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2007 National Releases Overview | ||||
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Last year was a good year for gospel quartet music and the major labels. MALACO gave us recordings by The Jubes, The Higway QC's, and Slim and The Supreme Angels. MCG delivered an outstanding live project on Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC's. in 2007, we also got new recordings from The Cantons, The Gospel Four and The Disciples. And, there are numerous other projects that made it to the marketplace from the major labels in 2007. It certainly appears that gospel quartet is still alive and well at the major labels.
As to the reviews, we began
2007 with
The Swan Silvertones'
This Is Gospel - Happy With Jesus Alone. From time to
time, someone will issue a CD with recordings of the Swans. One of
the best we have found is this CD released by Calvin Records. According to
the information contained in the liner notes, this recording represents
the
Swans
tenure with the HOB label. The CD is one in the series issued by Calvin
Records. The tracks on the CD are "If You Believe Your God Is
Dead, Try Mine," "He's Sweet, I Know," "Happy With Jesus Alone." "Jesus
Made Me," "A Tribute To Dr. Martin Luther King," " Marching On To Zion,"
"In My Heart," "I've Got Myself Together," "Tell God," "He's All I Need,"
"Leaning On Jesus," "Lord Have Mercy," "Mary Don't You Weep," "He's My
Friend," "Til He Meets me," "No Secret," "The Fault's In You," and "Stand
Up and Testify." The re-mastering of the CD is one of the
best. You hear
The Swans
like they sounded in their early days. The sound is crisp, very clear and
phenomenal. Yet, none of the roughness that you would expect if you played
an album or 45 from the era is lost. In other words, you could very easily
be listening to the album or 45's from the sixties. February’s review was that of Jewell & Converted's Live In St. Louis. The project was released on 2006, and has rapidly become a favorite. This recording took place in 2005, but did not make it to the marketplace until 2006. The recording actually occurred in November 2005, at The Rhema Baptist Assembly Church. Although the CD has a release date of November 28, 2006, it is just began to get the attention in deserved in 2007. This is an outstanding recording. With their freshman CD being this good, one can only imagine how great their sophomore project will be.
In March, we reviewed the project from the legendary Rev. Thomas J. Spann and The Brooklyn Allstars. The CD is titled LIVE! In Atlanta! At The Emmanuel Tabernacle Baptist Church. The CD is promoted as a celebration of The Brooklyn Allstars’ sixtieth (60th) Anniversary. Therefore, you have twelve tracks that essentially represent the best of The Brooklyn Allstars. All of the songs selected for this project are worthy of your attention. The members of the group for this recording were Rev. Spann, Joe Yawn, John Burwell, Rev. Earley Eugene Toon, William Martin, Mickey Martin, Garson Petttiford and Jimmy Fluellen. Joe Yawn sing the lead on songs that were previously recorded by the group with Hardie Clifton singing lead. Sadly, Mr. Yawn died not long after the recording.
In April, we reviewed the CD
Yes! Quartet.
During the month of February 2007 MALACO decided to recognize the gospel
quartet genre by dubbing the month as National Quartet Month. They
released the CD titled Yes! Quartet. It is a
compilation CD with two tracks each from
The Pilgrim Jubilees,
Spencer Taylor & The
Highway QC's,
The Jackson Sisters,
True Believers,
Slim & The Supreme Angels,
and
The Sensational Nightingales.
The release of this CD was an effort by MALACO to energize quartet music
in the gospel industry. This is the first ever compilation CD
to be reviewed by Gloryland Gospel. So, why this one? Well,
first it is a great CD. Second, there seem to be a trend in the
gospel quartet genre recently of labels releasing good compilation CDs.
Thirdly, we always look for messages in the songs on the CDs we review.
And in that category, this CD delivers. Forth, unlike many
compilations, this CD incorporate newly released, yet to be released and
previously released songs. And finally, there is a good mixture of
legendary groups and groups recently introduced to the national stage.
For the month of May we
reviewed the on CD of the
Harmonizing Four.
This CD is Volume 18 of Calvin Records' This Is Gospel series. The title
of this CD is I Shall Not Be Moved. According to the
information contained in the liner notes, this recording represents the
Harmonizing Four
tenure with the HOB label. The members of the group during their
formative years were Thomas "Goat" Johnson, Joseph "Gospel Joe" Williams,
Jimmy Jones and Levi Handly. It is believed that Lonnie Smith joined the
group in the early 30s. Tommie Ellison (The Superstar) was also once a
member of this group. The Harmonizing Four has been considered one
of the top gospel quartet groups of the postwar era. Their repertoire
includes some of the most lasting gospel recordings ever. For collectors
of gospel music any recording by the Harmonizing Four is priceless.
There is no way to single out any particular song from this CD. All
the songs have a powerful message and will certainly have you yearning for
more from this group of years gone by. If there is one theme running
through all of the tracks on this CD it would be HARMONY. With June being Black Music Month, it was a fitting time to review the new CD by the legendary The Mighty Clouds of Joy. The Clouds remain Ambassadors of Quartet Gospel. They are always on the cutting edge of the quartet sound. Just when you think you have heard the best they have to offer, they push the envelope on arrangements and song selection and take the genre to another level. Following in the footstep of In The House of The Lord – Live In Houston, Movin’ is a live recording that also took place in the State of Texas. Friendship West M. B. Church, Dallas, Texas, was the setting for this recording. To a great extent, Movin’ picks up from where the Live In Houston project ends. The opening song "Jesus Can Turn It Around" has a similar arrangement to that of "In The House of The Lord." It is a great drive song that sets the pace for a Holy Ghost shouting time. Not skipping a beat Joe moves into the title track – "Movin’." As you listen to this song you will realize that Joe’s voice is just as strong as ever. "Movin’" will certainly have you moving out of your seat.
The Pilgrim Jubilees’
Jesus Got Me Off was the subject of the July review.
With over 54 years of music ministry behind them, it seems that the
Jubes
just keep getting better and better. Known for their hard driving
style of quartet singing, the
Jubes
maintain their tradition for continually releasing great gospel music.
The CD is produced by Darrell Luster of
The Sensational
Nightingales.
Therefore, as expected, this project is nothing but pure traditional
gospel quartet music. The project includes 10 songs with brothers Clay &
Cleve Graham taking the lead vocals on most of the songs. And, of course
the incomparable Bobby McDougle unique string-instrumentation is prominent
on each song. As with most recordings by the
Jubes,
there is something on this project for everyone.
In August, we reviewed The
Legend
Spencer Taylor and The
Highway QC’s new CD
It Hasn’t Always Been Easy. The CD will certainly have you
admiring the Legend's vocal skills and overall musical talents. Any
fan of gospel quartet music has to appreciate the silky smooth vocals of
Mr. Taylor. He does not let you down on this new CD. Even after being on
the gospel music scene for over sixty (60) years, Mr. Taylor still has the
ability to mesmerize those fortunate to see the group in concert.
Darrell Luster of
The Sensational
Nightingales along
with Spencer Taylor III and Lynn "Fuzzy" Taylor produced this CD.
Lee Williams & The Spiritual
QC's, new CD, which is
appropriately titled So Much To Be Thankful For, was
reviewed in October. This release by the
QC’s
is certainly representative of their signature style. In other words you
get the same kind of freshness and uniqueness in this project that was
present in Love Will Go All The Way. This project offers a little
something for all types of music listeners. For those looking for
that sermon in song from Lee just listen to "So Much To Be Thankful For."
Patrick Hollis and Leonard Shumpert each sing lead on at least 2 songs.
In terms of sound this recording is very tight both instrumentally and
vocally. This CD provides you with everything you would expect from the
QC’s.
There are great songs with solid biblical messages. Lee sings, sings, and
sings. Al and the guys provide the instrumentation and background vocals
that confirm they are one of the best group of musicians in the industry.
In November we reviewed
The Disciples’
Change.
The Disciples
were formerly known as
The Singing Disciples.
During the 90's this group had four (4) outstanding projects. They were
Rock, Solid Rock, Reach Out, and Live In Baltimore.
The new CD reflects the groups' desire to minister the Word in song, the
group has changed their name to
The Disciples,
but are still rooted in traditional gospel quartet. The current
members of the group are Jack Branch, Melvin "Kym" Derr, Paul I. Houston,
Dana L. Houston, Robert Evans, and Marvin Johnson. Just looking at the
names you will realize that the core group from
The Singing Disciples
makes up The
Disciples.
The first thing you will notice when you put this CD in the player is the
energy that the group brings to the project. Secondly, you will
notice that the group has stayed true to their roots – Traditional Gospel
Quartet Music, with updated and new arrangements. And probably most
importantly, you will realize that this project really ministers to you. We ended the year with Luther Barnes' Christmas with Luther Barnes. There are not many gospel quartet Christmas CDs currently in the marketplace. There is definitely a void in the industry as it relates to holiday music from gospel quartet singers and groups. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that there would be a new CD of Christmas music by Luther Barnes. The title may lead you to believe that this is a solo project by Luther. Well, it is not. This CD is a Barnes’ family offering. This CD has the potential of becoming, like the Christmas with the Keynotes’ project, another stable during the Christmas holiday among fans of good gospel music.
As you can see, just from the twelve (12) CDs reviewed, 2007 was an excellent year for traditional gospel music.
Below you will find the Gloryland Gospel's top 5 picks of the year 2007 and the top 15 national groups to watch in 2008. 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 2008.
Top 5 National Releases of 2007
1. Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC's "So Much To Be
Thankful For"
12. Doc McKenzie and The Hi-Lites – Its almost time! |
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