I Just Want to be a Good Man (LP)

Luaka Bop's tribute to gospel performer Pastor Wylie Champion and his wife Mother Champion is a touching experience - both died while their debut was being assembled, and are memorialized here with a striking set of soulful, DIY jams.

Luaka Bop stumbled across Pastor Champion when they were readying "The Time for Peace Is Now: Gospel Music About Us". The label had come across a set of YouTube videos recorded at Oakland's 37th Street Baptist Church put together by Bishop Dr. W.C. McClinton, and Champion was a stand-out performer. His raw blues-inflected songs - recorded mostly with electric guitar and vocals, and sometimes a larger ensemble - is hard not to fall for. Sadly, as this debut album was being sorted, Pastor Champion and his wife both died within months of each other, making the collection even more resonant.

The most memorable moments here are also the most intimate - 'I Know That You've Been Wounded (Church Hurt)' is an early highlight, and features little more than Champion's voice and a delicately strummed guitar. It's simple but effective, and Pastor Champion's assertive, characteristic vocals have enough personality to carry the emotion alone. But the larger group pieces, like 'Talk To God' and the deliriously funky 'Who Do Men Say I Am' are impressively interactive, with additional singers and church call-and-response action.