2004 National Releases Overview

We started the year with The Dixie Hummingbirds' "Diamond Jubilations."  Though many members have come and gone The Legendary Dixie Hummingbirds have stood the test of time.  From their very beginnings their sound has always been solidly traditional, but yet contemporary.  Simply put, the Birds have been able to adapt to the current trends of the times.  Though many of the mainstays have either passed away or retired from the road the great Ira Tucker still leads the current Hummingbird lineup.  Amazing enough, Mr. Tucker has been able to find replacements for each of the voices that really made up the sound we all know as classic Birds. 

In March we introduced the long awaited project of Slim & The Supreme Angels, "Have You Heard The News?"  As with many of the legendary groups, membership have changed over the years.  But, The Supreme Angels'  commitment to their calling has remained the same.  This project represents the group's first trip back into the studio after several "Live" recordings.  On a whole this release has been heralded as one of the group's best projects in years.  The mixture of old and new songs is to be expected from a group with such a huge library to pull from. 

April showcased one of the two projects from The Canton Spirituals that would be reviewed by us in 2004.  Coming just a few days before their scheduled LIVE recording session in Illinois the Canton Spirituals released a powerful 14 song CD/DVD featuring some of the hit numbers from their Verity recordings.  The project is simply titled "Nothing But The Hits."  Historically speaking, this CD compilation represents the very 1st time that a compilation has been featured in our CD review section.  The project really shows the many sides and faces that the Canton Spirituals have shown since joining the Verity family in the late 1990s.  And in September, we reviewed The Canton Spirituals' "New Life:  Live In Harvey, Illinois."   This is an outstanding project.  In fact, we felt that there were no weaknesses in the project.  We believed the project could easily be described as the best overall project by The Canton Spirituals since Memphis I and Memphis II. 

In May Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson's first release on the Verity label was reviewed.  Keith has always been a great singer.  He has matured into an awesome singer.  This project by Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson represents the crowning achievement of years of hard work and struggle.  Now being marketed as a traditional male artist that sings quartet, Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson joins Harvey Watkins Jr., and the Seven Son of Soul as the groups currently recording for the New York based Verity Records.  As the title states, this recording is definitely a "New Season" in the life of Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson and The Spiritual Voices. 

June provided us with the opportunity to review one of the two (2) projects from the Marxan label in our CD Review section for 2004.  The Christianaires are one of the few quartets on the road today that defy description in terms of style category.  Under the leadership of the great Paul Porter the group is able to adapt to whatever the situation might call for.  "Stand Up! Live" is  the group's second LIVE recording.  This project shows their versatility as they perform a mixture of both traditional and slightly contemporary songs.  This LIVE recording took place the same night as Spencer Taylor & The Highway QC's recording entitled "He Said! LIVE" that was reviewed by us in July.   You will not find many new songs on the QC's project.  However, in spite of the QC’s revisiting old songs the CD is a good effort.  Unfortunately, the crowd response was not what you would have expected for a live recording by The Legend. 

 In August we went back to a 2003 release and reviewed Luther Barnes & The Sunset Jubilaires' "It's Your Time."  Although this project had been on the market for a year (it was released on June 24, 2003), it remains in heavy rotation on many radio stations and was worthy of a review by Gloryland Gospel.  In October, Margaret Allison and The Angelic Gospel Singers' "Go On" was reviewed.  Ms. Allison organized her group in 1944.  Since that time, they have, over and over, brought us the best in traditional gospel quartet recording.  And they did so again with "Go On." 

The Racy Brothers' “I Won’t Forget” was the subject of our November's review.  This was MCG's second project that made it into the CD Review section for the year 2004.  In 1997 MCG released the self-titled project “The Racy Brothers.”  The songs on that project are essentially the same, with two exceptions, as those on “I Won’t Forget.”  The songs, on "I Won't Forget" however, do have a fresh sound to them.   

A few years ago, a group from North Carolina took the gospel music industry and the country by storm with the song “Tell The Lord About It.”  That group was Revive.  The lead singer at that time was Johnavon Sauls, who is know in the industry as Bo Peep.  Bo Peep has since left Revive and started his own group.  His new group is Bo Peep and Good News.    We reviewed their freshman project “Extra! Extra!” in December.  Listening to this project was a positively extraordinary experience.  It is full of “Good News.”  This fifteen track project is just what the world needs to hear at this time. 

Below you will find the Gloryland Gospel top 5 picks of the year 2004 and the top 15 national group's to watch in 2005.  This list is in no way all inclusive, however if you're really looking for the best of the best you will definitely want to add these recordings to your quartet library.  God Bless and we look forward to great releases from the major labels in 2005.

15 Groups to Watch in 2005

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