One Wide River to Cross

One Wide River to Cross, a 1971 Country Gentlemen album, finds the group working in the gospel and sacred tradition that had always been part of their repertoire, alongside the more eclectic folk and contemporary material for which they were better known. "Using My Bible For a Roadmap" exemplifies the kind of vernacular sacred metaphor that American country-gospel has always handled more gracefully than formal hymnody. Charlie Waller's vocalism and the ensemble's easy familiarity with close harmony give the album a cohesion that might have been lost with a less road-tested band. The Gentlemen remained a singular ensemble — too sophisticated for the traditional bluegrass market, too rooted for the folk-pop crossover — but their recordings reward the patient listener.