Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day to all of you faithful readers.  Enjoy your holiday and I’ll be back to posting on Tuesday.

College Football 2008 Starts Tonight!

The 2008 college football season kicks off tonight with a featured matchup between NC State and South Carolina.  I’ve been waiting 8 months for this.  As far as my teams go, Memphis is a bit of an enigma, we could be really good, and we could be really bad.  West Virginia is poised for another great run with Heisman hopeful Pat White under center for his senior year.  Let’s get this party started!

Welcome A New Blogger

Madison Easter has taken the jump into the blogging world.  Visit his blog here and check him out.  His blog is primarily going to be a window into the day to day happenings aboard the Easter’s bus, and will be geared toward their fans.  Stop by and say hello!

Review: Talley Trio – Life Goes On

This is the latest release from the Talley Trio, and is a bit groundbreaking, as the group solicited opinons from their fans through the Talley Tree-O blog. From opinions on songs to cover photos, and now even to picking the first single, the Talley Trio has sought the opinions and advice from their fans, in what is an interesting experiment by the group and their label, Crossroads.

Tracks:

1. Realms Of Glory Bright – This is a great opener, a mid to uptempo anthemic tune that features some nice use of unison and two part harmony in addition to the group’s signature trio harmonies. 8.5/10
2. I’ve Never Been Loved Like You – This is a nice smooth, acoustic country sounding ballad. Good vocals and smooth harmonies highlight this cut. 7/10
3. Winds Of This World – Familiar spiritual that will hearken fans of the group back to their early hit “Searchin’.” Lauren Talley really shines with these type of songs. This wouldn’t be a bad choice to single. 9/10
4. Calvary And Amazing Grace – Debra Talley takes the first verse on this powerful ballad. This song has some great lyrics. Lauren takes the lead on the subsequent verses. This is the type of ballad that plays to the strengths of this group. This song sounds like it would fit on a Brian Free and Assurance album as well. This is not a bad thing. More on the BF&A connection later. 9/10
5. I Will Sing Of My Redeemer – This song starts with the first verse of the hymn “Redeemed” acappella with some nice cascading harmony. The song then kicks in with a very progressive edge. The Talley Trio has done of a lot of P&W inspired tunes recently, and this song is the latest entry. To me, this is one of the highlights of the project, and is the Talley Trio at its absolute best. Not sure if it is SG radio-friendly, but it is a great song. 10/10
6. My Hope Is In The Lord – Very moving, powerful lyric on this ballad. Roger Talley performs the lyric brilliantly, his interpretation on the end of the second verse and first couple lines of the chorus perfectly accentuating the lyric. This probably won’t be a radio hit, but should be a song that moves audiences for years to come. 8/10
7. Comfort Me – Very tender acoustic guitar driven ballad sung by Debra Talley. This song really fits her voice perfectly. Nothing flashy here, but I like the way the song starts as a solo, then Lauren enters for some two part harmony for a while, then finally Roger enters to complete the trio. Solid song with good lyrics. 7.5/10
8. Jesus You Are – Uptempo progressive number that is actually a bit reminiscent of the old Point of Grace tune “Shall We Gather At The River”. This is a really nice cut, and actually, I think would be a good choice for a debut single from the project. Good lyrics and a nice performance by the group make this another high point of the recording. 9/10
9. Hallelujah Praise The Lamb – Wow. One of the songs that has been most requested for the current Talley Trio to recut finds its home here. Lauren sings the lead and does a fantastic job, as expected. I mentioned more about a BF&A connection, and here’s what I mean. When she is in her higher registers, like in several places on this song, Lauren Talley has a tendency to sound a bit like Brian Free. I’d never noticed it before, but someone posted the comparison on the SN forums recently, and I can hear the comparison on this song. This is not a bad thing at all, just something that I found a bit interesting. Incredible song, and an incredible performance. Can I give this a 12? 10/10
10. Life Goes On – Midtempo progressive song. Another very solid performance with the lead alternating between Lauren and Roger on the first verse before Lauren settles into the lead line. Nice arrangement, with much of the song in a minor key. Several commenters on the Talley Tree-O blog have mentioned that they’d like to have this as the debut single. I really don’t have an argument here, this is a very catchy song and would probably do well. Lauren’s sustained note leading to a key change for a last chorus and tag is especially nice. 9/10

Overall: 9/10 This is a fantastic CD by the Talley Trio. The arrangements range from acoustic country to inspirational to progressive with a contemporary flair. The vocal arrangements are very good as well, with a lot of use of unison and two part harmony interspersed with the normal three part trio harmony. I’ve always thought that this group had a great sound, but for some reason I’ve never really gotten into the group. That may change on the strength of this project. The concept of the Talley Tree-O blog is a very good one, and if it continues to lead to CDs that are this strong, they need to keep it up, and more groups should follow suit. A definite “must-have” CD, that is comparable to the latest from the Kingsmen in terms of overall quality.

Gold City’s “When Jesus Saves” – Opinions Please

A few weeks ago I ran a post and poll about songs that ellicit a strong response.  In that post, I postulated that Gold City’s new song, “When Jesus Saves”, would be one of the aforementioned types of songs, as it is a very atypical SG song.  Since the song has been out for a while now, to the right you will find a poll asking your opinon of the song.  Submit your vote, and I’ll tabulate the results for this one as I did the one about “Every Moment”, and we’ll see if my original hypothesis proves true.

Concert Review: Dixie Echoes

We did manage to make it to the Dixie Echoes concert last night.  We arrived a few minutes late (give me a break, i have a 3 year old and an 18 month old!), but I’m guessing that the DE’s were singing their opening tune.  The church was fairly small, but I would guess the crowd was around 100-150, not bad for a Thursday night with school in session.

Here’s the setlist (I had to guess at some song titles):

• I’ll Be Ready
• Miracles Will Happen
• Newborn Feeling
• House Of The Lord
• How Big Is God
• Just A Little While – Piano solo
• Until You Find The Lord
• On The Other Side Of Jordan
• Devil And His Old Suitcase
• Walk With Me
• I’m Going To Move To The Sky
• If We Never Meet Again (with the hymnal)
• Little Is Much

Intermission

• Welcome Home My Child
• Just A Little Talk With Jesus
• So Many Reasons
• River Of Jordan
• Who Am I
• It Is No Secret

This was a very enjoyable concert, as the entire concert was performed with two microphones, piano, and bass on a little more than half of the songs.  These guys have a really good sound.  Much is made about the Dixie Echoes doing the whole “vintage quartet” experience instead of the normal 4 mics, tracks, stacks, and what have you, but the thing that gets lost in the stylistic discussion is this: to pull of a concert like this, you have to be REALLY good musically.  There is no orchestration or stack to hide behind vocally.  The Dixie Echoes pull this off marvelously, and do a lot of tight modern harmony.  “Welcome Home My Child” sounded really good, I’ve always liked that song.  Wesley Smith was very impressive last night, he isn’t the highest tenor on the circuit, but he sang with a suprising amount of power, and he has a very pleasing tone.  Pat Barker does a fine job, especially on songs where he sings the higher bass lines and includes the modern harmonies.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard “Who Am I” as a bass solo, but he did a wonderful job with it.  Randy Sr. did his usual fine job singing lead, and still has some incredible range, especially showcased on the spiritual “Devil And His Old Suitcase”.  He also does a great job as MC, with the right balance of humor, yet knows how to turn the concert to a more serious, spiritual tone at the right times.   Scoot handled the baritone line admirably, and really has the most difficult part to sing, as he had a lot of the actual modern harmony notes, with Barker on one of the basic chord notes and Scoot right next to him adding in a 6th, 9th or the like.  The group’s ability to pull the tight harmonies off is very, very impressive.  Stewart Varnado displayed his perfect grasp of how to accompany a group.  His piano playing was spectacular, and provided the ideal backing for the vocals.  I actually missed most of his piano solo, as I had to tend to my son, which was disappointing, as what I did hear sounded great.  This was a very enjoyable night with some great singing.  Be sure to go see the Dixie Echoes if you have the chance.  You’ll be glad you did.

Imperials Announce New Lead And Tenor

A news story at SGN announces that Scott Allen has been hired as the permanent replacement for Shannon Smith, who left the group a while back, and breaks the news that Perry Jones is replacing Jeremie Hudson as tenor.  Hudson had been with the group for 9 years, which makes him the second longest tenured tenor the group has had, next to Jim Murray’s 20 year run.  Best wishes to the departing vocalists, and a welcome to the new guys!

Upcoming Concert Review

I’m going to try and make it to a Dixie Echoes concert tonight at a church in the area.  If we make it, I’ll have a concert review coming up in the next few days.  I’m excited about getting to see them, I’ve actually never seen them live.  Keep your eye out for the concert review.

Expanded Thoughts: Prophets – I’ll Follow

A few weeks ago, I participated in a mega-review of the Prophets’ CD I’ll Follow.  As Daniel Mount did recently with his review and rating of the Kingsmen’s latest CD, I also feel that I need to expand upon and revise my review and rating of the Prophets CD.  Though I originally gave the disc 3.5 stars, after having been able to listen to the CD for a while now, I’m actually going to raise this rating to a full 4 stars.  This has proven to be a disc that has grown on me with repeated listens.  Here was the summary I wrote for the mega review:

This is a solid CD for the Prophets’ return to gospel music, but I, too, am a bit disappointed in that I think it could have been better. There are a couple of songs that really don’t fit the group’s strength, but as I mentioned above, kudos to them for having the guts to try some different things. It is a case of sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. There is defintitely real potential for this group. They have a good sound, especially on the uptempo and power songs. I’d like to hear more from Allen and Baize especially. Paul Jackson is a good lead singer, and his voice fits with the others very well, but with voices like Baize and Allen in the group, they could definitely be featured on more than one song apiece. I think if this group continues more in the vein of “Love Like The Sun”, “How I Want You To Know”, or “One Thing The Father Forgets”, their subsequent recordings will be that much stronger. It’s a good CD, enjoyable and well worth purchasing, but it left me more with a hopefulness and optimism for future recordings rather than blowing me away on its own.

Much of that review is still valid and the whole of it truly reflected my thoughts at the time, but my disappointment with the disc has dissipated with time.  I really think that the long buildup to the release of the disc served to create some unreasonable expectations.  This is a very good CD, and my disappointment was primarily with a couple of songs that I didn’t particularly like.  One of the songs that I was not impressed with initially was “Golden Streets”, as I felt it really didn’t fit the quartet that well.  This song in particular has grown on me over the past few weeks.  It still isn’t one of my favorites on the project, but I definitely like it much better now.  It’s assuredly an atypical quartet song, but the harmony is very smooth, and Paul Jackson delivers the song well.  The other song that has really grown on me is the last cut, “Mercy”, though in the initial review I praised this song.  As has been the case with several others, songs that I liked before I have really started to love, and none more so than this powerful ballad.  Another interesting thing is that listening online via SGN, the choir seemed to be a bit heavy in the mix, but listening to the actual CD, that ceases (at least to my ears) to be the case.  At any rate, this is a GREAT song.  I’m still not sold on “Jesus Wept”, but there is an interesting tidbit to this song, as it is not a remake of an old Prophets song, but a song that, to the best of the Prophets’ knowledge, has never been recorded before.

In summary, one thing that I hinted at, but did not directly say in the mega review is this:  I for one am VERY glad to see the Prophets doing fresh music and arrangements.  What I didn’t want to see was a “Prophets Tribute” type group.  If my memory serves me correctly, JD Sumner once said that the problem with the Masters V was that they were content to rest on their past accomplishments, and didn’t look to stay current.  I’m glad the Prophets are not falling into that temptation.  So grab a copy of the recording, you won’t be sorry!

Skyline Boys Prayer Request

From Chuck Peters:

Sheila Powers, wife of Dennis Powers, owner and bass singer of the Skyline Boys Quartet, will undergo surgery on Aug. 20 for a double mastectomy and reconstruction for Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Doctors have assured Sheila that she would not have to do chemotherapy or radiation at this time.

Dennis and Sheila would like to say thank you to all of their fans and friends for their your support and constant prayers during this situation.

Encouragement cards, letters, flowers or calls may be directed to:

Sheila Powers
37306 Longmoor Farm Lane
Purcellville, VA 20132
(540) 668-9826

You will recall that the Skyline Boys were recently in the news, and are awaiting release of their first album with Crossroads.  Please remember them in prayer during this trying time.