Souls' Chapel

1	Somebody Saved Me 3:48
2	Lord, Give Me Just a Little More Time 3:36
3	Way Down 3:29
4	Come into the House of the Lord / Kenny Vaughan 4:08
5	The Gospel Story of Noah's Ark 6:30
6	I Can't Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand) 3:54
7	It's Time to Go Home 3:26
8	The Unseen Hand 5:10
9	There's a Rainbow (At the End of Every Storm) 3:00
10	Slow Train 3:17
11	Move Along Train / Mavis Staples 3:41
12	Souls' Chapel 3:42

Barnes & Noble

Inspired by the spirit, sound, and style of the great Staple Singers, hillbilly rocker Marty Stuart takes the listener on a moving journey through dark valleys and to the top of the mountain on Soul's Chapel. Musically, the album is propelled by slinky juke-joint rhythms, insinuating shuffles, and soaring Delta gospel soul. The songs are a scintillating mix of originals and covers from the likes of gospel giant Alfred Brumley and Memphis soul masters Steve Cropper, William Bell, and, of course, "Pops" Staples. Stuart underscores the haunting mood of "Somebody Saved Me" with resonant, layered harmonies and minimalist guitar punctuations (on Pops's own guitar, no less) and demonstrates his band's versatility (or superlativity) with a sinewy version of "Move Along Train" (from the Staples' indispensable Freedom Highway), layering his ominously twanging guitar over a grinding rhythm section and some soul-shaking vocal interplay between Superlatives Harry Stinson and Brian Glenn; this sets up a star turn for guest Mavis Staples, who might be the voice of God, given the authority in her gutty, sensuous singing on this track. Whether it's the sturm-und-twang of the Stuart-penned call-and-response house wrecker "It's Time to Go Home," the tightly harmonized, soulful blend of voices on the solemn, vintage testimonial "The Unseen Hand," or the bluesy, small-combo stylings (and Stinson's pleading vocal) guiding "There's a Rainbow (At the End of Every Storm)," Soul's Chapel touches all the gospel bases on its way home -- in the sky, Lord, in the sky. David McGee

All Music Guide

On the surface, Marty Stuart's Soul's Chapel is a gospel album -- but only on the surface. Certainly all of the tracks here, whether covers or originals -- and the album is divided neatly between the two -- the topical considerations come from the Southern church. Stuart has always been adventurous in reinterpreting the music he holds most dear, from bluegrass to honky tonk to rockabilly. His take on gospel is no less ambitious. Here, blues, soul, R&B, hard country, and early country-rockabilly -- along with gorgeous four-part harmony -- wend and wind around one another to create a tapestry so rich, so utterly full of honest emotion and joy, that it transcends the intended genre; not by subverting or bastardizing it, but by showing how gospel music is inherent in all of the other traditions that Stuart employs. The album opens with Pops Staples' "Somebody Saved Me." The song is reverent, and contains gorgeous backing vocals provided by the Fabulous Superlatives (Harry Stinson, Brian Glenn, and Kenny Vaughn), while Stuart apes that snaky, spooky guitar Pops played. But this is no mere cover job -- Stuart and friends bring out some of the bluesy wildness in the song without revving it up. And speaking of blues, Stuart's cover of Albert Brumley's "Lord, Give Me Just a Little More Time" contains the trademark guitar riff from "Baby Please Don't Go." Another high point is "Come into the House of the Lord," written by Stuart and Vaughn, which is just a stomping gospel rocker with swirling B3, twin guitars, and a snapping trap kit. "It's Time to Go Home" is a rollicking rockabilly stomper that is equal parts Tommy Dorsey's gospel-vocal and Johnny Burnette's salacious wildness! "Move Along Train," written by Pops, includes a smoking guest appearance by Mavis Staples. and the read of Steve Cropper and William Bell's "Slow Train" is a soul masterpiece with a killer vocal by Stinson, supported by Barry Beckett's Hammond B3. Stuart stands up to the classic material; he writes in the idiom, but with his own strengths at the fore -- especially notable is "There's a Rainbow (At the End of Every Storm)." This is one of, if not the, strongest outing of Stuart's career, and it not only pays homage to gospel music's rich and varied tradition, but adds to it. Thom Jurek

Entertainment Weekly

Stuart's first gospel record is perfect for all your Sunday-morning porch-rocking needs. (A-) Whitney Pastorek