SouthernGospelBlog.com

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.8 stars (of 5)

Members: Mike Franklin (tenor), Ryan Seaton (lead), Jeremy Raines (baritone), Gerald Williams (bass).

Song List: Forty Days and Forty Nights; Oh But It’s Wonderful Being a Child of the King; He Bought My Soul at Calvary; My Journey to the Sky; A Wonderful Love; Lead Me in the Everlasting Way; I Call it Home; I’ve Got that Feeling; Celebration; Still One Nation Under God.

Available From: Artist.

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Ernie Haase & Signature Sound has maintained the same vocal lineup for six years. The last change to their lineup was in 2003,when Ryan Seaton left the Melody Boys to join them. Seaton was with the Melody Boys Quartet for less than a year before getting the opportunity to sing with his hero, Ernie Haase, but during that time he did appear on one Melody Boys Quartet CD, A Wonderful Love.

A Wonderful Love features the classic arrangements and tight harmonies that distinguish the Melody Boys sound. Ryan Seaton fit the sound well, both in the quartet harmony parts of the project and on his solos, “Lead Me in the Everlasting Way” and “I Just Call it Home.” The latter song is the same one the Prophets cut on their re-debut project last year; even though the song’s writer, Paul Jackson, sang it on the Prophets project, Seaton’s rendition here seems to fit the song better. The simple piano-led arrangement fits the lyric well.

Of course, Seaton’s features weren’t the only highlights of the project. (Before any MBQs fans complain about the first two paragraphs being devoted to a lead singer who stayed less than a year, let me just mention that knowing that one of Southern Gospel’s most popular lead singers  had been with the MBQ was one of the first things that interested me in the group.)

Group manager and bass singer Gerald Williams delivers a particularly pleasant rendition of “He Bought My Soul at Calvary.” Other project highlights include “Celebration” and an original Dianne Wilkinson song, “Oh But It’s Wonderful, Being a Child of the King.”

Fans of classic Southern Gospel—and fans of Ryan Seaton’s later work—will find much to like in this pleasant collection of new and old songs with the Melody Boys’ classic tight harmony male quartet sound.

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Song List: Pilgrim Song; O Happy Day; This Little Light of Mine; Be Still and Know; Sweeter as the Days Go By; Gotta Go Back; If it Wasn’t For Your Love; Gonna Walk; A Bridge You Cannot Burn; Heaven’s Jubilee.

Available From: Label.

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Poet Voices recorded Pilgrim Song in 1999, at the peak of their popularity, three years before their retirement. This project’s lineup was tenor Dale Brock, lead Phil Cross, baritone Donny Henderson, and bass Tim Duncan. Though the CD is out of print, it was recently digitally re-issued by Crossroads.

Since there is no group photo on the cover, and there was a change at the bass spot (David Jordan leaving and Tim Duncan coming on board) , there was some question over Jordan or Duncan was the bass singer on this project. It’s unmistakably Duncan’s voice on “Sweeter as the Days go By,” but a friend more familiar with David Jordan’s voice thought it sounded like him on “Oh Happy Day.” I emailed Phil Cross asking which bass sang on this project, and he replied that it was Tim Duncan.

The project is a mixture of new and classic songs. Of the new songs, probably the best is the title track, “Pilgrim Songs,” with “Be Still and Know” (not the hymn) not too far behind. Another memorable track, though not entirely for musical reasons, is “A Bridge You Cannot Burn.” It starts with a clip from “Jesus Built a Bridge,” the song that put Poet Voices on the map in Southern Gospel. The lyrics focus on the doctrine of eternal security, a controversial enough doctrine that most Southern Gospel songs avoid anything more than a passing reference.

The most memorable rendition of a classic song on the project is the acapella rendition of “Oh Happy Day.” The arrangement, turning the song into a quartet song, is one I have only heard recorded by Poet Voices and, several decades earlier, by the Florida Boys. I am not certain whether the Florida Boys came up with the arrangement or whether it predates them. (Do any of you know?)

“Sweeter as the Days Go By,” featuring Tim Duncan, is also particularly nicely done.

This project stands up well to the test of time and is still quite enjoyable today.

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Song List: You Were Faithful Yesterday; I Want to Know that You Know; What a Beautiful Day; Little is Much; I’m Too Near Home; A Mighty Fortress is Our God; It Pays to Pray; You’re Not Forsaken; Better Hurry Up.

Available From: Artist.

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Several months ago, Greater Vision recorded a live video at First Baptist Orlando; the DVD came out several weeks ago.

The video is fairly short, just nine songs long. It contains the highlights from their live programs over the last year, particularly Rodney Griffin’s introduction of “It Pays to Pray” and Gerald Wolfe’s introduction of Jacob Kitson (”Little is Much”) and Wolfe’s introduction of how a song so Lutheran that Luther himself wrote it won over a diffident Lutheran audience (”A Mighty Fortress”).

The program features four songs from Memories Made New (”What a Beautiful Day,” “Little is Much,” “Too Near Home,” and “Better Hurry Up”) and four songs from their last major label project, Not Alone (”You Were Faithful Yesterday,” “I Want to Know that You Know,” “It Pays to Pray,” and “You’re Not Forsaken”).

The cinematography is decent, with no major faux pas. There was no roving camera, so there are few audience shots. (Most of the times the audience is visible, it’s only the back of their heads, which is unfortunate since I have several good-looking friends who reserved front row seats.)

This DVD gives a taste of what a live Greater Vision concert is like—not really enough to capture a full concert experience, but it’s enough to make the viewer want to catch a full concert.

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.6 stars (of 5)

Song List: There is a Kingdom Coming; Go Tell the World; Die Another Day; You Must Have Met Him; Preaching to the Choir; Worth It; Nothing Takes You By Surprise; Not One; I Am Redeemed; A New Thing; When the Mountains Will Not Move.

Available From: Artist.

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Worth It is Brian Free & Assurance’s second project with the lineup of Brian Free, Bill Shivers, Derrick Selph, and Jeremy Lile. It is Lile’s second project with the group; since the group’s previous bass, Keith Plott, left during the recording process of Real Faith, this is the first project where the group had the chance to arrange songs for his voice.

Speaking of arranging songs for Jeremy Lile’s voice, Lile is featured on the title track, “Worth It.” Most fans of traditional and middle-of-the-road Southern Gospel styles will view this as the project’s standout track. Lile has the solos on the verses, and Brian Free carries the melody on the choruses. The Dills also cut this on their most recent release, Story of a Lifetime (reviewed here). Though I believe the Dills’ project came out earlier in the year, the two cuts were more or less concurrently released, in a situation something like when Gold City, Legacy Five, and the Talley Trio all cut “Truth is Marching On” several years ago.

Fans of traditional and middle-of-the-road Southern Gospel will also enjoy the project’s opening acapella track, the stunningly beautiful “There is a Kingdom Coming,” and “I Am Redeemed,” a big ballad featuring Brian Free.

“Die Another Day” was a great pick for the project’s first single. The song features Brian Free and has a memorable lyric and a great hook.

The project continues in the vein of It’s So God and Real Faith, two projects that have helped redefine the group’s sound. But the project has something for everyone, not just fans of the progressive part of the genre. And yet the project does this while maintaining consistency between tracks—no small accomplishment.

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.8 stars (of 5)

Song List: Ten Thousand Years; We’ll Soon Be Done with Troubles and Trials; Sail On; Great Gettin’ Up Morning; It’ll Be Joy; When Jesus Comes in the Clouds; This World is Not My Home; Love Will Roll the Clouds Away; Saved and You Know It; Amen.

Available From: Label.

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Poet Voices toured as a full-time quartet from 1991 through 2002. Several years after the group retired, Phil Cross brought the name back for a part-time trio.

Love’s Sweet Story, originally released in 1996 and recently digitally reissued by Crossroads, gives a glimpse of the group at the beginning of their most popular era. This lineup had what is the best lineup lead singer Phil Cross ever assembled (with the possible exception of the final lineup): Tenor Tony Jarman, baritone Howard Stewart, bass Mike Allen, and pianist Channing Eleton. Jarman, of course, would go on to be tenor for Legacy Five, Mike Allen would become a Homecoming Friends favorite, and Channing Eleton would be part of Gold City during their Parrack/Wilburn/Trammell/Riley years.

Unlike most Poet Voices projects, which showcase songs penned by Phil Cross, this project focuses on Southern Gospel classics. The project starts with “Ten Thousand Years,” penned by Phil Cross’s mentor Elmer Cole. The group pulls out all the stops and does an excellent rendition of the song. Other highlights include “It’ll Be Joy” and “We’ll Soon Be Done with Troubles and Trials,” two uptempo convention classics featuring Mike Allen.

Most Southern Gospel fans have heard these voices in later groups. But this project’s appeal goes beyond the novelty of hearing otherwise familiar voices in this combination—this project is, quite simply, great quartet singing.

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.92 stars (of 5)

Song List: Don’t You Want to Go to Heaven?; The Lowest Valley; Remind Me Dear Lord; Cast the First Stone; Master’s Bouquet; Carry Me; Father’s Blacksmith; Hold Fast to the Right; God Sent an Angel; I’m Gonna Move; Look What God Gave Me; How Great Thou Art.

Available From: Label.

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Over the last year or so, Crossroads has reissued digital versions of a large chunk of the Isaacs’ back catalog. One of the best ways to become familiar with a group’s back catalog is to listen to a live concert, to find out how they staged some of their best songs from that era. So Mountain Praise is an excellent way to introduce yourself to the Isaacs’ sound nearly a decade and a half ago.

In 1995, the group’s lineup consisted of siblings Sonya, Becky, and Ben Isaacs, their parents Joe and Lily, and a live band. Joe emceed the programs.

The group’s harmonies were just as tight then as they are now; the project starts off with a stellar acapella track, “Don’t You Wanna Go to Heaven.” Other highlights from the project include a guest appearance by Porter Waggoner on “Master’s Bouquet,” and renditions of “Carry Me” and “How Great Thou Art.”

Fans of the Isaacs’ sound will find that it has changed little over the last fifteen years. If you like them now, you will love this live recording. And if you aren’t familiar with their sound now, this project is as good as any other to introduce yourself to one of Southern Gospel’s most popular family groups.

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Song List: I Shall Be at Home With Jesus; A Borrowed Tomb; His Blood is On My Soul; God Knows My Heart; Amazing Grace Recitation; Oh What a Friend; I Prayed for You; Do You Know How it Feels; Someday; I Can Almost Hear the Trumpet.

Available from: Crossroads.

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The McKameys released With Feeling Live in 1992; after several years of being out of print, Crossroads recently re-issued it digitally.

After the opening song, “I Shall Be at Home with Jesus,” Peg McKamey Bean began talking about her mother’s passing and introduced the song “A Borrowed Tomb.” Interestingly, while many groups start slower and build to an emotional peak later in the night, she was in high gear by the end of the second song, particularly on the encore.

After the song, Reuben Bean intoduced and sang “His Blood is On My Soul.” By changing topics and emcees, the McKameys were able to move to a more medium gear for the next several songs.

After a medium-tempo convention song, “Oh What a Friend,” the group shifted back into high gear with “I Prayed For You.” They sustained this through the final three songs, “Do You Know How it Feels,” “Someday,” and “I Can Almost Hear the Trumpet.”

Unlike other groups whose classic projects I’ve reviewed recently, the McKameys have kept the same sound (largely thanks to keeping the same vocalists) since this project was released. If you like today’s McKameys, this project is a must-have addition to your collection.

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.69 stars (of 5)

Song List: King Jesus; He Never Said a Word; I Don’t Know Why Jesus Loved Me; These Hands of Mine; After Calvary; Through it All; The Flowers Kissed the Shoes (Jesus Wore); He Did it All For Me; I Know; Jesus is Coming Soon; Daddy Sang Bass; Put Your Hand in the Hand; After All.

Available from: Amazon, CBD.

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The Oak Ridge Boys got their start as the Oak Ridge Quartet in 1943 and sang Southern Gospel for the next thirty years or so, before crossing over to country in the 70s. In recent years, they have recorded several Gospel albums and made appearances on Gaither Homecoming videos.

This compilation focuses on one specific era in the group’s history, the period from the late 60s through the mid 70s, when they were one of the top groups in Southern Gospel. (It doesn’t include any songs from earlier in the group or from their recent Gospel recordings).

The audio quality is pretty good. A couple of the songs sound like they may have been pulled from LPs as opposed to original masters, but there are few if any pops or other record artifacts.

The liner notes include photos from older eras of the group and comments from New Haven Records president Ken Harding and Oak Ridge Boys lead singer Duane Allen. Allen’s comments are the sort of thing that used to be featured prominently on an album back cover—Allen explains how Southern Gospel harmonies laid the foundation for their country success, and that they never lost their love for Gospel music.

Rating: 4 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 4 (of 5)

Producer: Matt Rankin, Arthur Rice, Soul’d Out Quartet.

Song List: He’s Coming Back Soon; I Have a Story to Tell; Ain’t Nobody; Please Remember Me; There’s a Bigger Blessing; Heaven Medley; There Is A Fountain; We Shall Rise; A Wonderful Savior; Joseph Got His Tomb Back; Ain’t Nobody (reprise).

Available from: Artist.

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Soul’d Out Quartet is a fairly new quartet led by Matt Rankin. He manages the group, sings lead, and writes most of the songs they sing. In my July 2008 interview with Tanner Stahl, we discussed the background and mission of Soul’d Out in depth. Rather than covering the same ground here, I’ll just post a link to the interview.

The project includes a good mix of uptempo quartet songs (”He’s Coming Back Soon,” “Ain’t Nobody,” “We Shall Rise”), ballads (”Please Remember Me,” “There is a Fountain”), and hymns (”Heaven Medley” and “He Hideth My Soul”).

Most of the tracks are new to the project; three are from 2005 Soul’d Out tracks re-recorded with the current lineup. These three are “Please Remember Me,” “We Shall Rise,” and “He Hideth My Soul.” “He Hideth My Soul” is incorrectly titled “A Wonderful Savior” on the album, but it is the classic hymn; “We Shall Rise,” on the other hand, is a new song by Matt Rankin.

The lineup is solid; lead singer Matt Rankin and baritone Tanner Stahl are both good vocalists. Dusty Barrett, formerly of Crystal River, is new to the group. This is his first project, and he provides a solid tenor part. Matt Fouch is equally solid on the bass part.

Soul’d Out tries to appeal to a youth audience with their appearance. But tracks aren’t particularly edgy; the hand of co-producer Arthur Rice probably played a role in tracks that sound not unlike what might be found on a Kingdom Heirs project.

Lead singer Matt Rankin wrote all the songs on the project except for the two hymns tracks and one song which he co-wrote with Tanner Stahl. Whether or not you like the project will depend largely on how well you like his songs, and fans of uptempo quartet singing will find much to like.

Rating: 4 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.6 (of 5)

Producer: Nick Bruno.

Song List: All Aboard We’re Glory Bound; Little By Little; Oh Broken Heart; The Stone Was Rolled Away; The Lamb He Died to Save; Come To the Water; Sinners Plea; Lonesome Road; Glory Bound; Give Me Jesus; I’ve Made it Home; Heaven, the Place of My Dreams.

Available from: Artist.

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The Southern Gospel genre encompasses many styles—to name a few, country, bluegrass, Appalachian, and ’80s Inspirational. One part of the genre far more successful than many elsewhere in the genre is the classic Southern Gospel circuit, groups that sing Southern Gospel the way it was sung 40 or 50 years ago. Some of the best groups on the classic Southern Gospel circuit are the Blackwood Brothers, Chuck Wagon Gang, Dixie Echoes, Dixie Echoes, and the Melody Boys Quartet.

Yes, the Dixie Melody Boys and the Melody Boys are two separate groups. Ed O’Neal runs the Dixie Melody Boys and has for decades; SGMA Hall of Famer Gerald Williams heads this group. He joined the group in 1949 and sang with them for several years before singing with other groups in the 1960s and 70s. He reorganized the Melody Boys in the 1980s. By around 2000, the group had built quite a following. In recent years, it has suffered from fairly quick turnover. Probably the most recognizable name to go through the group in the past few years was Ryan Seaton, who sang with the group for a little under a year before getting the call to join Signature Sound.

The current lineup is Gerald Williams (bass), Tim Williams (tenor), Steven Hickinbotham (lead), and Caleb Matheny (baritone/pianist). Hickinbotham and Tim Williams both joined this year; Tim Williams is no apparent relation. He joined the group after singing with and being a co-owner of the west coast-based Golden State Quartet for several years. Caleb Matheny, though the youngest member, is also the second most senior in the current lineup; he has been with the group since 2006.

Several of the tracks are classic or classic-sounding songs recorded in the four-guys-and-a-piano style that the group has been best known for. Gerald Williams turns in an enjoyable rendition of “Lonesome Road,” resisting the temptation to show off his lowest notes. Tim Williams is featured on “Oh Broken Heart,” the Melody Boys classic “Sinner’s Plea,” and the Neil Enloe-penned “Give Me Jesus.” Steven Hickinbotham takes the lead on the convention song “I’ve Made It Home.” The new Dianne Wilkinson song “Heaven, the Place of My Dreams” is a perfect fit for the Melody Boys’ sound, and for Gerald Williams’ voice on the solo.

Several other tracks are recorded with more orchestration. Perhaps the standout among these is “The Lamb He Died to Save.” The song was penned by Joseph Smith and was recorded by both the Booth Brothers (sound clip here) and the Mark Trammell Trio during Smith’s years with those groups. Baritone Caleb Matheny turns in an excellent rendition of the song. Juxtaposing ballads with songs like “Heaven, the Place of My Dreams” is something found often on recordings by other groups but was more outside the box for this group. However, they pulled off the ballad sound well enough that it would not be surprising to see more of this in the future.

The project is enjoyable, and this lineup shows great promise if it can stay together long enough to realize its potential.