Reverend John Wilkins

★★★★ Trouble GONER. CD/DL/LP Second album from the Memphis pastor, recorded at the city’s Royal Studio. His father was Reverend Robert Wilkins, the pre-war blues singer-turned-preacher, who authored songs made famous by Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones. Always destined to be overshadowed by him, Wilkins Jr nevertheless became a force in his own right, recording with OV Wright in the ’60s, the M&N Gospel Singers in the ’70s and making a terrific solo debut,

You Can’t Hurry God, in 2011. Like its predecessor, Trouble pushes the boundaries of gospel, mixing it with hill country blues rhythms to produce a singular organic, style. At its best, as on the title track and covers of Grandma’s Hands and Wade In The Water, it infuses history and legacy with deep spirituality to offer sweet succour to the soul. Lois Wilson