Sneak Peek of Jubilee 2

Compliments of Scott Fowler, here’s a sneak peek of a track from Jubilee 2, set to release in just over a week at the National Quartet Convention (featuring the Booth Brothers, Greater Vision, and Legacy Five).

The song is entitled “Sing Me a Song,” and Tim Parton is featured on the piano solo.

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CD Review: Testimony (Mark Trammell Quartet)

Testimony is, for all intents and purposes, the Mark Trammell Quartet’s debut CD as a quartet. Though it’s technically their second, Vintage Gospel (review here) was originally released as a trio CD and was later reissued with new bass singer Pat Barker’s vocal added to the mix.

When word started getting out that the new Mark Trammell Quartet CD was going to be released by Lari Goss, anticipation started building. Goss had, of course, risen to the top as a producer after several high-profile releases in the 1980s, most notably the Cathedrals’ landmark recording Symphony of Praise. Trammell was a member of the group at the time, but had not worked with Goss during the two decades between his departure from the Cathedrals and the recording of Testimony.

Prior to Testimony’s release, group members were careful to point out that it wasn’t going to have the heavily orchestrated sound of a Greater Vision or Hoppers project—that the group was aiming for a sound more akin to the Cathedrals’ 1984 project The Prestigious Cathedral Quartet.

Stylistically, Testimony hits that mark. There is a rich mixture of classic quartet songs, a few jazzy songs reflecting songwriter / lead singer Dustin Sweatman’s influence, and, naturally, a Gossian big ballad.

Ironically, given that the goal of the group was to produce a project more like Prestigious than Symphony, the one big ballad reminiscent of Symphony’s Goss arrangements is actually a cover from Prestigious! On the original rendition of “It’s Almost Over,” Trammell sang the baritone part as Glen Payne took the solo. Here, he steps out front for the lead, delivering a rendition that not only does the original justice, but one that stands as its equal. The rendition stays fairly close to the original, though a few lines from the Bill Gaither song “Going Home” provide a new unnecessary but unharmful bridge.

The other fully orchestrated track, “Calvary Medley,” is a medley of hymns and Gaither songs that mention the Cross. The medley sounds as though it was arranged for choral, but whatever the original intent, Mark Trammell and (towards the end) new tenor Joel Wood offer spot-on solos.

One sleeper highlight—a song that might not stand out on first listen, but grows after the first twenty spins—is the second to last track, “When Jesus Comes.” While a less charitable reviewer might say that the song can’t make up its mind whether it’s a ballad or a convention song, that assessment would miss the point. This Dianne Wilkinson manages to capture the energy of a convention song and the power of a ballad in the same song, an incredibly rare feat. Dustin Sweatman’s lead vocal may be the best of his career to date.

The group’s last mainline release, Always Have a Song (reviewed here), was generally acclaimed as the group’s strongest effort to date. Does Testimony surpass it?

Let’s compare song selection. Convention songs and big ballads are to a Southern Gospel CD what the tenor and bass are to a Southern Gospel quartet. Not only are they the songs noticed first—they’re also often the longest-lasting favorites. For convention songs, Always Have a Song offered two incredibly strong numbers, “Coming Out and Moving In” and “Called In, Called Up, Called Out.” Testimony offers one similarly strong entry, “Ransomed and Redeemed.” (Another convention song, “I Love to Call,” does not detract—but it’s been done by so many groups over the years that I’ll just leave it out of this discussion).

For big ballads, Always Have a Song included two of the best new ballads of 2008, “Loving the Lamb” and “If Only Just a Few.” Testimony revisits a twenty-six year old Cathedrals classic, “It’s Almost Over.” The song deserved to be brought back and the magnificent rendition did it justice. But since Testimony doesn’t introduce any new anthems, Always Have a Song has a strong edge there, and a slight edge with the convention songs.

While Always Have a Song will still set the mark to beat in song selection, Testimony is the best sounding album the group has produced. Adding one of the finest bass voices in the business and putting Lari Goss at the helm resulted in a project that sounds so consistently good that the project has accumulated a higher play count than any other project reviewed on this site this year (337 song plays, an average of 33.7 plays per song).

Not every project can raise the mark. That’s just a fact of life. But even if it doesn’t raise the mark, neither does Testimony miss the mark. It is a strong effort that should stand the test of time.

Produced by: Lari Goss. • Available from: Artist (though not via website). Review copy provided. • Song list: How Long Has it Been; Ransomed and Redeemed; It’s Almost Over; Testimony; God Knows How Much Mercy I Need; I Want to Know; Calvary Medley; One Drop of Blood; When Jesus Comes; I Believe, I Believe, I Believe. • Average song rating: 3.8 stars. CD rating: 4.5 stars.

David Phelps *not* killed in auto accident

Via Mark Lowry’s tumblr, a rumor was circulating this morning that Gaither Vocal Band tenor David Phelps had been killed in a car accident. The rumor was strong enough that Daywind exec Norman Holland called him with the news. Lowry was able to contact Phelps and verify that he is alive and well.

Question of the Week: Roy Webb

While we typically only do one “question of the week” each week—and we’re still having some great discussion on the first one (join in!)—I couldn’t pass up this opportunity for a second with Roy Webb, whose departure from Gold City was announced yesterday.

Daniel: Yesterday’s news that you were leaving Gold City caught many fans by surprise. What’s up, and what are your plans?

Roy: I have felt for the past couple of months God steering me into a new direction.

Honestly, Gold City is an institution. They have a tremendous reputation and will have NO problem finding someone to play piano for them!!

This was just the right time to go. There are NO hard feelings! I am focusing on my solo dates and I am more excited now than ever before about my opportunities that God is giving me!! I look forward to seeing everyone at a solo concert soon!

Roy Webb leaves Gold City

Breaking news: Gold City has just announced the departure of Roy Webb.

Thoughts to follow this evening or tomorrow.

Hoppers record live video

Via Dean Hopper’s twitter account, The Hoppers recorded a live video over the weekend at First Baptist Dallas (TX). They sang 25 songs during the three-hour taping, suggesting a two-DVD set unless several are cut. Karlye Hopper (Kim and Dean’s older daughter) posted a photo from rehearsal.

Question of the Week: Belinda Smith

About two months ago, I featured the Belinda Smith / Tony Wood song “Not That You Died” in the encore series. One of the co-authors, Belinda Smith, commented on the post, and in a subsequent email exchange, I asked to do a mini-interview with her for the site. While it took a little while to pull off the logistics, here you go!

Daniel: What is your background? How did you get involved in songwriting?

Belinda: I grew up in West Virginia and my grandpa was the pastor of our church.  He put me on stage very early, long before I could play the piano for myself, and let me sing in front of people.  I bet everybody in the congregation hated that, now that I think about it.  Anyway, I was invited to join a local gospel group probably around the 8th grade and I started writing songs by accident.  It just started happening.  Maybe we were getting tired of covering all the Nelons’ and Hoppers’ songs.

I was probably 13 when I took a cassette of two songs to a Cathedrals concert in Huntington, WV, and gave my first pitch to Roger Bennett.  God bless that man for not laughing in my face.  Instead, he wrote me a hand written letter of encouragement on group letterhead which I still have today.  You can imagine how cool it was when Roger and Scott Fowler chose our song, “I Stand Redeemed,” for their first Legacy V single.

Anyway, when I really got serious about songwriting back in college, a friend from my area, John Darin Rowsey, took some of my songs to his publisher in Nashville.  Niles Borop opened the door for me at Centergy Music, I moved to Nashville six months later, and here we are.

Daniel: Do any of your recent songs cut by Southern Gospel groups (say in the last 5 years or so) have an interesting story behind the song?

Belinda: I probably shouldn’t mention it till it’s actually out, but here we go.  A brand new song that I think people will be hearing before too long (if things go according to today’s plan), will be on the new Legacy V record.  The weird thing about this song is that I co-wrote it with Daywind writer Ben Storie and I don’t recall having ever met Ben.  We’ve written this whole song by email, text, and phone calls, and I wouldn’t know Ben if I passed him on the street.  Isn’t that crazy?  Oh, and I’m not going to tell you the name of the new song.  You’ll have to buy the CD to find out.

Daniel: How can people who’ve enjoyed one of your songs get in touch with you?

Belinda: The best way to get in touch with me is email.  Melmak443@yahoo.com.  I will say, just so we can avoid any awkwardness, that I cannot listen to any songs that songwriters might send.  It’s purely legal stuff, but this way we’re all protected.  For all the songwriters who’d like to further their careers, I suggest www.writeaboutjesus.com.  It’s the best workshop of its kind for songwriters.

Daniel: Thank you!