by Bruce Eder
Donegan's most Elvis-like album, singing mostly gospel and devotional music. Recorded in early 1962, this album features Donegan in the best vocal performance of his career, very nearly outdoing Elvis Presley as a singer or gospel songs. Denny Wright is back on guitar, but most of the material here is more opulent in its arrangements, featuring piano and a backing chorus (the Kestrels, including Roger Greenaway, sounding like the Jordanaires. Songs include &Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen,& &Born In Bethlehem,& &Steal Away,& Leadbelly's &Pick A Bale of Cotton,& Sister Rosetta Tharpe's &This Train,& and A. P. Carter's &Keep On the Sunny Side.& &Steal Away& may be the best performance Donegan ever commited to record, and the rest is above average. Note: All of the material on Sing Hallelujah is available on the 8-CD collection More Than &Pye In the Sky.&