SouthernGospelBlog.com

Rating: **** (Very Good)

Song list: The Blood of Jesus; We Still Believe; When God Whispers; Trumpet Medley; He Already Sees; Not the Same; I Can Trust Jesus; What Noah Knew; It is Well with My Soul; More than Just a Swear Word; In Awe; God Can Do Anything; My Favorite Things; Blessed Be the Lamb.

Traditional / Progressive Scale:

The Collingsworths are one of the most versatile Southern Gospel groups on the road today, and their various talents are reflected in this diverse project. Three of the fourteen songs on the project are recorded by the full family, with six more by a mixed trio consisting of Phil and Kim Collingsworth and their oldest daughter, Brooklyn. A ladies trio (Kim with daughters Brooklyn and Courtney) does one song, a sibling trio (Brooklyn, Courtney, and Phil Jr.) does another. Three solos–a vocal solo by Olivia, a piano solo by Kim, and a trumpet solo by Phil Sr.–round out the project.

One of the project’s highlights is the final song, “Blessed Be the Lamb.” The anthem struck me as a song that a better-known group would have jumped at the chance to record, but I’m glad that they didn’t. It fit this group perfectly; their radio promoter would be wise to eventually send it to radio.

Kim Collingsworth was named one of the top five favorites in this year’s Singing News Fan Awards, and she does not disappoint with her magnificent rendition of “It is Well With My Soul.” Her rendition of “How Great Thou Art” has defined her piano playing for the last several years, and raised the bar to the point that finding something of equal dramatic force might have been a challenge for a pianist of lesser stature. But this song and its arrangement should help cement Kim’s position in the top rank of Southern Gospel pianists.The Collingsworth Family has recorded one song each of their last several projects featuring a ladies’ trio of Kim, Courtney, and Brooklyn. “God is in the Shadows,” on God is Faithful, persuaded me that this particular lineup has possibly the most perfect blend of any of the lineups on the CD, and whetted my appetite for more.

The ladies’ trio did return for one song on this project, “When God Whispers,” but I personally would have liked to see a second song with the lineup. One good candidate would have been “In Awe,” recycled from Mercy’s Mark’s self-titled debut project. It is done by the trio and is a highlight of the CD, but would have been even better if done by the ladies’ trio.

As always, Olivia’s solo feature is one of the highlights of the CD. Her adaptation of “My Favorite Things” should have audiences rolling in laughter before the song is over. Of course, she will outgrow the age in which she can get away with singing cute songs like this one in a few years, but this stage in the family’s music is worth enjoying while it lasts.

The CD, like their 2005 release God is Faithful, has a soft (cardboard) cover. This time, instead of attaching the booklet to the cover itself, an envelope was provided for it–an improvement over the past.

Something about this family’s music attracts fans from many different genres. I personally know Collingsworth Family fans who primarily listen to bluegrass, and other fans who primarily listen to praise and worship. Without compromising the Southern style or the Gospel message, this family’s professionalism makes them one of the premiere groups that we can point out to show outsiders what Southern Gospel should be.

I admit to being fascinated by the inner workings behind-the-scenes details of the recording process. So with that in mind, this from-the-studio post by Paul Jackson of the Prophets Quartet goes down as one of the most interesting posts I’ve seen in a while.

My schedule finally calmed down enough for me to put some time into the blog. Several loose ends from previous threads were waiting to be tied, and one of these is our uncompleted discussion about my proposed system of including in album reviews a discussion of how traditional or progressive it is. I simplified the system, taking it from ten down to five categories, with this result:

So there you have it. It’s a very simple system; you might not always agree with it, but you should always be able to understand it.

* * *

Modern vs. Progressive

Note that my rating system still refers to progressive as the opposite of traditional. Several who posted comments in earlier threads on this topic objected to this usage, and though I did not answer their arguments at the time, I am not ignoring their viewpoint. But I must say that I respectfully disagree.

Let me define each of the three terms, using the primary Random House Dictionary (2006) definition, as found at reference.com.

Traditional: “of or pertaining to tradition.”

Progressive: “favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, esp. in political matters.”

Modern: “of or pertaining to present and recent time; not ancient or remote.”

I stuck to the first–primary–definition for each word because secondary usages of modern can overlap with progressive. But if a distinction is to be made, and earlier comments were making such a distinction, we need to use the primary and main definition for each word.

Progressive Southern Gospel–and by that term I mean both what some would call modern and what some would call progressive–is the music “favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are.” That, in my opinion, is a perfectly satisfactory and accurate description of the sub-genre.

So why do I dislike the term “modern Southern Gospel”? It is because the primary definition of modern is “of or pertaining to present and recent time.” All Southern Gospel recorded in the “present and recent time” is modern Southern Gospel.

Ever since a certain great President, the political term “liberal” has been out of style, so “liberals” use the term “progressive.” Perhaps because of this, some participants in this mostly politically conservative genre shy away from “progressive” as though it was a bad word. Of course, it isn’t a bad word, as it’s quite possible to be progressive and be very good.

But “progressive” is still a more accurate nomenclature for the sub-genre we’re trying to describe, because all current Southern Gospel, be it traditional or progressive, is modern.