Comments on: A random Cathedrals observation

By: Daniel J. Mount

Daniel J. Mount — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:52:33 +0000

The Tremble lineup did it in ‘76 (Easy on the Ears, Heavy on the Heart), and the Kirk Talley lineup did it a few years later.

By: Amy Rogers

Amy Rogers — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:43:30 +0000

I’d love to hear them sing that song … I assume it’s the same one the Kingsmen did.

I downloaded “More to Go to Heaven For” from iTunes a while back, and I think it featured Tremble. There’s no arguing that he was great.

By: Nathan McClay

Nathan McClay — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:50:10 +0000

I’m sure I’m very late in this discussion, but the Tremble, Webster, Cooley lineup was the first I’d ever heard from the Cathedrals. This is the first group I heard in concert and Then and Now was the first recording that I bought. While I would never want to rate one group above the other (they were all great), I think there was a great blend between the voices of Roy Tremble and Glen Payne. No where is this more clearly heard than on the duet they sang on the song “I Owe It All to Thee.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone ever discuss this unique blend of voices. The blend was the best factor of this particular lineup.

By: David Bruce Murray

David Bruce Murray — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:04:51 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7OhmvAR1yQ&feature=user

By: Quaid

Quaid — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:53:21 +0000

At this moment, I’m hearing the second verse and chorus of “Rise Again”, performed by the Cathedrals on “Live With The Cathedral Quartet” (released 1979). I am blown away by Lorne Matthews’ piano and Roy Tremble’s vocal talents being displayed on this song!
Although I perferr Cooley’s style, and I think Matthews’ accompainment slightly changed the group’s sound and style, nevertheless that group is wonderfll! It makes me want to start “shoutin’ glory” hearing Glenn do “The Prodical Son” at the beginning of that album. He was on fire, and the audience seemed just as excited.
No one could deliver a song like Glen.

By: David Bruce Murray

David Bruce Murray — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:12:51 +0000

My favorite line-up of the Cathedrals is from the early 1980s…Trammell/Talley/Bennett/Payne/Younce. That was their best sounding group, in my opinion. Of course, a degree of my opinion may be due to me being in high school during the 1980s. They say you never grow tired of the music of your youth. Another degree may be due to the fact that advances in technology allowed recordings of the 1980s to take on a more pristine quality.

I did enjoy the final line-up of the group, but that was primarily because of Younce’s skill in addressing the crowd.

By that point in time, their most requested songs monopolized the set list. I’d just as soon have gone to hear George tell more jokes and skipped a few of the songs (“Oh What A Savior” is a good song, but it was already done to death by the Cats before every other quartet of the 1990s did it to death as well.)

As for considering the Cathedrals my favorite group, they were always near the top of my list, but I wouldn’t place them in first.

For most of the 1990s, I preferred the Gaither Vocal Band. That unique combination of Phelps and Penrod is hard for any group from any era to top. Also, I was always in line to hear JD Sumner & The Stamps…not because they could out-sing the Cathedrals from top to bottom (which they couldn’t), but because Sumner was a talented comedian with a freakish skill.

My favorite quartet from the 1980s is Gold City.

I’d have a real difficult time choosing between the Stamps and the Imperials of the 1970s for the top slot…probably lean toward the Imperials, though. I also love some of the old Kingsmen recordings from that decade, though they were anything but smooth.

Of the 1950s and 1960s groups, I’d have a difficult time choosing between quartets like the Cathedrals, Oak Ridge Boys, and Blackwood Brothers for second place, but there’s no question about the first…the Statesmen reigned supreme in those days.

By: Jeremy Bell

Jeremy Bell — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:39:28 +0000

I am posting this not on experience but what I have heard from LPs. (I was born late 79) I have three favorite groups of all times: Statesmen, Cathedrals, and Melody Masters. I would rank them in that order. If you look at the longevity of the career, that changes that lineup. I think the best groups that the Statesmen had were pre-Rosie. The best that I have heard is the “Cat” Freeman lineup. Being a singer, the Statesmen RCA 1605 LP is practically perfect vocally. Notes, diction, vowel sounds, harmony are all top. You would be hard pressed to find something that tops their arrangement of “When My Master Walks With Me.” And that is a tough song to sing all modern harmony.

The Cathedrals were tops vocally and with their arrangements in the Bobby Clark and Danny Koker days. With Brass and With Strings were a couple of the best LPs done. A couple of my favorite songs are Teach Me Lord To Wait and Hide Thou Me. Now if you are talking about longevity that ranks them higher. I think in the Danny Funderburk and Ernie Haase Days, because they were top in the industry, they had more power to pull top songs. They weren’t bad vocally but just not as good as the first quartet.

And allow me to step up on my box for just a moment. The reason I like a lot of the earlier groups so much better is less electronic equipment. We are in a day where a singer or a group that is average can walk into a studio and walk out sounding like a million bucks. This is normally done through orchestration, pitch correction software, or vocal enhancements. Back in the day, they had to be able to do the pitch correction themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology. I am a computer geek myself. But I just hate the fact that it is compensating for a lot of things that aren’t there.

I am stepping down now. And to not run the risk of not sounding 50 years older than what I really am, I like modern groups to. Some of my favorite modern groups are Signature Sound, Tribute Quartet, Triumphant Quartet, Talley Trio, Gaither Vocal Band, Gold City (the last installment) Hope’s Call, Booth Brothers, and Valor

By: John Crenshaw

John Crenshaw — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:29:56 +0000

In reference to comment #10 . . .

The first time I saw the Cathedrals, it was a four man group with George, Glen, George Amon Webster, and Mack Tauton. If I remember correctly, they were the second finest group on the program behind the Imperials. Smooth singing. . .

However, this wasn’t my favorite group of Cathedrals even though it was the first group of them I ever heard. I’d never even heard one of their records at this point in time.

I was probably a bit hard on the original group with my “only more than adequate” comment. However, in that time frame, the overall quality from the top groups at that time was much stronger than in later years. Obviously, the cream rose to the top with the Cathedrals during the 80s.

By: Quaid

Quaid — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:11:13 +0000

I for one like to call all “projects” albums.
As for the Cathedrals, my opinion is that their prime was between (correct me if the dates are wrong) 1974-1979 with Roy Tremble, George Webster, and Haskell Cooley.
Pull out your copies of “The Cathedral Quartet Sings Albert E Brumley Classics” and “Live In Concert”. This lineup had an undeniable energy together that’s hard to find any comparision to, even rivaling and surpassing the Kingsmen in their prime.

By: ABK

ABK — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 08:26:08 +0000

I’ll join in with the “original” fans and say that the early days of the Cathedrals were without doubt their finest, musically. George, Glen, Danny, and Bobby were nothing short of magnificent and rivaled many of the groups of their day. Also, the following group with George, Glen, George Amon, and Mack follows close behind.

Also, I would be of the argument that between pianists Danny Koker, Lorne Matthews, Haskel Cooley, Gerald Wolfe, and Roger Bennett….Bennett was probably the least of the 5, yet he was by far the most popular. While I don’t quite believe that Bennett possessed the seemingly endless talent that Koker, Matthews, Cooley, and Wolfe had at the keys, he still had that magic “less-is-more” touch, and it fit the Cathedral Quartet like a glove.