• The Southern, a website identifying itself as Southern Illinois’s Homepage, recently featured an interesting interview with Roger Menees, currently filling in on bass for the Stamps Quartet. The interview is a fascinating look at someone who has been in and around the genre for decades.
• David Bruce Murray has an interesting post on Joel Hemphill’s unorthodox theology.
• XM Radio’s SG channel, enLighten 34, announced that they’ll be hosting an hour-long live, in-studio concert on Wednesday, July 23, at 6:30 PM EST. More details are here.
• The Dove Brothers have expanded the digital downloads section of their website store; now most (all but two) of the recordings the group has made are available.

The award-winning Perrys have announced the departure of their pianist of four years, Matthew Holt. Group spokesman, Tracy Stuffle, says, “Life is a series of seasons and this group has been blessed to enjoy Matthew’s talents for a fantastic seaon. He’s a very fine pianist and an even better young Christian gentleman, husband and father. We know great things are in store for him and we fully support him in his decision to slow down.”

Matthew will be departing Southern Gospel road life to become the Assistant Director of the Renaissance Music Program at Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn., the west Tennessee community where Matthew makes his home with his wife, Lindsey, and their son, Fletcher. His last tour with the Perrys will be July 24-26.

The Perrys will announce the name of their new pianist within the coming weeks.

The press release doesn’t mention any open audition call, but with a piano player (Troy Peach) already on the bus as their bus driver and sound man, they shouldn’t be hurting in the interim until a new player is announced.

First set:

• Won’t it Be Wonderful There (old one)
• I Still Believe
• Weary At the Well
• How Great Thou Art
• Moving the Hand of God
• Introductions
• There’s Something About That Name / In the Garden
• Hallelujah, I’m Going Home
• Glory Road
• Once Upon a Cross

The group got three standing ovations during their first set. The first was for Mark Trammell’s rendition of “How Great Thou Art.” Then they got back-to-back standing ovations for “Glory Road” and “Once Upon a Cross.”

Mark Trammell introduced “Glory Road” by explaining how he loved coffee and his wife didn’t care for it but fixed it for him anyhow since she loved him. He said he’d been singing “Glory Road” ever since he started in Southern Gospel thirty-four years before, even singing it at his first talent contest, and he’d performed it with every group he had been with since. He said that he was sick of the song, but like his wife making him coffee, he loved the audiences enough to do the song for them anyhow. Tenor Eric Phillips tore the song up, as always.

During group introductions, Trammell commented that, interestingly enough, this was their first concert at a Lutheran church.

During the intermission, Dustin Sweatman played two piano solos, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and a quartet-style mid-tempo piano solo. The song sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it.

Second set:

• Thank God I’m Free
• Walking with Jesus
• When Compared to God
• I Know that I Know
• I Believe In a Hill Called Mount Calvary
• Won’t it Be Wonderful There (new one)

“I Know that I Know” will be on their next project. They had a great routine leading into it, with Mark Trammell asking lead singer Dustin Sweatman about the song’s title. Dustin said something, to which Mark replied, “I Know, but what’s the song title?” Dustin said, “I Know that I Know.” Mark said, “That’s all good and well, but what’s the song title.” Dustin replied again. Mark ended up saying he gave up, and “just tell me what key it’s in.” (They played it in F.)

Mark Trammell got a standing ovation for his performance of “I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary.” The final song on their set, “Won’t it be Wonderful There” (this time, the newer Chris Allman-penned tune), also got a standing ovation (which was partly for the overall concert).

Their Southern Gospel selection is decent, though with a rather heavy focus on Homecoming artists (as would be expected from a project that is not SG-specific). Crossroads artists are featured from time to time; Daywind artists seem to appear more rarely than their popularity in the genre would suggest.

One tip: Don’t click thumbs up on songs you like but only want to hear occasionally. Songs you’ve marked thumbs up are circulated back into the rotation frequently, and the only way to break that is by clicking thumbs down, which more or less removes the song from rotation altogether.

Pandora doesn’t have a wide enough selection to supplant live365 stations and streams of physical AM/FM stations yet, but it is based on an interesting concept and seems to be an enjoyable site.

What we didn’t realize (and, undoubtedly, they didn’t realize) was that a businessman from our hometown was in the audience, and was so moved that he decided to book them at the largest theater in our town–a venue more known for hosting a Broadway tour, the Oak Ridge Boys, or President George W. Bush–than Southern Gospel concerts. (The Spencers did record their 1996 Live in Mansfield project at this venue.) The event will be a fundraising event for missionaries from the businessman’s home church, and is scheduled for next May.

Moral of the story: No matter the size or “significance” of the venue, always give it your best. You never know who is watching.

Average Song Rating: 2.9 (of 5)

Producer: Michael Sykes & Daniel Riley

Songlist: Don’t Get Me Started; What Children Believe; I Cast My Bread Upon the Water; For the Sake of My Heart; Walkin’ and Talkin’ With My Lord; I Love This Land; I’ll Walk On; When Jesus Saves; By Your Grace, For Your Glory; Turn Your Back.

Available from: CBD, Amazon, Gold City.

***

Gold City has had two golden eras. Their First Golden Era was in the late 80s and early 90s, with Brian Free, Ivan Parker, Tim Riley, and Garry Jones being that era’s most recognizable names. After some major personnel turnover, their Second Golden Era was in the late 90s and early 00s, with Jay Parrack, Jonathan Wilburn, Mark Trammell, Tim Riley, and the Band of Gold.

Jonathan Wilburn’s departure several months ago removed the group’s last link to that era. Moment of Truth is Bruce Taliaferro’s first project with Gold City, as well as the group’s first project with no personnel from either of their first two golden eras.

The jury is still out as to whether this lineup will be another golden era for the group. Of course, part of the answer will depend on how long this lineup stays together; it has been several years since the group released two consecutive albums with the same lineup.

For the last few years, Gold City has been experimenting with different styles while keeping several tracks on each CD in traditional Gold City styles. This project continues that. It has its traditional quartet numbers (”Turn Your Back,” “Walkin’ and Talkin’ With My Lord”), a big ballad (”For the Sake of My Heart”), and a brass-led arrangement (”Don’t Get Me Started.”)

But it also pushes the edge on several numbers. “When Jesus Saves” has a progressive arrangement and a somewhat repetitive chorus. “What Children Believe,” which, as Brandon Coomer notes, is a cover of a 2000 song by the country group Shenendoah, does not have an explicitly Christian lyric. But, as Kyle Boering suggests, the song’s positive message might do well on country radio.

Previous reviewers have suggested that the project’s lone big ballad, “For the Sake of My Heart,” is good but not the greatest Gold City has ever released. Compared to the likes of “Midnight Cry” and “There Rose a Lamb,” I would agree–but this is still a powerful track worthy of taking a place in Gold City’s strong catalog of ballads.

Steve Ladd was introduced to Gold City fans as a Brian Free-style tenor (which he is, and a good one). On Revival and now Moment of Truth, he has been moving towards a power tenor style. Kyle Boering compared him to Danny Funderburk. A fairly accurate picture of the direction Gold City’s arrangements seem to be taking Ladd would be to picture Brian Free emulating Danny Funderburk.

Fans of progressive Southern Gospel will find this project one of the highlights of the year’s releases. But the CD has something for everyone. Even fans whose tastes lean more towards the traditional end will find themselves returning to several of the tracks time and again.

Average Song Rating: 3.9 (of 5).

Producer: Roger Talley.

Song List: God is Great, Good, and Merciful; True Love Has No Limits; Paramount Love; The Broken Ones; That’s Enough; We Who Come Behind; I Think Too Much of Her; I Don’t Understand it But it Does; Too Much to Gain To Lose; Preach.

Available From: Crossroads, Amazon, Christianbook.com.

***

The Talley Trio invariably finds several strong songs for each of their projects. But Stages, the Talley Trio’s 2007 release, features one of their strongest collections of songs to date. When I first heard the project a few weeks, I knew it was worth reviewing, even if it was roughly a year old.

The project features several appearances by friends of the Talley Trio over the years. Connie Hopper makes a guest appearance on “Paramount Love.” (Roger and Debra both performed with Connie in the Hoppers before leaving to start the Talleys.) Thanks to the wonders of digital technology, the late Jake Hess’s is paired with Lauren Talley for a duet on “That’s Enough.” Marcy Kelsey Beckett appears on “Too Much to Gain to Lose.” Preacher John Hagee contributes a spoken introduction to the project’s most catchy tune, “Preach.”

Of all the radio-worthy songs on the project, “The Broken Ones” saw the most chart success, making it to the #1 spot in May 2008. The project’s first two songs (”God is Great, Good and Merciful” and “True Love Has No Limits”) and the closing track (”Preach”) are also strong numbers that should have also done well on radio if they had been singled.

Quite simply, even though their in-the-studio updates suggest they’re making a good run at it for their upcoming fall release, this project will be hard to top.

Some of the first posts have come under criticism in certain quarters for being too positive. Is it not better to err on the side of being positive than going to the opposite extreme? Besides, what is the point of going to a concert if there isn’t a decent chance you’ll enjoy it? And if one of my contributors enjoyed a concert, I sure hope that would come through in their review.

Things have calmed down enough that I can do the second post in this series. Imagine what it would be like if…the Gaither Vocal Band covered the Happy Goodmans’ album Chosen.

Chosen is a mostly forgotten entry in the Happy Goodmans’ discography, since it was recorded after Howard and Vestal left the group. The lineup is Rusty Goodman, his daughter Tanya, Sam Goodman, and Michael English. The songs:

• “The Cloud He’s Coming Back On.” The Kingsmen and Triumphant Quartet have both recorded this within the past year, but a GVB rendition would probably be solid enough and different enough to be worth a listen.
• “I Bowed On My Knees and Cried Holy.” Wait a minute, the GVB has already done this song. It would be a little too obvious to feature Guy Penrod, but either a Wes Hampton or a Marshall Hall feature would add an interesting twist to the song.
• “Home.” The GVB has also already covered this song, also, fairly recently. It fits their style.
• “The Message of His Coming.” This catchy song is the primary reason this album remake pairing came to mind. Someone–whether the GVB or another group–needs to bring this song back.
• “He Speaks to Me.” This would probably be a good point to feature Marshall Hall.
• “Look for Me.” This song, originally featuring Tanya Goodman Sykes, would make a great Wes Hampton solo.
• “Sail on Over.” This group-harmony song gives a nod to the convention song style.
• “He Chose Me.” I think this originally featured Rusty Goodman; it would fit Marshall Hall’s style.
• “Somebody Prayed for Me.” Guy Penrod could be featured here.
• “Someone to Care.” This would be a good feature for Bill Gaither.