Hymns a Swinging

One of the strangest ideas for an LP to come out of the psychedelic era, Hymns A'Swinging features the Mike Sammes Singers finding common ground between an Anglican church service and a Soho jazz cafe. The group spin through 12 hymns, sounding light and fresh as a Sunday morning in spring. Their hymn selection is quite good too; selections like "All Things Bright and Beautiful," "O Worship the King," and "Immortal Invisible God Only Wise" play to the strengths of the mixed chorus, necessitating plenty of deft wordplay and scale running. The backing of the Ted Taylor Organsound suits the Singers well also, with woodwinds providing the freshness and organ providing a little stateliness to the proceedings. Beyond the smiles someone might raise the next time they aired it, however, Hymns A'Swinging is as light and frothy and difficult to find a home as you might expect; pleasant enough to surprise a music-obsessed friend, but not a thoroughly good record. Even in the late '60s, the Sammes singers were firmly planted in the '50s (or possibly early '60s), and the appeal of this record lies in the novelty realm.