Contemporary gospel music is often nothing more than bad pop—or at best mediocre R&B—with lyrics about Jesus. By contrast, the Como Mamas are the real deal, three Mississippi women raising the rafters in songs that expose the roots of soul music. The fervor is hair raising and their voices, those most primal musical instruments, need no accompaniment to convey their utter emotional commitment to their material. The Como Mamas are a window onto rural African-American spiritual singing from an earlier time.
