The Caravans - Paved The Way CD Review

The Caravans

Pave The Way

After forty (40) years The Caravans blesses us with a new recording. The live project is titled Paved The Way. The storyteller, Dorothy Norwood, aptly tells how the Caravans paved the way for, not only female gospel signers, but gospel singers across the board. Therefore, for the month on November we review The Caravans’ Paved The Way.

In the bio provided by MALCO Music Group it is stated that “Albertina Walker, the “Queen of Gospel Music”, is reunited with her royal court of Gospel superstars on the . . . CD “Paved The Way” with three other anointed, living legends from The Caravans, who are Dorothy Norwood, “The World’s Greatest Gospel Storyteller”, Deloris Washington, “The Sweet Songbird” of Gospel, and Inez Andrews “The High Priestess” of Gospel music. This all-star edition of The Caravans has recorded a classic new CD that includes 6 new songs and 7 gospel standards, including The Caravan’s legendary hit: “Mary Don’t You Weep.”

The above paragraph succinctly summaries what this new CD is all about. What a powerful project. The recording took place at the West Point Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois. And, The Caravans were accompanied by some of the best musicians in the industry; such as, Tony Russell, Jeff Smith, Charles Willis, Richard Gibbs and Derrick Lee. With an outstanding lineup of musicians, The Caravans were able to give a fresh sound to many of their classic recordings.

The recording begins with the title track, “Paved The Way.” Along with her capturing how The Caravans help paved the way for other groups, Evangelist Norwood also provides a glimpse into some of the trails and tribulations experienced by the group as they traveled from town to town during the 50’s and 60’s. Evangelist Norwood also sings lead on “Holy Ghost.” She shares lead duties with Queen Walker on “All The Way.”

Albertina Walker sings lead on “Show Some Sign” and "Christ Is Coming Back." She also shares lead duties with Faith Howard on “God Fixed It.” In addition to the guest appearance of Faith Howard, we are treated to the extraordinary vocalist Evelyn Turrentine-Agee singing “No Coward Soldier.” Evelyn is at her best on this song. You can literally feel the joy and excitement in her voice. She pushes her vocals to the limits to provide a rich rendition of the traditional favorite “No Coward Soldier.”

Delores Washington takes over lead duties on “Be Done” and “Jesus IS The Best Thing.” Inez Andrews take “Mary Don’t You Weep” to another level. This song will have you reminiscing about the best of traditional gospel quartet music and rejoicing that this recording (that has been done by so many groups) has been given new life and a very fresh sound. It is simply awesome. The background harmony is just outstanding. Inez Andrews also sings lead on “Living In A World (where there is no sin)” and “God Will Supply.”

There is a riveting arrangement to “Remember Me.” On this song, Evangelist Norwood handlings the lead duties, while at the same time, there is a background duet with Albertina Walker and Delores Washington.

As you can see, each member of the group had their opportunity to sing lead. In doing so, you are provided with really the best of the Caravans by way of this new CD – Paved The Way. What a powerful group. Not only are they able to blend their voices miraculously to give the most melodious background harmony, but also the vocal strength of each member to be able to sing lead.

Notably missing from the lineup is the incomparable Pastor Shirley Caesar. We understand that the reason why Pastor Caesar did not appear on this recording was due to a conflict in her schedule.

Although this is a live project, there is no video of the recording. It is unfortunate that this historic event was not captured through the lens of cameras. Maybe fans of The Caravans will encourage the label to at least do concept videos for some of the songs.

The lack of a video does not in anyway diminishes the quality of the project or the historic event captured on CD. The CD should be available everywhere. More importantly, it should be in your collection. Click on Paved The Way to purchase the CD online. We give The Caravans' Paved The Way a 10 out of 10. Click on the title to hear “Remember Me."

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