SouthernGospelBlog.com

If I were a rich man…

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… right about now I’d be considering following in the steps of the Singing Americans and the Anchormen, both groups that had a non-touring owner/manager. Think about all the “free agents” in Southern Gospel right now.

• Tenor: Dallas Rogers [EDIT:] As per Coomer Cove’s suggestion, if I could get Jay Parrack, that would actually be my #1 pick. I’d love to hear how he’d fit with the other names I have listed.
• Lead: Josh Feemster / Josh Garner
• Baritone: Andrew King
• Bass: Christian Davis / Gene McDonald
• Pianist: Andrew Ishee / Scott McDowell / Nick Succi
• Bass Guitarist: Grant Barker

I put my #1 picks first in that list. There is enough talent out there (and presumably looking for a group) to put together one of the best groups in Southern Gospel.

Of course, if I was truly rich, I would bring either Lari Goss or Wayne Haun on board to produce the project. I’d contact Dianne Wilkinson, Kyla Rowland, Chris Binion, Sandy Knight, Joseph Habedank, and today’s other great songwriters for product. I’d hire the Prague Philharmonic for orchestrations. And, of course, I’d have to put several grand into advertising and promotion.

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Of course, I’m not rich. But it was fun to dream!

The National Quartet Convention just released its 2007 highlights CD/DVD. The songlist includes:

Kingdom Heirs - “The Rock’s Between The Hard Place And You”
Greater Vision - “Redeemed Medley ”
Kingsmen - “Finished Indeed ”
Karen Peck & New River - “I’m Gonna Get Up ”
Ivan Parker - “The Best Hallelujah In The House ”
The Hoppers - “Grace Will Always Be Greater ”
Mark Lowry / LordSong - “May Did You Know ”
Booth Brothers- “The River Keeps A-Rollin’ ”
The Perrys - “He Will Hide Me ”
Gold City - “Get Up, Get Ready ”
Dove Brothers - “I Can Pray ”
Reggie Saddler Family - “Winner Out Of A Sinner ”
Brian Free & Assurance - “Save A Seat At The Table ”
Legacy Five - “I Stand Redeemed ”
Talley Trio - “That’s Enough “

It looks like it will be the usual mixed bag–current radio songs with group standbys, fast songs with slow songs, and selections that were undoubtedly among the high points along with selections that make you scratch your head.

Take Gold City: Like the song or not, if you were there in person to gage audience reaction, it would have definitely seemed as though “Preach the Word” was the highlight of their set every time they sang it. Or take the Perrys; “He Will Hide Me” was neither one of their newest songs nor the song that got the biggest audience reaction. (That would probably have been the Perrys / Mark Trammell Trio rendition of “I Wish I Coulda Been There” on Thursday night.)

Mixed bag or not, will probably be something on this video for nearly every Southern Gospel fan.

Earlier today, it was reported that Mercy’s Mark was disbanding. Their bass singer, Christian Davis, left last week, and their booking agent, the Dominion Agency, pulled all Mercy’s Mark concert dates and any other mention of the group from their website (hat tip, Coomer Cove).

This afternoon, group frontman Garry Jones sent an open letter to the Singing News stating that the group was “temporarily unavailable” to fulfill their remaining 2007 commitments. He added:

In the last few days I have been presented with many exciting possibilities for the future of Mercy’s Mark and am prayerfully weighing each one. I ask that you would please continue to pray for the future of this group and I will keep you informed as things develop.

So the group may be disbanding, and may be staying on the road. At any rate, their future is officially…up in the air. One thing is for sure: Jones has assembled some strong lineups in the past, and certainly stands a change of doing the same again.

My commentary from earlier this morning still mostly holds true:

I was very impressed by the original Mercy’s Mark lineup. Pairing Anthony Facello, Josh Feemster, and Chris West was a move of genius that had supergroup potential. While it took a little longer for me to warm up to the second lineup, with Brent Mitchell, Josh Feemster, and Christian Davis, after hearing them live twice I became convinced that they had one of the best live presentations in Southern Gospel.

It can be hard to keep a group on the road today, and while Jones was producing a quality product, evidently there just wasn’t the demand to meet the supply. Here’s hoping that the talented members of this group will land on their feet in other positions, perhaps with other Southern Gospel groups currently seeking members.

EDIT: 11/14, 4:48 P.M. Updated post with Garry Jones’ open letter.

Recently, the Singing News made several first steps toward improving their radio airplay chart. A website, Gospel Music Coalition, has been announced to complain about those changes. I agree with Musicscribe and Averyfineline that the $7 membership fee seems to be a little tacky.

I am generally supportive of and optimistic about the chart changes. I think that cutting some stations was a necessary first step toward making more fundamental changes, such as implementing digital tracking of spins. Suppose Singing News tries that six months from now. If a station proves reluctant, SN can tell the station that they can either upgrade or forget about being a charting station. Since SN dropped quite a few stations a few months before, that station will know that SN means business.

Suppose a station does refuse and is dropped. One of the stations dropped in this round could be approached about coming back. After they’ve had a few months of getting less attention from radio promoters, they could well be ready and eager to make the financial investment to come back.

Though I’ve heard it was coming for a while now, it is now official: Dallas Rogers is leaving the Dixie Echoes as of Christmas break this year. He is one of the best young tenors in Southern Gospel right now, and I look forward to hearing his future plans. Though it will be hard, I hope the Dixie Echoes manage to find someone else of his caliber.

I recently launched a new design of my personal website, www.danielmount.net. I mention this primarily because of the accusations that some bloggers hide behind their computer screens. I try to make a point of doing the opposite–being completely straightforward about who I am, what I do, and (usually) what I think.

(I know, you’re probably wondering about that “usually.” If I am completely unimpressed by a group or an album, and that happens, I likely won’t post anything about it rather than saying what I think.)

This project is an interesting collection of contrasts. It contains old and new songs, everything from lush orchestration to Tim Parton’s country-tinged rendition of “A Little Peace on Earth,” and, oddly enough, everything from a song protesting the secularization of Christmas (”Christmas with a Capital ‘C’”) to a medley of secular Christmas songs (”Piano Christmas Medley”).

Arranging “A Little Peace on Earth” to bring out a country flavoring was probably a good production call. If Parton–or any other pianist/vocalist replacing a legend–attempted to sing as close to Bennett’s style as possible, comparisons would be completely unavoidable. But Parton is clearly charting his own course.

The title track, “We Need a Little Christmas,” also serves as the title track for Triumphant Quartet’s new Christmas project. Comparing the two, Legacy Five’s arrangement and orchestration has a slight edge.

Frank Seamans takes the lead on “Winter Memories.” It is not surprising that this Luverne Isbell song has the feel of a novelty song, since her best known previous song is probably the Cathedrals’ “Mexico.”

The production team of Steve Mauldin, Tim Parton, and Scott Fowler brought out some new elements in Legacy Five’s sound. The two tracks on which this is most notable are also the two standout tracks of the project. While I never heard any resemblance before, Fowler’s strong lead on “Welcome to this World” suggests comparisons to, of all people, Steve Green. On the song “Do You Hear What I Hear?”, the production team brings out more warmth and resonance in Glenn Dustin’s voice than on any previous track he has recorded with the group.

Especially if those two tracks are indicative of what we can expect in the future from Legacy Five, this iteration of the group shows great potential.

Garry Jones has announced that Christian Davis has left Mercy’s Mark Quartet.

While I hate to see him go, I can understand; he lives in North Carolina, and Mercy’s Mark is based in Columbus, Ohio. Even though I understand the group meets south of Ohio–I believe it may have been Nashville, Tennessee–it’s still quite a commute. If he had the opportunity to sing with a group closer to his home, and there are plenty in North Carolina, I could see how he would take the offer.

Recently, he has been criticized mercilessly in comments on various websites. Sometimes I think people who post negative comments forget that singers are real people–people who sometimes read what they say. Sure, everyone has off nights, and even on their best night any performer might hit a few notes slightly off (tempo or pitch). But compared to the average bass singer, or even the average professional Southern Gospel bass singer, Christian’s abilities are far above average; he has perfect pitch, a massive range with four usable octaves (G above middle C to the lowest F/G on the piano), and the ability to sing anything from subwoofer bass to a baritone-range lead to occasional high tenor notes.

Christian is one of the most talented young performers in Southern Gospel, and I hope he will stay active in the genre. I look forward to hearing his future plans.

There has recently been some controversy over changes to the Singing News chart method. During this controversy, it was questioned whether Rick Hendrix’s aggressive and successful promotion methods helped prompt the change, and how he felt about not being included. His comments on the topic were sent to me this evening:

I would like to clarify some things. Contrary to what some are saying, I have not and will not discuss the Singing News changes. I feel there is a lot of integrity amongst the board and advisory committee. I spoke to Jim Cumbee in length over several months ago when a record executive first solicited his office for this committee. I felt then and now-my artist and company are in good hands. Many of my friends are on this board. I do miss the stations that have been removed; I do love the stations that have been added. I feel my job as a promoter is to focus on just that, promoting. I feel my company has its ear to the ground. I feel Singing News and my fellow promoters are looking out for everyone. And contrary to some of the disgruntled promoters and labels excluded from the advisory panel, Rick Hendrix Company was not the reason for these changes. The board and Singing News is not and was not on a witch hunt during this process. You can stop trying to use me to insure your attacks on this board and Singing News. My only reason for making this public statement is to ask others to stop involving my company in the changes. I have a job to do for my artist. I have a commitment to promote and market. The energy I take to enforce changes, just shorts my artist those hours on the phone promoting them. I have always felt losing something is a win. A win of knowledge. It teaches us how not to lose again. So, if labels and artist feel they have lost ground. Learn the new way. Embrace change. Take it as an exciting new way to do what God has called you to do. I do not have a hidden agenda. These changes should not affect a good radio promoter. My company works the Billboard BDS spins system (Josh Turner, Vince Gill, Johnny Cash), we work the Music Row (John Conlee, Ty Herndon, Luke and Olivia) and we work Singing News(Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Gaither Vocal Band, Young Harmony, Hoppers, Jason Crabb, Mike & Kelly Bowling, and about 45 others). So, any system will work for the new artist, older artist, established or the ones trying to build. Just go for airplay that results in chart positions. Not everyone can be included in change. Not everyone gets to make the decisions. But, being a good steward with what you have been given, is to abide by the rules and policies and doing “THE BEST” job you can for your artist.

Rick Hendrix

Based on the promotional efforts put into this project, I was expecting it to be a major (Daywind) release. While I was inclined to be slightly disappointed on first listen, it turns out the group released it as a table project. Once I found that out, I was pleasantly surprised at the project’s quality. While this project isn’t everything that a major-label release would be, it is well above average for a table project. Like most table projects, it contains several familiar songs in familiar arrangements, but it also contains several new songs.

• “Know So Salvation.” The title track was written by Dianne Wilkinson and Scott Inman. It is reminiscent of the Cathedrals’ “Can He Could He Would He”–a tongue-twister that has so many similar-sounding phrases that it would appear to be hopelessly confusing, except for the little fact that it actually works.
• “O! Say But I’m Glad.” This rendition of the song features bass singer Glenn Dustin, and reminds me of today’s Blackwood Brothers’ rendition, featuring their bass singer Randy Byrd. Both arrangements have the bass solo in E-flat, and have a similar tempo and feel.
• “I’m Glad that I Know Him.” Lead singer Scott Fowler is featured on this new Squire Parsons song.
• “Go Right Out.” This fast-paced convention song was a good pick for a table project and should also go over well in live concerts.
• “There is Hope.” Scott Fowler is featured on the song. Since the album–regrettably–has no songwriter/publishing information, I don’t know who wrote it.
• “I Go to the Rock.” The group’s rendition of this Squire Parsons [EDIT: not Dottie Rambo] song features baritone Scott Howard, lead singer Scott Fowler, and tenor Frank Seamans through the fast-paced modulations. This song should really shine live.
• “Why.” This arrangement bears a striking similarity to Southern Sound’s original (2004) rendition of the song. The song was written by Neal Travis of Princeton, KY.
• “Heaven’s Jubilee.” Legacy Five’s fast-paced rendition of this Speer Family classic fits in nicely at this point in the CD, between several mid-tempo songs.
• “I’m So Glad I Found Jesus.” Scott Howard is featured on this song, penned by Mark Bishop.
• “Where No One Stands Alone.” Glenn Dustin is featured on this classic. Oddly enough, this is a song also currently being sung by Randy Byrd of the Blackwood Brothers. Like track 2, the bass solo on Legacy Five’s arrangement is in the same key and tempo as the Blackwood Brothers’ rendition. Despite the similarities, though, Legacy Five’s rendition of this song is hardly a copy, since it adds a tasteful orchestration.
• “I Stand Redeemed.” This arrangement is almost as good as the original, recorded by original Legacy Five tenor Josh Cobb on Strong in the Strength (1999). It was taken down a step (from F-G to Eb-F) to allow for Frank Seamans’ slightly lower range.

The nature of a table project–re-recording familiar songs–almost necessitates comparison to previous renditions of the songs included. Leaving aside those comparisons and taking the songs on their own merits, the album is a pleasant representation of what Legacy Five can do without a label’s backing.