SouthernGospelBlog.com

Rating: 3 (a solid 3 of 5)

Producer: Greg Day, Keith Plott, Lee Fortune.

Songlist: I’ve Got an Advocate; Thanks to Calvary; That’s the Truth; Midnight Cry; The Name of Jesus; The Offer Still Stands; He Set Me Free; There is One; This Could Be Your Last Chance; Lord it Hurts; Amazing Love; Look For Me.

Artist Website: www.keithplott.com.

Available from: Artist.

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Keith Plott sang bass for Danny Funderburk and Mercy’s Way, then from 2003-2007 for Brian Free & Assurance. Last year, he made the decision to go solo and released his debut recording (reviewed here). I commented in that review that the launch of his solo career seemed to go under the radar screen of the industry; unfortunately, despite a full touring schedule, that still seems to be the case.

This recording is a solid collection of songs, most of which have been previously recorded. The project includes some classics, “Thanks to Calvary,” “Look for Me,” “He Set Me Free,” and “Midnight Cry.” Most of the other songs have been previously recorded, but some of them received little enough attention the first time around that they may as well be new.

Speaking of “Midnight Cry,” easily the biggest influence on this project was the song’s co-writer, Greg Day, who produced the project (along with Plott and Lee Fortune). He co-wrote seven of the project’s twelve songs; his co-writer on “Midnight Cry,” Chuck Day, contributed one more. Even if there was no other point of interest for the project, it would be worth a listen to get a feel for other songs from the pens of the authors of that classic.

Plott’s voice is versatile enough to pull off a solo project without sounding forced at either end of his range. Not to spend too much of the review focusing on “Midnight Cry” (though, given the producer’s history with the song, it’s not surprising that the song is the high point of the recording), but Plott actually pulls off the song and makes it sound like it was written for a bass. That’s no small feat.

I gave the project a solid 3 stars of 5; if it had featured mostly or entirely new songs and maintained the same level of quality, I would have given it 3.5 or maybe even 4. This project is enjoyable and worth a listen.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Producer: Gordon Mote & Phil Johnson.

Songlist: Adoration; I Know Somebody Who Does; Wake Up Dancin’; Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory; Maplewood Methodist Church; Get Up in Jesus’ Name; Mercy Walked In; All That Noise; I Can’t Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand); Ain’t Gonna Give Up on God; My Redeemer is Faithful and True; The Other Side of Time; This Life.

Artist Website: www.gordonmote.com

Available from: Amazon, CBD, label, artist.

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Gordon Mote, though blind since birth, started planning piano at age three. He studied music at Belmont University in Nashville; two days after graduation, he joined country singer Lee Greenwood’s band, and played piano for Greenwood for three years (until Greenwood left the road). Mote then went into studio work and focused on being a session pianist until 2006, when he released his debut project, There’s No Place Love Can’t Reach.

After hearing that project, as well as his contributions as a studio musician to various Gaither productions, Bill Gaither hired him as Homecoming Tour pianist after Anthony Burger’s sudden death. Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory is Mote’s first solo project since.

Mote’s website bio lists some of the artists he has collaborated with:

He’s performed on stage with Lee Greenwood, Trisha Yearwood, Tanya Tucker, Bill Gaither and Grand Ole Opry legend Porter Wagoner among others. In the studio, a “who’s who of country and Christian artists” have benefited from Gordon’s gifts, among them Rascal Flatts, Randy Travis, The Martins, Mark Lowry, Trace Adkins, The Gaither Vocal Band and Kenny Chesney.

This variety of influences shows on his project. While it has its Southern Gospel-influenced tracks, its overall musical feel is more eclectic. It includes the Southern Gospel classic “I Can’t Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand,” but it also includes the Steven Curtis Chapman song “My Redeemer is Faithful and True.”

The latter, incidentally, is a song which is well arranged to fit Mote’s style. Mote sings it as a duet with his wife Kimberly, who is an excellent vocalist in her own right.

The project features several other guest vocalists–Allison Krauss (on “Maplewood Methodist Church”), the Gaither Vocal Band (on “Get Up in Jesus’ Name”), the Isaacs (on “I Know Somebody Who Does,”) and the Voices of Lee (on “Adoration.”)

Much like I said in my recent review of Charlotte Ritchie’s latest effort, Mote’s project strikes me as being one where the artist chose the songs he wanted to do and the style he wanted to do them without being particularly fastidious about ensuring that it fits the mold of what a Southern Gospel (or Christian Country, or contemporary) project is supposed to sound like.