In their commercial heyday in the early '70s,
the Mike Curb Congregation were known for movie themes like their Top 40 hit "Burning Bridges" (from Kelly's Heroes) and for accompanying the likes of
Sammy Davis Jr. and
Tony Bennett, among others. The crossover to gospel music is logical enough, and the two-CD set
60 Classic Hymns is what it says it is. The instrumental backup consists of synthesizer music provided by programmer/arrangers
John d'Andrea and Keith Heffner, and the congregation sounds like more of a mixed chorus than a choir, say a dozen or so singers, with passages alternating between the male and female voices, plus some combined sections. The vocal interpretations are clear, well-enunciated, and neutral. These are not cheery singers like, for instance, the
Mitch Miller troupe, but rather straightforward ones, like a group on The Lawrence Welk Show. This is traditional Christian religious music for people who like it unadorned and relatively unemotional, and who don't mind those cheesy synthesizers. (The "60th Anniversary" noted in the subtitle appears to refer to the founding of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 1950.) ~ William Ruhlmann