In the '40s, a cappella gospel bands like the Dixie Hummingbirds and the Five Blind Boys were all over the radio. But after Soul Stirrers singer Sam Cooke switched from gospel to soul, the bands faded out, and until the Fairfield Four's reunion in the late '80s, it was almost impossible to hear new installments of this thrilling spiritual music. I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray is the 1997 follow-up to the band's 1992 comeback album, and even nonbelievers will have trouble avoiding a spiritual experience when the singers' voices touch each other the right way. Elvis Costello (who writes fawning liner notes) and Pam Tillis show up for guest vocals, but they can't match the power of the Four's "There Must Be a City." --Steve Knopper