SouthernGospelBlog.com

In my post #1000, I asked for thoughts and suggestions on the future direction of the blog. I’m still thinking through the feasibility of some of the structural changes, but I was able to implement one suggestion fairly easily. Reader AR, your request is answered: Recent Comments now shows the most recent 20 comments.

I make specific mention of this in case some readers hadn’t particularly noticed the feature. It shows the most recent (now) 20 comments on any thread. Part of the idea is to alert you to any newly active discussions on old posts.

This is about the time of year when the directors of the National Quartet Convention start putting together the following year’s mainstage lineup.

They had a great lineup last year. Virtually every group I heard on mainstage belonged there (and I’ll keep my thoughts on the few exceptions to myself).

But there are a couple of groups that I think they would be wise to add this year that weren’t on last year’s lineup. Here’s my top 5 [edit: 10]:

1. The Collingsworth Family. Each year it gets a little harder to believe that they’re still not on mainstage. Though they did leave a day early for a concert this year, they have been faithful to the fans and the convention, manning a booth for at least the last several years and doing those little two-song sets in the regional artist showcases.
2. The Chuck Wagon Gang. The rationale is simple. They’ve been there for years, there’s a good chunk of fans that love ‘em, and their sound is unique. They don’t sound like anyone else on the program, and some variety is nice.
3. N’Harmony. I’ve heard rumors about a one-year-rule, that groups have to be going for at least a year before they’ll get an invitation to the mainstage. The group had formed several months before NQC, though their first concert wasn’t until a little while afterwards. This group’s sound is solid and they are worthy of a mainstage spot.
4. The Blackwood Brothers. Even if you set aside the fact that this is the group that started the convention, this group is worth giving at least one slot on their own merits. Jimmy Blackwood has built a group with the classic Blackwoods sound, anchored around a voice which sounds so much like his father James Blackwood’s voice that hearing them is almost like stepping back in time. Plus, they are one of a very few groups to do the two-microphone gig (the Dixie Echoes being the only other major group that comes to mind). It’s rare enough that it sets them apart.
5. Liberty Quartet. They did so well in the showcases this past year that they got an invitation to do a song on the mainstage Saturday night before the Fan Awards. This year, I’d love to see them get a direct invitation.
6. The Ball Brothers. I simply can’t believe that I forgot the Ball Brothers and the rest of these five.
7. Old Paths Quartet. They stand a serious chance of being one of the new hottest groups around. Especially with their live band.
8. Diplomats.
9. Weatherfords. Even if their past wasn’t enough, they are good enough now that they’re worthy of mainstage on their own merits.
10. The Melody Boys Quartet.

The danger of listing only 5 is that there a number of other worthy groups that I didn’t name. I would agree that many of them are deserving of getting at least one set in the mainstage. So…who are your top 5?

Rating: 4.5 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 4.3 (of 5)

Producer: Royce Mitchell, Kevin Plew, Keith Waggoner.

Song List: Hallelujah! I Am Free; Count Your Blessings; Standing On the Promises; Don Christensen Tribute; How Great Thou Art; My Savior’s Love / And Can it Be; It is Well With My Soul; Hymn Singalong; Battle Hymn of the Republic; There is Joy in the Lord; Wonderful Grace of Jesus; Trust and Obey; Holy, Holy, Holy.

Available from: Artist.

* * *

Rating: 4.5 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 4 (of 5)

Producer: Royce Mitchell, Kevin Plew, Keith Waggoner.

Song List: At Calvary; The Old Account Settled; When the Roll is Called Up Yonder / Hallelujah, We Shall Rise; Jesus Saves; Precious Memories; In the Garden; Hymn Singalong; Soldier Medley; No Not One; He Keeps Me Singing; Abide with Me; What a Day That Will Be / Until Then.

Available from: Artist.

* * *

Liberty Quartet is a full-time Southern Gospel quartet based in Boise, Idaho. In 2004, they recorded Timeless Treasured Hymns; I understand this became their best-selling album ever. They followed it in 2007 with Timeless Treasured Hymns 2, probably the only hymns project I have ever given a 5-star rating in a review (here).

The two DVDs include 24 songs, twelve per. Both were recorded on the same night in Meridian, Idaho. Unlike some groups (case in point: Chuck Wagon Gang) which package two-DVD sets in the same case, the two discs have their own cases and their graphic designs. (Trivia: The Hymns 1 CD had a red theme, while Hymns 2 had a blue theme; this is reversed on the DVDs.)

The project is not without its minor flaws. The lighting left a little to be desired; audience pans and a few group close-ups were a little too high-contrast. One blooper also made it in: In “My Savior’s Love / And Can it Be,” there’s one point (at about 20:10) where lead singer Dan Gilbert isn’t singing with his vocal stacks. But one is inclined to forgive Liberty their occasional bloopers because they know how to poke fun at themselves; both Hymn Sing 1 and Hymn Sing 2 have bloopers reels, with out-takes that most groups would never let see the light of day.

But little glitches aside, the arrangements are exceptional and the delivery is solid. Most of the songs on their two hymns projects are included. Unfortunately, “Face to Face,” the track I thought was the best from Hymns 1, and “Crown Him With Many Crowns” from Hymns 2 didn’t make the cut. But most of the highlights of both CDs made it on.

A few tracks not found on either CD—”Hallelujah! I Am Free” and “There is Joy in the Lord”—were included. There are also three acapella songs, “Wonderful Grace of Jesus,” “Holy Holy Holy” (the closing song on Hymn Sing 1), and “Until Then” (the closing song on Hymn Sing 2).

I understand that the video taping was the first time that the group ever staged several of the tracks on the CDs. The performances go over well, and these arrangements should continue to be concert highlights for the group for years to come.