SouthernGospelBlog.com

Rating: 5 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.9 (of 5) (or 4.3 of 5 without the love songs)

Producer: Tracks produced by Wayne Haun, Roger Talley, Jeff Collins, & Milton Smith. Executive Producer: Phil Collingsworth.

Filming Director: David Brainard.

Song List: And Can it Be; The Lord’s Prayer; Joshua Fit ‘De Battle; Love Me Tender; Unforgettable; Misty; He Set Me Free / Blood Washed Band; God’s Family (Keaton Family); When The Flowers Bloom Up in Heaven (Kim’s parents); Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Keaton Family); Goodbye World, Goodbye; Great is Thy Faithfulness / The Old Rugged Cross; I’ll Fly Away; When They Ring Those Golden Bells; A Mighty Fortress; Hallelujah Chorus (from Handel’s Messiah).

Available from: Artist, Amazon, Christianbook.com.

* * *

Personal, Kim Collingsworth’s first piano solo DVD, was recorded on the same night that the Collingsworth Family recorded Your Ticket to Music Hall (reviewed here).

Often, when a group records two DVDs on the same night, the DVDs have a similar feel. The groups will often wear the same suits and ties, and even if they change, the stage setup will typically be similar if not identical from video to video. But as I remarked in my review of the group DVD, the group seems to be masters of the craft of staging a live concert, and Personal has an entirely different feel. The plants are arranged differently, Collingsworth wears a different outfit, and the grand piano is front and center.

The film starts with a biographical introduction showing video footage from the church where Kim Collingsworth learned to play piano. Phil and Kim Collingsworth trade off on the narrative (a story explained in much greater detail in the extras). After the biographical intro, the scene shifts to Cincinnati’s Music Hall, where Kim walks on stage and plays a trio of her best piano solos, “And Can it Be,” “The Lord’s Prayer,” and “Joshua Fit ‘De Battle.”

She then plays three songs, “Love Me Tender,” “Unforgettable,” and “Misty.” Video footage includes a montage of photos showing Kim as she group up and Phil and Kim in the early years of their marriage.

After an uptempo Southern Gospel medley (”He Set Me Free / Blood Washed Band”), Kim’s family comes on stage. Her parents and seven of her eight siblings sing “God’s Family” together in full harmony. If there was any doubt where Kim got her musical genes, that is settled when her parents do a duet on “When the Flowers Bloom Up in Heaven.” Though their voices show their age, they also show signs of what they must have sounded like at their peak. After another song by the family (”Will the Circle Be Unbroken”), the spotlight is on Kim on the piano for the rest of the evening.

After a few more piano solos, including an impromptu medley of requested songs, the program closes with a rendition of the “Hallelujah Chorus,” with a fully produced soundtrack recorded specifically for the occasion.

Both Personal and Your Ticket to Music City are accompanied by audio CDs with and virtually all the talking cut out. This focus on the songs works well in the CD format, just as leaving the talking in on the DVD helps capture the experience of the live concert better.

Interestingly, Collingsworth recorded the entire program without playing either of her most recognizable signature songs, “How Great Thou Art” or “It is Well.” She had played “It is Well” as her piano solo during the group taping earlier in the night, but the omission of “How Great Thou Art” is interesting. If nothing else, it shows that Collingsworth can turn in a strong solo concert without her “sugar sticks”—no small feat.

The video has extensive extras, including conversations Kim had with her parents and with her brothers and sisters. The extras, and the excerpts that make it onto the program, are detailed enough that even those that have followed the family closely since their national debut will find new tidbits and fascinating stories.

Personal is a fascinating and stirring introduction to Kim Collingsworth’s life and music.

What is the purpose of a Gospel concert?

I’ll be posting my own answer in a couple of days; the answer is foundational to another post I’m starting to put together.

Several times, I’ve had the chance to hear songwriters’ demos. I find few things more fascinating than hearing how an artist originally envisioned a song that has become well known.

It’s hard to say whether Southern Gospel Larry Petree is better known for occasionally stirring up animated discussions on Southern Gospel blogs and message boards or for hit songs like “Lazarus Come Forth,” “Still Drinking Water From the Well,” “Children of the Dust,” or “Praise God, It’s Settled, I’m Saved.”

Either way, his website links to a profile he has on Soundclick.com. On his music page, he offers free downloads of roughly 70 songs. You can play them without an account, but you need to set up a free account in the website to download and save the mp3s. Most of his familiar songs are on page 3.

Agree or disagree with his views, but most observers would have to admit that he knows how to crank out a top-notch song.

I recently picked up the LeFevre’s Songs of Happiness LP at a local thrift store. The liner notes say that it was the group’s first LP. Rex Nelon is on the project, and it says he joined the group in September 1957.

It also says the group had been touring for 33 years and indicates they started counting in 1925, which would place the album circa 1958. Can anyone confirm this?

Songs of Happiness is a very solid recording, featuring, among other songs, “The Old Gospel Ship” and “Lord Carry Me Home” (recently recorded by the Perrys as “Come and Get Me”).

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Producer: None credited.

Song List: It Won’t Be Long; Coming Thru For You; Heaven’s Headlines; Answer For the Lost; Lay Them Down; A Beautiful Life; Following In Their Footsteps; I’ve Been Saved; Never Too Far; Coming Home (Dan’s Testimony).

Available from: Artist.

* * *

Before joining the Dixie Melody Boys, Dan Keeton led a trio with his wife, Nancy, singing alto, and Rick Grey singing bass. Keeton left the Dixie Melody Boys last year and launched the Dan Keeton Quartet, with Nancy and Rick, joined by baritone Chris Little. This group recorded a live album of classic songs. Earlier this year, Chris Little left the group. Since they were back to the same lineup they used before Dan’s Dixie Melody Boys stint, Dan brought the Keetons name back.

This project is the group’s first recording of new songs since bringing the name back. There are ten tracks; one is the classic “A Beautiful Life,” featuring Rick Grey. Another, “Coming Home,” is Dan Keeton’s (spoken) testimony.

The other eight tracks are new songs, all penned by Dan Keeton. There are several good uptempo songs (”It Won’t Be Long,” “Lay Them Down,” “I’ve Been Saved.”) “Following in Their Footsteps” and the title track are lyrically strong slower songs.

Rick Grey’s only has one extended feature (”A Beautiful Life”), along with a few solo lines here and there. Generally speaking, the solo lines seem to be keyed a little too low for his range. However, I have heard the group live, and his low notes work perfectly in a live setting, where the vocal spread on big endings would make the Parrack / Riley Gold City jealous.

This debut (or, more precisely, re-debut) recording wasn’t backed by a major-label budget, but it certainly shows promise of what the group can become.

Many Southern Gospel fans believe that radio was much better in the “Good old Days.” So, about two weeks ago, I started a survey comparing the top 40 songs for August 1983 and for August 2003, respectively 25 and 5 years ago.

Are the songs from 1983 as recognizable, or even more recognizable, than the songs from 2003?

Well, 241 people have helped us try to work toward an answer. Let’s go straight to the data:

August 1983 Singing News Chart
241 Responses

August 2003 Singing News Chart
234 Responses

Analysis

Interestingly, and perhaps surprisingly, the 1983 chart comes out ahead.

• On average, 36% know a given 1983 hit, compared to 32% for 2003 (4.16% difference).
• On average, 18% have a given 1983 hit, compared to 16% for 2003 (1.73% difference).
• On average, 16% love a given 1983 hit, compared to 13% for 2003 (3.45% difference).
• On average, 46% responded to one of the three questions, compared to 40% for 2003 (6.15% difference).
• On the 1983 chart, 17 songs got over 50% response to at least one of the three questions. On the 2003 chart, 9 songs registered that level of response.

Keep in mind that this is despite 1983 coming in at a disadvantage, since many of the readers (something I should have tracked) were not listening to Southern Gospel radio 25 years ago (and a few of us, myself included, weren’t even alive then!)

So are the songs written and released today generally weaker than the songs 25 years ago?

Not necessarily. Most or all of the nine songs from the 2003 chart that registered over 50% will probably be well recognized twenty years down the line. I think that “God Handled it All,” “He is to Me,” and “Mighty Deep Well” are on the same level as “The Cloud He’s Coming Back On,” “Ain’t God Good,” and “I’m Not Perfect (Just Forgiven).”

A large part of the difference—and the reason we remember the songs from yesteryear so well—is that songs are cycled off the top of the chart much more quickly today than 25 years ago. If a song like “God Handled it All” hits #1, it is unlikely to spend more than a month (maximum two) before quickly falling off the charts. Few songs spend more than three months in today’s top 10, while it wasn’t uncommon for songs to spend 9 months or a year in the top 10 25 years ago.

Does today’s system mean that more groups get a chance to be in the top 40, top 20, and top 10? Yes.

Is that a good thing? Perhaps.

But cycling the megahits out of the top 10 as quickly as we do these days plays a large role in why, five years later, we can’t remember as many songs as we can from 25 years ago.

Is this the only factor? Possibly not. Quite possibly, there are fewer songs of mega-hit quality being written and recorded. And there could be other factors.

But here, at least, is some statistical data. Make of it what you will.

In the news:

• Tribute Quartet’s Josh Singletary started a monthly column for SGM Radio’s website.
• Cybergrass featured Fred Daniels, Sunshine Boys / Blue Ridge Quartet tenor and recent inductee into the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame.
• The Quicks announced this week that group member Sally Quick’s mother Ann Abbott passed away this Monday at age 67. She was a friend of many Gospel singers, known for fixing them meals when they came through Bradford, Tennessee. Even in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease, she would still respond to the family singing Gospel songs to her. The Quick family requests prayers.

Upcoming Reviews:

• October 28: Heaven’s Headlines (Keetons)
• October 31: DVD – Personal (Kim Collingsworth)
• November 4: Until Now (Gerald Wolfe) (and yes, that’s Election Day)
• November 7: Reminiscing (Chuck Wagon Gang)
• November 7: DVD – Live in Concert Kings Mountain, NC (Chuck Wagon Gang)
• November 11: A New Day (The Browns)
• November 14: DVD – Caribbean Live (Tribute Quartet)
• November 21: DVD – Hymn Sing 1 and 2 (Liberty Quartet)
• November 28: DVD – Live (Mike LeFevre Quartet)
• December 5: A Classic Canaan Christmas (Various Artists)
• December 12: December (Mercy’s Well)
• December 19: Destination Heaven (Melody Boys Quartet)
• December 26: Ain’t Nobody (Soul’d Out Quartet)
• January 2: Easier to Live (Voices Won)

As before, consider the comments section this week’s open thread. The readers of this blog—i.e., you—are pretty good about keeping threads on topic, but just in case someone has something to say that doesn’t fit on a recent thread, here’s your opening.

Rating: 5 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.8 (of 5)

Track Producers: Wayne Haun, Roger Talley, Jason Webb. Executive Producer: Phil Collingsworth.

Filming Director: David Brainard.

Song List: Not the Same; Holy, Holy, Holy; In Awe; Trumpet Medley; When God Whispers; God Can Do Anything; My Favorite Things; What Noah Knew; The Blood of Jesus; Lily of the Valley; No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus; He Already Sees; More Than a Swear Word; I Can Trust Jesus; We Still Believe; It is Well; Blessed Be the Lamb.

Available from: Artist, Amazon, Christianbook.com.

* * *

Just two or three years ago, I was telling people that the Collingsworth Family had the highest quality video productions I’d seen a non-Gaither artist release. Though I certainly can’t claim credit, it wasn’t that long afterwards that Gaither picked up the family for Homecoming video and occasional concert appearances.

Your Ticket to Music Hall is the first DVD the Collingsworth Family has released since becoming a Homecoming artist. This project raises the bar for their videos again. While their previous DVDs were recorded in front of audiences of 500-1000, this project was filmed in Cincinnati’s impressive double-balconied Music Hall in front of a sellout audience of 3,000. Their previous projects used the standard 3 to 5 video cameras; this one has several more, making for better and more varied singer close-ups, piano close-ups, and audience shots.

Most of the songs on the video are from their We Still Believe project (reviewed here). There are the typical specialty numbers fans expect at a typical Collingsworth concert: A trumpet solo from Phil (”Trumpet Medley,”) a solo from youngest sister Olivia (”My Favorite Things,”) a violin duet (”No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus”) and a fiddle duet (”Lily of the Valley”) with oldest sisters Brooklyn and Courtney, and, of course, a showstopping piano solo from Kim (”It is Well With My Soul”).

Most of the other songs are performed with either the complete family singing (doubling up on several of the parts) or a mixed trio of Brooklyn and parents Phil and Kim. There are a few other combinations; a ladies’ trio of Kim, Brooklyn, and Courtney sings “God Can Do Anything” and the older three siblings (Brooklyn, Courtney, and Phil Jr.) sing “More Than A Swear Word.”

Concert highlights include “The Blood of Jesus,” which was encored several times, and the final three songs—”We Still Believe” (their radio single at the time of filming), “It is Well” (a piano solo featuring Kim) and “Blessed Be the Lamb.”

During the program, Phil Collingsworth paused at several points to bring people vital in their ministry on stage to introduce them to the audience. The most memorable is an appearance by Dianne Wilkinson, a legendary figure who virtually always stays behind the scenes. It’s simply delightful to watch her both thrilled and overwhelmed by the moment—perhaps the most public acknowledgment of her years of work to date. There are also several extras—interviews, behind the scenes footage, and bloopers.

The Collingsworth Family doesn’t have years of mega-hits. In fact, other than two or three of Kim’s piano solos, they have few if any songs instantly recognizable to a casual Southern Gospel fan. But this video shows their special talent at taking what may be, on average, 3.75 to 4 star material and putting on a 5-star program.

Even if I will entirely break precedent by posting a fourth video (after probably as many weeks of not posting any), this is also too good not to post. Thanks to the ubiquitous DianaSN, here is a video clip of Triumphant Quartet and the Dove Brothers singing “Midnight Cry” together.

Despite being the new kid on the block, paired up with three legends (or at least three vocalists well on their way there), Scott Inman probably has the strongest voice in Triumphant Quartet. I already knew he did great on Triumphant’s songs, but I don’t know if this really hit me until I saw how he did this rendition of another group’s signature song. He could own this song if he wanted to.

Clayton Inman’s verse is also solid (except for that “Bride” on the last line, but let’s pardon that bad note more easily since this may have been his first time to sing the song on stage.)

Anyhow, this was just too good to pass up.

I know I already posted one video from David Phelps’ weekend with the Gaither Vocal Band, but this is simply too good not to post:

Am I the only one who would say that if Guy Penrod’s sabbatical becomes a departure, Gaither could make no better move than to bring Phelps back?

Having a tenor on tenor and what other groups would call a tenor on lead has been a GVB standby for years, so it’s not like it would be that drastic of a change.