TV Reviews : A Boisterous ‘Going Home to Gospel’

Patti LaBelle--the kind of singer who never hits one note when nine or 10 or 17 would do--hasn’t exactly been the type to hold anything back when singing contemporary pop. So you can guess that when she goes back to her “roots” and tackles black gospel, which is free-form enough to allow room for all the vocal grandstanding a singer can or wants to do, she’ll let loose even more. Depending on how you already feel about her showy style, LaBelle’s unrestrained gospel singing is either wretched or blessed excess.

The flamboyant R&B; star is the polarizing presence at the center of “Going Home to Gospel with Patti LaBelle,” an eminently watchable, occasionally thrilling special airing Sunday at 8 p.m. on KCET Channel 28.

The hour also spotlights plenty of full-time gospel heavyweights, including Edwin Hawkins, Albertina Walker, the Mighty Clouds of Joy and 14-year-old upstart Deleon Richards--who, while not exactly minimalist in their approaches, seem positively tame compared to their secular hostess.

Gospel has rarely been captured this well on video. Shot at Quinn Chapel, a sizable, historically significant church in Chicago, the special sports superb editing and photography, using the space to its fullest. With a choir in the distant balcony, lead singers and more choirs surrounding the altar in front, and a galvanized audience in-between, it’s inherently photogenic, and not at all wasted here.

The high point comes early, as the New Generation Chorale sings “More Abundantly” with an abundance of passion and precision up in that balcony. Fun, offbeat key shifts and complex four-part harmonies from a cast of dozens . . . gospel--nay, music--doesn’t get better than this. After a great mass choir, the succession of wildly talented soloists up front seems almost anticlimactic.

And as for LaBelle and her multiple costume changes? The hour may leave you feeling that, for her, gospel is more a genre suited to the fancy of her uninhibited vocal style than a spiritual, private passion, but be it “Home” or hotel for LaBelle, her chops are certainly up to the task. And thanks to her, the show is a worthy quickie introduction to her legendary but little-seen guest stars.

(The program airs again Wednesday at 8:40 p.m. on Channel 28 and at 11:15 p.m. on KOCE Channel 50.)