Chris Allman Joins The Blogging World

Chris Allman, Greater Vision’s tenor, has thrown his hat into the blogging ring with his blog entitled Like I Wish I’d Lived.  Taken from the GV song of the same name, it’s more a blog from his heart as a former pastor than it is a SG music blog.  It is well worth your time to visit and read some insights from Chris, he has a very readable writing style and his posts are very poignant.  So click on over and read, and welcome him (back) to the blogging world.

The Original Greater Vision Revisited

A couple of videos have surfaced of rehearsals by the original lineup of Greater Vision for the reunion concert that was recently held.  (h/t, DJM)  I can’t stop watching the clip of “Sailing Away”, it’s just that good.  I love Pat Barker’s reaction in the background when Gerald, Mark, and Chris just effortlessly nail the cascading harmonies to the inversion on the second chorus.  These videos reinforce my belief that the combination of Chris Allman, Mark Trammell, and Gerald Wolfe was the greatest male trio SG has ever seen.  Wow.  The scary thing is they sound just as good, if not better, as they did 20 years ago.

Sailing Away

Jesus Is Here

Greater Vision Re-Releasing “You Can Have A Song”

Greater Vision has announced in their latest e-newsletter that they will be re-releasing their You Can Have A Song project on CD.  This was one of the first two albums the group recorded with Chris Allman, Gerald Wolfe, and Mark Trammell.  Previously this project was only available on cassette.  They also state that this will be a limited edition release of signed and numbered CDs.  Details are promised to be forthcoming.  Keep a watch out!

NQC ’10: Thursday Recap

There’s quite a bit more to talk about today.  So, continuing our bullet point format, here we go:

• First, Sarah Palin.  Several artists tweeted that they were given the opportunity to meet her and have their pictures taken together before Palin made her keynote speech.  Her speech itself seems to have been well received, even if the only artists she mentioned were the Nelons and Amy Grant (?).  By most accounts, she came across as having a very genuine faith.
• The Ball Brothers made their debut mainstage appearance to mainly positive reviews.  Good to see them get the exposure they deserve.  I really think these guys have quite a future ahead of them as pacesetters in SG.
• The reviews have been mixed on the “cheesiness” of the song, but either way the Booth Brothers and Sisters collaboration called “Brothers and Sisters” was very much notable, and nothing but positive about the performance of the groups.
• Several commentators have noticed that song selections on the whole last night just seemed to be disjointed.  Not that the songs were bad in and of themselves, but the sets just didn’t seem to flow very well.
• Chris Allman continues to impress with his tenor vocals for Greater Vision.  To start their set, a YouTube clip was played of them singing “Too Near Home” from 1995, and at the conclusion of the clip, Stan Whitmire kicked in the piano intro and away they went with the full song.  Allman truly seems to have stepped out of a time machine vocally.
• The Perrys sang a couple of new tunes from their Blue Skies CD, the title track and “His Love Lights the Way”.  Tracy Stuffle again joined them for two songs, and it’s good to hear that his health is holding up so well during such a stressful week.
• The Greenes, and specifically TaRanda Greene, also had a quite impressive and notable set based on several accounts.  TaRanda continues to cement her place as an elite vocalist in SG.
• Buzz of the Night Award:  The Collingsworth Family.  Again.  The Collingsworths have really seemed to be the buzz of the convention, and their set last night was apparently no less impressive, especially their acappella rendition of the classic hymn “Take Time To Be Holy.”  This group may just come out of the convention with the biggest jump in esteem and popularity, as people have been gushing over their performances this week.

Chris Allman With Greater Vision

Adam Edwards has some video of Chris Allman’s (re?)debut with Greater Vision.  The song choice is a bit surprising, but Allman absolutely sings the fire out of “Hallelujah Square.”  Any questions about his range or chops to still sing tenor after 15 years away will be emphatically laid to rest with this performance.  It’s almost like he’d never been gone.

Pure Class From Chris Allman

In all the commotion about Chris Allman returning to Greater Vision as their new tenor, one of the things that seemingly gets brushed aside or forgotten is that Allman has been pastoring a church that he started himself.  This is quite a change for the church, and Allman has posted an open letter on the church’s website here.  His letter is obviously very heartfelt and genuine, and is a rare glimpse into the other side of these kind of personnel changes.  Too many times we’re caught up in who’s leaving what group for another one, and we miss the fact that even those who join groups that aren’t currently traveling still make the decision to leave what they were doing before they got the call.  I can’t help but respect and admire Allman for his concern and love for his flock.

Chris Allman Returns To Greater Vision

Greater Vision has announced that Chris Allman is returning to the group as their new tenor.  Allman was the original tenor for the group when they started, and is still my favorite GV tenor, though they’ve all been good.  I personally think this is a great choice for the group, and I’ll be very interested in hearing them with Chris.  The press release mentions that Allman’s first date with the group will be April 21.  Congratulations to Chris and Greater Vision!

Recording old music with new personnel

Turnover in groups occurs often in Southern Gospel Music.  Some groups go back and record previously released material with the current lineups.   This morning I had newsletters in my inbox from both The Dove Brothers and Greater Vision announcing new projects that fall along these lines.  The one by The Dove Brothers is coming out in the Spring to mark their 10th Anniversary.   Greater Vision’s is now available online and has songs they have recorded with previous members (Chris Allman, Mark Trammell, and Jason Waldroup) and also has a few songs they’ve never had available before.

I’ve seen this done by Gold City, The Perrys, and The Kingdom Heirs after having major changes to their group.  Greater Vision also did one before called “Sing It Again!”  What are some other groups you have seen do this?  Is there anyone you’d like to see record one?