CD Review: Reminiscing (Chuck Wagon Gang)
Rating: 4 (of 5)
Average Song Rating: 4 (of 5)
Producer: Danny Kramer (assistant producer: Harold Timmons).
Song List: Echoes From the Burning Bush; The Church in the Wildwood; Glory To His Name; I’ll Meet You in the Morning; Turn Your Radio On; I’ll Fly Away; Looking For a City; Jesus, Hold My Hand; Oh Lord, Hasten That Day; I’m Rejoicing; Sweet Beulah Land; Heaven’s Jubilee.
Available from: Artist.
* * *
Despite what I mistakenly indicated in a post a couple of weeks ago, Song Garden is still running. After the departure of the Mike LeFevre Quartet and the disbanding of the Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet, the Chuck Wagon Gang is now probably their best-known artist. The group will be working on a major-label release in a few months; this is a table project in the interim,
This is a collection of twelve familiar songs, most if not all previously recorded by earlier generations of the Chuck Wagon Gang. The style is classic Chuck Wagon Gang: A strum of an acoustic guitar, accompanied by an acoustic bass if anything.
Since most of the songs are instantly recognizable to the average Southern Gospel fan, and the rest are recognizable to Chuck Wagon Gang fans, the main point of interest in the project is to hear how today’s Chuck Wagon Gang sounds on these classics. Though today’s lineup isn’t necessarily seeking to capture every arrangement and voice placement precisely like the classic lineup of the group, they come remarkably close.
The Chuck Wagon Gang is one of the rare groups identified more by a distinctive group sound than by any individual vocalists or personalities. Today’s Chuck Wagon Gang captures that distinctive sound well enough to leave no doubt that they are worthy of carrying the name.
