All Music Guide

Coley is a legendary vocalist and a world-class psalmist who has raised the standard of solo male performances in gospel music -- a perfect addition to Verity's New Gospel Legends Series. Many of the tracks here are from Live in Oakland: Home Again, and thus offer the irresistible combination of the raw power of Coley's voice and a more spontaneous sense of arrangement. The first two tracks, "I Will Bless Your Name" and "Don't Give Up on Jesus," epitomize the two basic vibes here, the jumpy and toe-tappin' and the intense guttural ballad anthem. Coley gives powerful, guttural interpretations of both original material and classic hymns, the latter most notably in the a cappella "Medley of Praise" (from Verity Records: Live at the Apollo) and the album-closing Christmas medley. In this context, the holiday songs take on a much richer spiritual meaning -- even if his solo sections slow down the spunky joy of the other part of the songs.

- Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide