SouthernGospelBlog.com

This fall, the Ball Brothers are releasing a Christmas project and launching a Christmas tour with Roy Webb. To promote the project, they are offering a free download of one of the songs, O Come All Ye Faithful.

The CD is not yet available in their online store, but they have posted the tour dates and locations here.

They are also making available a special offer to anyone who will help them promote the events:

We’re looking for some people to help spread the word about the Christmas Tour. If you’re interested in helping out, send us an email. We’ll send you a link to fliers you can print out at home and distribute to your your church, family and friends. In exchange for your help with 20 fliers, we’ll give you 3 additional MP3 downloads from the Christmas project. Email contact@theballbrothers.com to get started.

Here’s a blast from the past: The Collingsworth Family singing “Then Came the Morning” in 2000.

Well before anyone ever heard of them (well, Troy and Keith, I guess you’re exceptions!), they already had that special touch that would make them a household name in Gospel music. Though, I must say, their stage presence has improved just a little: Phil doesn’t stand behind the mixer anymore!

The video notes say April 22, 2008, but based on two other videos the same user posted, the date is correct but the year is 2000.

A few hours ago, Southern Gospel fans with access to the Sirius satellite radio network got what they had been hoping for since the XM/Sirius merger: Sirius added XM’s Southern Gospel station, enLighten, to its lineup, as Sirius Channel 67. This expands the station’s reach by 17 million households, plus millions more who have DirecTV and DishTV.

Marlin Taylor remains at the helm of the station and says that no significant programming changes are planned.

XM is about to celebrate its 4th anniversary; it was launched as an online-only station on November 15th, 2004. A year later, November 2005, it was an included channel when DirecTV added the XM music channels. It joined XM’s satellite lineup in April 2006.

Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.9 stars (of 5)

Producer: Bubba Smith.

Song List: A New Day; It’s a God Thing; I Can’t Forget the Blood; Get On the Boat; Don’t Doubt in the Darkness; You’re My Friend; Running To The Rock; My Heart Has Found a Home; Something Like the Likes of You; He/He Touched Me/He is Lord.

Available from: Artist.

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The Browns’ previous projects were produced by Roger Talley; on A New Day, they use a new producer, Bubba Smith. Smith, a multi-Grammy and Dove-winning producer, is best known for his production efforts in black Gospel and CCM, producing artists as diverse as Shirley Caesar, Helen Baylor, Bruce Carroll, Sandi Patty, Petra, and Point of Grace. He has also produced projects for Karen Peck & New River (Journey of Joy), the McRaes (Perfect Love), and the Crabb Family (Blur the Lines).

Not surprisingly, bringing in someone with a background like Smith’s gives the project a sound quite different than on their previous Talley-produced projects. While the project is still Southern Gospel, certain tracks bring Point of Grace to mind. Smith’s influence is most evident in the little things, like the vocal introduction to “Get on the Boat.” It’s not the sort of thing a typical Southern Gospel producer would do, but it’s a nice touch that just works. And it’s hard to argue with success.

Since their last project, the Browns have not only grown as vocalists, they have also grown as songwriters. Though they have written a few songs for previous projects, they wrote or co-wrote over half the songs on the project—including the project’s three most memorable songs, “Don’t Doubt in the Darkness,” “Running to the Rock,” and “I Can’t Forget the Blood.” Mom Shelly Brown co-wrote the first with Marty Funderburk, Adam Brown, the older of the two boys, co-wrote the other two, also with Marty Funderburk. Michaela Brown and Rebecca Peck contribute “You’re My Friend.”

Jessica Brown and her fianceé Nick Trammell co-wrote two of the tracks: “It’s a God Thing,” the CD’s first single, and a song they sing as a duet, “My Heart Has Found a Home.” Their voices complement each other’s voice nicely, and it’s not hard to imagine the two of them performing together down the road.

With every successive project since hitting the national scene, the Browns have matured vocally and stylistically. A New Day is no exception.

In the midst of a review of Gold City’s Christmas project, SG blogger Kyle Boering observes:

“Let It Snow” and “Winter Wonderland” are both jazzed up, but without abandoning the quartet feel. Jonathan Wilburn sure seems to have fun with them, too (I’ve always found it interesting when gospel acts include these two songs, as they are essentially secular love songs with a winter theme as opposed to actual Christmas songs).

I have wondered the same thing myself. The best I’ve been able to come up with is that the melody may evoke memories of happy Christmases in the performer’s past. But I’ve still yet to figure out a good answer to the question.

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13)

Regardless of who you voted for in the recent election, we are living in a time of uncertainty. The economy is unstable; sin is becoming more rampant and accepted; and Christians are slowly but surely losing the freedoms they used to have. We live in a time that I would definitely lose heart if I didn’t believe that God has something good in store for His people.

Although it is easy to become fearful and discouraged, we are instructed to “Look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:28)

Regardless of what the future holds, my challenge to each of us is to stay focused on what God has called us to do. If our eyes are fixed on Christ, we won’t notice the world around us, except through His eyes. We can still see those who are in desperate need of Him and we can reach out to them but we won’t be worried about what else is happening in the world. God has a plan and we can be a part of that plan if we stay close to Him. Let’s continue to encourage each other and remind each other that our hope is in Him and no one or nothing else. “Because He lives, I CAN face tomorrow.”

I’ve already covered most of the big stories for the week in the daily posts. The one I didn’t get to till now was that the Gaither organization has announced who will be filling in for Guy Penrod for the rest of the year (and thus confirming Guy is out for the rest of the year):

• November Dates - Jason Crabb
• 12/4 - Mark Lowry & David Phelps
• 12/5 - Mark Lowry
• 12/6 - Mark Lowry & David Phelps
• 12/7 - Reggie Smith
• 12/8 - David Phelps
• 12/11 - Mark Lowry & Jason Crabb
• 12/12 - Mark Lowry & Jason Crabb
• 12/13 - Mark Lowry

Upcoming CD reviews:

• November 11: A New Day (The Browns)
• November 14: DVD - Caribbean Live (Tribute Quartet)
• November 18: You Can Write a Song! workshop (Jeff Ferguson)
• 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)

A couple more reviews are in the works, so I might be editing this schedule later today.

Rating: 4 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 4 (of 5)

Producer: Danny Kramer (assistant producer: Harold Timmons).

Song List: Echoes From the Burning Bush; The Church in the Wildwood; Glory To His Name; I’ll Meet You in the Morning; Turn Your Radio On; I’ll Fly Away; Looking For a City; Jesus, Hold My Hand; Oh Lord, Hasten That Day; I’m Rejoicing; Sweet Beulah Land; Heaven’s Jubilee.

Available from: Artist.

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Despite what I mistakenly indicated in a post a couple of weeks ago, Song Garden is still running. After the departure of the Mike LeFevre Quartet and the disbanding of the Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet, the Chuck Wagon Gang is now probably their best-known artist. The group will be working on a major-label release in a few months; this is a table project in the interim,

This is a collection of twelve familiar songs, most if not all previously recorded by earlier generations of the Chuck Wagon Gang. The style is classic Chuck Wagon Gang: A strum of an acoustic guitar, accompanied by an acoustic bass if anything.

Since most of the songs are instantly recognizable to the average Southern Gospel fan, and the rest are recognizable to Chuck Wagon Gang fans, the main point of interest in the project is to hear how today’s Chuck Wagon Gang sounds on these classics. Though today’s lineup isn’t necessarily seeking to capture every arrangement and voice placement precisely like the classic lineup of the group, they come remarkably close.

The Chuck Wagon Gang is one of the rare groups identified more by a distinctive group sound than by any individual vocalists or personalities. Today’s Chuck Wagon Gang captures that distinctive sound well enough to leave no doubt that they are worthy of carrying the name.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Producer: Harold Timmons.

Song List: Getting Ready to Leave This World; Echoes From the Burning Bush; Jesus, Hold My Hand; If We Never Meet Again; This World is Not My Home; Heaven’s Jubilee; The Joy of Heaven; I’ll Meet You in the Morning; When I Walk on the Streets of Gold; I’m Gonna See Heaven; He Said it All For Me; Oh, Lord, Hasten That Day; I Have a Prayer; I’m Rejoicing; Sweet Beulah Land; Looking For a City; It’s An Unfriendly World; It is Well With My Soul; Glory To His Name; I’ll Fly Away; Radio Show (The Son Hath Made Me Free / Come Unto Me / The Church in the Wildwood / A Beautiful Life); Heaven’s Really Gonna Shine.

Available from: Artist.

* * *

The current generation of the Chuck Wagon Gang is co-owned by bass singer / guitarist / emcee Dave Emery and Shaye Smith. Smith, the grand-daughter of Chuck Wagon Gang alto Anna (Carter) Davis, sang with the group for several years, coming off the road last year to spend more time with her children. She currently teaches music at Kings Mountain High School in Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

This concert was recorded at Kings Mountain High School in January 2008; the choirs Smith leads joined the Chuck Wagon Gang on several songs.

The concert is longer than usual; it includes nearly thirty songs and was released on a two-DVD set. Since the group uses entirely live accompaniment, there are no extended intros and turnarounds like most Gospel groups today use, but even so the program is longer than the typical DVD.

One highlight of the concert is the Chuck Wagon Gang’s re-creation of a classic radio program like the Chuck Wagon Gang’s programs from years back (down to singing the Bewley Mills flour jingle). Apparently the Chuck Wagon Gang often does this segment in their concerts; this particular program was highlighted by an interruption by Shaye Smith in character as Willie Mae, the radio studio cleaning lady.

The concert was excellent; an audio-only version of the concert would have received 4.5 or 5 stars. However, a star was deducted from the rating due to the slightly distracting visuals, particularly the shaky close-ups. (It requires special talent to hold a camera still!)

Fans of classic Southern Gospel will enjoy this Chuck Wagon Gang concert.

Christian Davis, former bass singer for the Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet and Mercy’s Mark, has been doing solo dates for the last few months. Initially they were occasional, but they have been picking up lately. Today, he launched a website for his solo ministry, www.christiandavisministries.com. The site includes sound clips, an online store, and ministry news.

Davis is also launching a weekly newsletter; a link to sign up is on the site.

He is booked by the Dominion Agency, which can be contacted at 910-484-6996 or www.dominionagency.com.