SouthernGospelBlog.com

Rating: 4.5 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 5 (of 5)

Producer: Chris White.

Song List: Damascus Road; He Will Hide Me; Living in Canaan; God Walks the Dark Hills; I Wish I Could Have Been There; Who am I; I Know It Was the Blood; The Potter Knows the Clay; Come and Get Me; Holy Shore.

Available from: Artist.

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This video is the Perrys’ first since 1999. It is their first DVD featuring the group in its current alto/lead/baritone/bass configuration; in fact, speaking in technical terms (DVD vs. VHS), I believe it is their first DVD. As the cost of recording videos goes up, an increasing number of groups have chosen to release DVDs of footage from their performances at the National Quartet Convention; it features footage from their three 2006 and three 2007 mainstage appearances.

Typically, when a group releases a live-at-NQC video, they use footage from one year’s apparances. The Perrys’ choice to go with highlights from two years—feasible since they had the same lineup at both conventions—let them choose the moments that came out the best technically and musically. Since a typical set allows a group to sing at least four songs, they had roughly 24 songs from which to select the final 10.

Coupling the high-quality recording setup at the National Quartet Convention with the opportunity to be very selective weeding out performances make Live at Freedom Hall a high-quality DVD. The Perrys have been on the main stage for enough years to be comfortable enough to build rapport with their audiences. (When I refer to being comfortable on stage, the 2007 footage does have a slight edge over the 2006 footage, since Nick Trammell was new to the Perrys in 2006 and Joseph Habedank was new to the lead position. They did well in 2006 but were more comfortable and confident in 2007.)

For the most part, the transitions from song to song are smooth enough, especially considering the jump is a year at points. The only slightly awkward transition is at the start of “Who am I.” One of the most memorable moments was when Mark Trammell introduced the song during the Mark Trammell Trio’s set and sang the first verse. Then, without any announcement or further ado, he walked off stage as Joseph Habedank walked on, singing the second verse. After the second verse, the Perrys walked on stage as Libbi Perry Stuffle took the lead on the chorus and finished to an enthusiastic response. They then did an acapella encore and the audience enthusiasm went through the roof. On the video, Mark Trammell’s verse is cut; the song starts with Joseph Habedank’s second verse. (This slightly awkward cut led to a half-star being deducted from the rating.)

Despite the setting being somewhat unique, this video captures the essence of a Perrys concert well.

Rating: 4.5 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.9 stars (of 5)

Song List: God is Good (with Crossing); The Only King (with Rebecca Peck); Yes Oh Yes (with the Crist Family); The Key (with Phil’s sons Brian and Gavin); Grace and Glory (with Mitchel Jon); Before You Knew How to Love Me (with Duane Allen); Champion of Love (with Legacy Five); Jesus Built a Bridge (with Tim Surrett); One Holy Lamb (with Terry Franklin); What You’ve Done For Me (with Elmer Cole); There’s No Such Thing (with Gerald Crabb); Saved to the Uttermost (with Crossing); Hold On (with the Talley Trio); Miracle in Me (with the Greenes); I Am Redeemed (with the Booth Brothers); Wedding Music (with the Kingdom Heirs); Yes I Am (with the Hoppers); When I Get Carried Away (with Dave McVay); Glorious City of God (with Karen Peck & New River); Welcome to Heaven (with Ivan Parker); Amazing Grace (with Phil’s parents).

Available from: Artist, Label.

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To commemorate his 25th year in Southern Gospel music, singer / songwriter Phil Cross assembled an all-star cast of Southern Gospel performers and recorded fresh versions of songs he has written over the years. On most of the tracks, he joins the guest group, trading off vocals and solos with that group’s members.

On a few of the tracks, the group that took the song to the top returns to reprise their performance. The Hoppers return for “Yes I Am;” Legacy Five features Scott Fowler on “Champion of Love.” (Though Gerald Wolfe was the Cathedral featured on the original and perhaps best remembered version of the song, Fowler was the featured vocalist for the final eight or nine years that the Cathedrals staged the song.)

Other tracks are re-imagined in fresh arrangements. “I Am Redeemed,” popularized by Poet Voices, is captured in a somewhat mellower yet brilliant rendition by the Booth Brothers. The Kingdom Heirs turn in a strong performance on “Wedding Music”; bass singer Jeff Chapman sings his verse with more melodic warmth than his frequently subterranean solos evince.

While those two are perhaps the album’s strongest home runs, other higlights are many. Karen Peck & New River turns in a strong rendition of “Glorious City of God.” Duane Allen sings a gentle and hauntingly beautiful rendition of “Before You Knew How to Love Me.” Terry Franklin turns in a rendition of “One Holy Lamb” memorable in large part for being the first I’ve heard where the tenor doesn’t sound like he was at the absolute limits of his range. Ivan Parker and Phil Cross trade dueling power lead lines on “Welcome to Heaven.”

The album has its tracks that don’t quite measure up to the original versions. But then, taking this many hit songs and trying to out-do the original version for each is an impossible task. Averaging my individual song ratings, I found myself with an average slightly under 4. But there are so many good renditions in this mix (four I individually rated 5 stars, ten more I rated four stars) that the album easily deserved to have its rating rounded up to four and a half stars. With this many good songs, this project’s listeners will certainly get their money’s worth.

Rating: 4.5 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 4.4 stars (of 5)

Producers: The Broadcast Group / editing by Jeremy Peace.

Song List: Cloud By Day, Fire By Night; Jesus is Coming Soon; We’ll Sing a Sing; Life Again; It is Well With My Soul; Oh Bless His Name; Hallelujah, I’m Going Home; Somebody Touched the Lord; Echoes From the Burning Bush; Look For Me at Jesus’ Feet; The Rock that Will Never Roll Away; I’m Living in Canaan Now.

***

This live CD/DVD was recorded in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, at Dollywood. It seems to have been recorded last year (or very early this year), as the group has made a couple of changes since this footage was capture. The project features Mike Matt Clark on piano and Brandon Barry on bass; both have since left the group. Barry’s departure was within the past few weeks, but Clark left months ago and was replaced by Joe Cox. Also since the recording of this project, the Old Paths has added a band for select dates.

The project features a mixture of classics and new songs. Despite that the footage seems to be somewhat old, several of the new songs were from their most recent release of new songs (Today, reviewed here). For the first 2/3 of the concert, there is a roughly 50/50 mix of old and new songs; the final third of the concert is a set of mostly classic songs.

The project ends on a high note—literally—with former Kingsmen tenor Jeremy Peace ending the final song, “Living in Canaan Now”, on a clear and sustained double-high C. While I have heard that Peace and one or two other tenors possess the range to hit that note, and I have even seen a couple of clips on YouTube of Peace hitting it, this is the first Southern Gospel recording I have heard where the note is actually recorded on a professionally produced recording.

If this DVD is an accurate representation of a typical Old Paths concert, fans who prefer lots of singing and a minimum of talking should appreciate baritone/manager Douglas Roark’s emcee style. While he introduces the group, gives his testimony, and makes brief introductory comments for a couple of songs, Roark follows the less-is-more approach.

The video seems to have been recorded with only two cameras, a main shot and a zoomed-in shot focusing on the featured individual. However, most Southern Gospel videos, except the highest-budget ones, only have one more, a roving on-stage camera getting audience shots and closeups of the pianist and band. Other than the fact that we don’t get to see the pianist’s able fingers close-up, the absence of a third camera is not all that noticeable.

This live recording shows that Old Paths is good; if the reports I’ve been receiving from their concerts are accurate, especially from their concerts with a live band, the group has only been improving since.

Rating: 4.5 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.8 (of 5)

Producer: Dave Clark and Kim Hopper

Song List: When God Sings; The Promised Land; Gospel To the World; What Will I Wear; Well Done Well Done; The Woman in My Little Girl’s Room; The Devil Lost His Keys; That Sounds Like Heaven to Me; Come Out Praising; I Just Wanted You to Know.

Available from: Label, CBD.

***

This fall, Canaan Records issues their first three original recordings. (Their two previous releases have been reissues of earlier independently released Hoppers projects.) I will be reviewing all three on this blog within the next month or so. While I run the risk of stealing some of my own thunder, this project is the strongest of the three.

Incidentally, it’s also the project in which Canaan had the most direct involvement. Mike Bowling produced and arranged his group’s project; Jason Webb produced and arranged the Mike LeFevre Quartet project. Though Canaan exec Dave Clark is listed as an executive producer on the Mike LeFevre Quartet project, which means he did have some oversight in production decisions, I Just Wanted You To Know was produced by Dave Clark and Kim Hopper–the only one of the three on which Clark had a direct hand in the day-to-day shaping process. Clark and Hopper were joined by an all-star production team; Lari Goss arranged and orchestrated three of the tracks, most notably “Gospel To the World.” Wayne Haun arranged the rest of the strings and brass, and Gordon Mote handled the vocal arrangements.

This level of interest by the studio shows; I Just Wanted You To Know gets all the little details right. Care in production quality is evident from the first bars of music to the final notes.

The project has several strong songs, most notably “Gospel To The World.” This Paula Stefanovich song is a song with the same level of potential as Stefanovich’s previous contributions to the Hoppers, “Jerusalem” and “Yaweh.” Her songs seem tailor-made to the Hopper’s style; she also contributed another of the project’s strongest songs, “That Sounds Like Heaven to Me.”

All too often, a solo project is either a table project of familiar hymns or an attempt to replicate the same sound a group member has with his or her group. Here, Kim Hopper takes the opportunity a solo project affords to explore themes and record songs that are more suited for solo than ensemble performance. The title alone for the song “What Will I Wear” suggests it likely wouldn’t be a song a man picked. (It’s a pity in a way, since it’s a really nice tune.) “The Woman in my Little Girl’s Room,” featuring a guest vocal by Dean Hopper, is another tune that wouldn’t fit on a Hoppers project.

I seriously considered joining David Murray in giving this project 5 stars of 5. The production quality is top notch, deserving a 6 on a 1-5 scale. The only thing that held me back from the full 5-star rating was the song selection; though the project has several strong songs that should do well on radio, it doesn’t quite come to the level of The Ride (a project the Hoppers themselves will have a hard time topping). However, it is a strong project, on par with other recent Hoppers projects like Generations or Power.

Rating: 4.5 (of 5).

Average Song Rating: 3.9 (of 5).

Producer: Roger Talley.

Song List: God is Great, Good, and Merciful; True Love Has No Limits; Paramount Love; The Broken Ones; That’s Enough; We Who Come Behind; I Think Too Much of Her; I Don’t Understand it But it Does; Too Much to Gain To Lose; Preach.

Available From: Crossroads, Amazon, Christianbook.com.

***

The Talley Trio invariably finds several strong songs for each of their projects. But Stages, the Talley Trio’s 2007 release, features one of their strongest collections of songs to date. When I first heard the project a few weeks, I knew it was worth reviewing, even if it was roughly a year old.

The project features several appearances by friends of the Talley Trio over the years. Connie Hopper makes a guest appearance on “Paramount Love.” (Roger and Debra both performed with Connie in the Hoppers before leaving to start the Talleys.) Thanks to the wonders of digital technology, the late Jake Hess’s is paired with Lauren Talley for a duet on “That’s Enough.” Marcy Kelsey Beckett appears on “Too Much to Gain to Lose.” Preacher John Hagee contributes a spoken introduction to the project’s most catchy tune, “Preach.”

Of all the radio-worthy songs on the project, “The Broken Ones” saw the most chart success, making it to the #1 spot in May 2008. The project’s first two songs (”God is Great, Good and Merciful” and “True Love Has No Limits”) and the closing track (”Preach”) are also strong numbers that should have also done well on radio if they had been singled.

Quite simply, even though their in-the-studio updates suggest they’re making a good run at it for their upcoming fall release, this project will be hard to top.