SouthernGospelBlog.com

Rating: 5 stars (of 5)

Members: Michael Booth (tenor); Ronnie Booth (lead); Jim Brady (baritone)

Song List: Tell Me the Story of Jesus; I’m Going Back; Tears Are a Language; This Love is Mine; The Eyes of Jesus; Welcome to the Family; I Would; Look For Me at Jesus’ Feet; Still Feelin’ Fine (with Greater Vision); He Saw it All; The One That I Love; Secret Place; Haven of Rest.

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Perhaps because the cost of producing a live concert video can be in the tens of thousands of dollars, increasing numbers of groups are choosing to film their live projects at the National Quartet Convention. It’s not like this is a bad thing; though live NQC footage from several years ago frequently had noticeable technical flaws, these have been ironed out, and Louisville Live and similar titles have high visual and audio production quality.

Through NQC 2007, the INSP channel filmed the event live with a five or six camera crew; starting with NQC 2008 (last year), the Gospel Music Channel has been providing live video and recording the concerts for future airing.

Louisville Live has thirteen songs from the Booth Brothers’ three mainstage sets. The editing between songs was smooth enough that it’s not immediately evident where the cuts between different sets took place.

Unlike a number of groups which make live videos a showcase of every single song from their latest recording, the Booth Brothers make Louisville Live more a taste of what a live Booth Brothers concert would sound like. They mix songs from their main-label projects with songs from their table projects, and songs with full soundtracks with songs with a lighter piano-only accompaniment. (Southern Gospel piano soloist Roy Webb provided live piano accompaniment.)

The Booth Brothers are so good at what they do that it’s hard to isolate highlights. A slow song like “The Eyes of Jesus” is as much a high point as “Welcome to the Family”—and, in fact, “The Eyes of Jesus” got one of the strongest responses of the songs on the lineup. Greater Vision joining the Booth Brothers for “Still Feeling Fine” is a welcome addition to what one might find on a typical non-NQC live DVD.

There are a number of bonus features: A clip of highlights from the 2008 Singing News Fan Awards, a behind-the-scenes look at the Booth Brothers’ NQC week, and a video product pitch.

The Booth Brothers chose a strong assortment of songs to highlight, and there are no detracting audio or video flaws. So there’s really no reason not to give this project five stars.

For the past four and a half years, Doran Ritchey has been the baritone/pianist for Liberty Quartet. He moved toward focusing more on his piano role (with some occasional vocals) several months ago, when Jordan Cragun (a nephew of Kim Collingsworth) joined Liberty as their baritone.

Ritchey has accepted a position to join the Crossing trio with Southern Gospel songwriter / vocalist Phil Cross. Both Doran and his wife, Diane, will be joining the group. Rotchey said: “The last four and a half years have provided a wealth of experiences while singing with Liberty.  The friendships that I have made are deep and lasting.  I’m grateful to Royce and the opportunity he provided to travel with Liberty.  While I’m going to miss traveling with the guys, I’m also looking forward to the chance to minister with my wife, Diane.  Thank you for your support and prayers as we make this transition.  We love you guys!”

Ritchey will be staying with the group through both their annual Family Fest event in Idaho and through NQC. Liberty Quartet has a CD scheduled to come out in a few weeks; he was a producer for the project, and his feature song will still appear.

For the time being, Liberty Quartet’s office confirms that they will be sticking with the four-man vocals-only lineup, though they have not ruled out bringing a new pianist on down the road.

Welcome Phil from Northern Ireland to the Southern Gospel blogosphere! His just launched blog is at southerngospel.wordpress.com.

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Members: Susi Cox; Naomi Hicks; Ben Massey.

Song List: This Must Be Glory; Swing Lo’ Sweet Chariot; Heavenly Sunlight; Run Home; Fairest Lord Jesus; Just a Closer Walk; See a Dead Man Fly; Carry You On; Rocky Narrow Road; Just the Way; Golden Banjo; It is Well.

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Shiloh Mountain Trio is a Christian bluegrass sibling trio. Ben Massey, Susi Cox, and Naomi Hicks were three of twelve siblings of a Southern Baptist preacher and grew up singing together. Massey plays banjo in their live performances, and Hicks plays guitar; Massey plays all instrumentals on their recordings.

This CD, their debut project, is two years old but is still their current project. Ben Massey wrote four original songs for the project, “This Must Be Glory,” “See a Dead Man Fly,” “Rocky Narrow Road,” and “Golden Banjo.” “See a Dead Man Fly” is a particular standout, a well-written lyric and melody that delivers on the promise of the unique hook in its title. Susi Cox wrote three more original songs for the project, “Run Home,” “Carry You On,” “Just the Way.”

Vocally and instrumentally, this project brings to mind the 90s era Isaacs. The tight sibling harmonies shine, particularly in acapella settings like the intro to “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and the final verse and chorus of “It is Well.” This is a solid, professional project, showcasing a group that has plenty of talent and potential.

In this genre, with how common encores are, we often take them for granted. “Encore,” as used in the patois of Southern Gospel music, refers to a turnaround, a repeat of a final verse and chorus. Typically, since most groups use soundtracks, encores are arranged and recorded in advance; sometimes but not always (depending on the group), they are performed by default.

Though most Southern Gospel groups will encore songs that get a good response, there are a few exceptions, most memorably Jake Hess. After years of doing encores with the Statesmen, when he started his own group, the Imperials, in 1964, one of the rules he made for the group was that they would never do an encore. He thought that if a song didn’t get all the response it deserved the first time through, a second time wouldn’t help things.

What place do (or should) encores have in our genre?

I’m personally in favor of (at least some) encores, though I think they may be over-used.  They are best when there is some spontaneity involved—i.e., the Perrys encoring “Who am I,” “God Walks the Dark Hills,” or “Did I Mention” acapella, or Arthur Rice holding a note nearly forever, before the band kicks in for an encore of “What We Needed.”

What do you think?

A number of fans and industry types have observed that the term “Southern Gospel” isn’t a particularly accurate brand. It’s a geographical distinctive, but it’s far from accurate. After all, the greatest group of the last quarter-century hailed from Stow, Ohio, and the most popular group today hails from Alexandria, Indiana.

A few years ago, there was an attempt to brand the genre as American Gospel Music, but that didn’t catch on, because it didn’t really say anything about the music that wasn’t true of certain other Christian genres.

How about Conservative Christian Music?

“Conservative” is more descriptive of the nature of the music and the nature of the genre than either “American Gospel” or “Southern Gospel.” Of course, conservative is often understood in the political sense, and a number of individuals in the industry are not politically conservative (though most are). And groups that pursue progressive arrangements probably wouldn’t care to be labeled “progressive conservative Gospel Music.”

If “Conservative Christian Music” is adopted, the genre’s acronym would be CCM, which is the current acronym for a neighboring genre, Contemporary Christian Music. That’s a minus in my opinion, but an industry friend pointed out that that’s a plus for some, since many feel that the contemporary world “kind of hijacked” Christian music and watered it down.

So I proposed another alternative, Conservative Gospel Music. My friend observed that Southern has been associated with Gospel for so long that “Conservative Gospel Music sort of says ’southern’ parenthetically.” He thought this might be a minus, but I could see where having some connection to the current name might be a plus.

Of course, if neither of those quite works, we could always reclaim a brand Bill Gaither is credited with starting, a brand CCM largely abandoned about ten years ago. Plus, it brings to mind a certain style, which Southern Gospel artists like the Collingsworth Family, Greater Vision, and the Perrys are far closer to than anything else in Christian music. Inspirational.

Do you ever feel unloved? I have to admit that, although God has blessed me with a wonderful family and some great friends, there are days satan begins to mess with my mind to question whether or not I really am loved. It amazes me that, during those times of self-focus and self-pity, God often takes the time to remind me that He loves me and He has never left me, and I realize that, if God is for me, who can be against me? No weapon formed against me will prosper because I am loved by a KING!

As I ponder how easy it is to feel lonely and unloved and how rampant, therefore, depression and discouragement are, I begin to think that part of the reason so many people feel that way is due to how hectic our lives have become. It’s easy to become too busy to let people know how much they mean to us. Brothers and Sisters, this should not be. What happened to lifting up the hands that hang down and strengthening the feeble knees?

The Downings sang a song which said, “Lord, I Just Want to Know That You Still Love Me.”  I think that is what so many long for but, often, the way they feel that love is through you and me who know Him. Even our churches are filled with unhappy, depressed people. How can we spread His love if we’re not feeling it ourselves?!

No matter how much a human tries, he or she cannot fill a void that is there because of the absence of Christ. However, if you are a  Christian who feels empty and alone, I would encourage you to focus on drawing near to Him who loved you enough to suffer a horrendous death for you. Until you feel His love, nothing else will satisfy. Then ask God to show you who you can encourage and who you can show that you love them. As you express love, you will feel even more of His love.

If you are not one who struggles with feeling unloved, it may be harder for you to understand the loneliness others feel but ask God to give you compassion and to show you who may need a kind word or a smile. You may just be the person God chooses to use to spread His love.

In the news / worth reading:

• The Collingsworth Family announced that they will be releasing a new studio CD, The Answer, on August 15. The project, produced by Wayne Haun, will be their first studio project in over two years. Songwriters with cuts on the project include Chris Allman, Dianne Wilkinson, Kyla Rowland, Gerald Crabb, Darryl Williams, and Marty Funderburk. Phil Collingsworth will also have a song on the project; if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time (at least since the group has started on the professional Southern Gospel circuit) that they cut one of his songs. There are fourteen songs on the project, including two instrumentals.
• Wes Hampton posts his thoughts about the Gaither Vocal Band video taping in San Antonio earlier this week.
• Dan Keeton announced that his disbanded group, the Dan Keeton Quartet, is “re-banding for a three day weekend we will not soon remember.” Could he have meant “not soon forget”? At any rate, they will be doing three concert dates in Georgia this weekend.

Upcoming Reviews:

• July 27: This Must Be Glory (Shiloh Mountain Trio)
• July 31: Louisville Live (Booth Brothers)
• August 3: Pickin’ Praisin’ Singin’: Songs From the Mountain (Cody Shuler and the Pine Mountain Railroad)
• August 7: Classic DVD Review: Celebrating 50 Years (Melody Boys Quartet)
• August 10: Classic CD Review: One Nation Over God (Dave, Duane and Neil)
• August 14: Hold On (Dove Brothers)

Nate Stainbrook, who goes by L5BBfan on various forums, has started a new Southern Gospel blog, Nate’s Southern Gospel Ponderings:

http://natessoutherngospelblog.wordpress.com/

Stop by and welcome him to the Southern Gospel blogosphere!

Rating: 5 stars (of 5)

Song List: Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee; A Mighty Fortress Is Our God / I Sing the Mighty Power of God; Old Rugged Cross; Old Time Religion / William Tell Overture; Come Thou Fount / There is a Fountain; Amazing Grace; Just As I Am; He Keeps Me Singing; Blessed Assurance; It is Well With My Soul.

Available From: Label, Artist.

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It has been nearly two years since Roy Webb left Signature Sound. (He left in May 2007.) He has since performed both solo concerts and select dates with the Booth Brothers, the Ball Brothers, and the Hoppers. But from a recording standpoint, he has kept a fairly low profile till this project. His last major project, You Raise Me Up, was released while he was still with Signature Sound. (I reviewed it in April 2007, here.)

The announcement that he’d signed with Song Garden came out a number of months ago. (It was by March, but I forget the exact date.) Webb didn’t rush to get a project out the door, though; he spent months working on his debut major-label project, Timeless. He brought in master craftsman Lari Goss to produce the project. Goss’s touch is especially evident on the big ballads like “Amazing Grace,” “It is Well,” and “Old Time Religion / William Tell Overture.” (The latter is an arrangement Goss originally wrote for Anthony Burger. Webb makes the arrangement his own in what is possibly the project’s strongest performance.)

Most of the songs are fully orchestrated, and those that aren’t are placed at strategic points within the song list. “Old Rugged Cross” provides a meditative slow point before the fast-paced “Old Time Religion / William Tell Overture,” and “Just As I Am” provides a similar “selah” moment after the majestic crescendos of “Amazing Grace” and before the swing-influenced “He Keeps Me Singing.” (Side note: The swing influence is highlighted to interesting effect. The background vocals at several points actually say “keeps me swinging as I go.” I didn’t notice that the first time through the CD, but once I did, I had to listen to those phrases a number of times to be sure my ears weren’t playing tricks on me.)

I’m giving this five stars. There’s just no reason not to. Even though I personally prefer vocal projects, my criteria for a 5-star project is taking a CD I know is good (I had already been planning to give this 4.5 stars) and asking, “Is there any way in which this particular artist could have released a better CD?” And, as the final notes of “It is Well” faded, I decided the answer was no. There’s not a flaw on this project. It is an impressive piece of art.