Marion Williams - My Soul Looks Back: The Genius of Marion Williams 1962-1992 (1994)

My Soul Looks Back: The Genius of Marion Williams 1962-1992 is an outstanding 25-track portrait of the legendary gospel singer in all of her glory. Listening to early sides like "Packin' Up" and "Surely God Is Able," it's easy to understand her influence on the likes of Little Richard and Aretha Franklin. These powerful songs are primal blasts of energy with all the cathartic transcendence more commonly attributed to rock & roll. Closer to R&B than any of her contemporaries, Williams also flirts playfully with the blues on cuts like "Dead Cat on the Line" and "It's Your Time Now But My Time After Awhile," and even dabbles in country on a cover of Roy Acuff's "The Great Speckled Bird." Whatever the setting, however, her voice is a marvel of improvisatory brilliance, her soprano never less than devastating. This is gospel at its finest.