For this second portion of the June 2003 reviews we take a look at yet another group that needs no introduction. The Soul Stirrers (Crume Brothers) are back, and after many years away from the group their powerhouse lead singer Rev. Luther Gamble has made his return.  Some might say, I don't remember that name. Well, the reason you might not remember Rev. Gamble is this talented lead vocalist sounds very similar to the late Rev. Martin "Horse" Jacox.  In fact, with Jacox changing groups during the 1970s these two powerful lead vocalist are featured at times along side one another.  With the group's long time leader Dillard Crume gone, Rev. Gamble came in at a time when they needed him. 

Recorded before a lively audience in the group's well known home city of Chicago, Illinois, one can help but feel a little nostalgic when tenor lead Justin Morris hits "The Love of God".  It was that very song that was recorded in a "Live" setting in 1968 with Willie Rogers leading it.  For the most part, this project represents a continuation of the Soul Stirrer vocal harmony tradition.  This current group has continued to keep that old school Soul Stirrer sound in the background even with instrumentation.  With long time members Arthur Crume and Leroy Crume, I guess they can't help but do that.  But what you might ask makes this project different.  Well, for one thing they once again have a powerhouse lead singer in Rev. Luther Gamble to contrast the Sam Cooke like tenor of Justin Morris. Just listen to the first song "Take Me Home" and you will see that these guys mean business. 

If you really want a scare though, just take a listen to the late Martin Jacox's patented song "Resting Easy".  With the exception of Rev. Gamble's well known laugh this is classic Martin.  From the throat bustin' screams to the vocal modulation that Jacox was well know for, all that really enjoyed the Martin's singing will defiantly enjoy this song.  Other songs of note include the beautiful "Don't Put It Off".  This powerful ballad is much in the tradition of "Don't Put Off Today For Tomorrow" and boy are the lyrics heart wrenching.  The song speaks of the importance of accepting Christ into our lives now.  If you're looking for that little Sam Cooke feel, then check out Justin Morris on "Come On In".  The song has that patented skip type tempo that really characterized more of Sam's secular numbers. 

In terms of real classic numbers this project offers the aforementioned "Resting Easy", the beautiful "One More River To Cross" and "Toiling On".   These classic Soul Stirrer hits are given great energy before a "Live" audience and definitely show that it is possible to keep a sound even with modern production techniques and instrumentation.  In fact, throughout the whole project their is some pretty funky guitar work being done by Richie Stano.  However, it at no time distracts or takes away from the rock solid backgrounds of the Soul Stirrers.