Uncloudy Day is a gorgeous, haunting compilation of songs recorded by the Staple Singers for the VeeJay label at the height of their classic gospel period, between 1955 and 1960. The sound quality isn't the best but the songs more than make up for that, and the alternate takes and live material are a nice bonus for the completist. "Too Close," recorded in a church in Memphis, Tennessee, is a lively demonstration of how audiences helped push the Staples towards a devotional fervor. Throughout, Mavis's deep, beautiful bass thrillingly contrasts with Pops's clear, throaty tenor and etheral, reverberating guitar (it hangs in the air like a ghost)--not to mention the punctuational, choir-style backing of Cleotha, Pervis, and Yvonne. These are the definitive recordings of such classics as the stately "Uncloudy Day," the impossibly moving "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," and the slow-building "I Had a Dream," as well as lesser-known tracks like the Delta-inspired "I Know I Got Religion." --Mike McGonigal