For four decades, Shirley Caesar, the “First Lady of Gospel,” has been delivering the good word of God in a fun, rhythmic, and somewhat tolerable form. Her album, I Know the Truth, is the most recent testimony of her faith, as she sings out for the forty-first time.

That’s right, 41 albums since she began her career, and Shirley Caesar is still a crowd pleaser showing no signs of slowing down. The first track, a real rump shaker, is the title track: “I Know the Truth.”

With some inflection in her voice and a rattle of the tambourine, Shirley and the choir get the sermon started with some flash and spunk. You cannot help but do the “church floor stomp” in syncopated fashion as this track is “driven into hit land” by a healthy blend of gospel, rap, and funk. Though in truth, the tie that binds these three disparate musical genres is Shirley’s lyrics.

She raps, not unlike Kris Kross: “Talk about me just as much please, but the more that you do, I’m gonna sell CDs. Everybody’s tripping on this track that is so ground-breaking that we’re taking church back to the streets… but I know the truth. We off to the Grammy’s!”

There is no denying that Shirley will be doing well at the Grammy’s this year. The confidence must stem from track four, her chart-topper: “Everyday Is Like Mother’s Day.” I haven’t heard such a heartfelt tribute to an artist’s mother since Mr. T’s “Treat Your Mother Right.”

There is a solemn call and response between Shirley and the chorus in “Mother’s Day,” which is dedicated to her late mother, Hallie Caesar, and her sister, Anne. It becomes a didactic song that recalls old memories that teach us to appreciate our mothers and love them while we can. At the core, she says that we do not need a special occasion to “show some love.”

Listening to the preachy songs becomes a tedious task, particularly tracks nine through eleven. These three all go by the same name, except one is distinguished as an “intro” and another as a “postlude.” Even with a difference in their durations, due to the repetition, all three songs are equally boring.

Despite this minor shortcoming, Shirley Caesar is still at the top of her game. She has turned the recording studio into a funky pulpit and has received rave reviews in turn.