Dec 19

Top 100: #28 Forever Changed (Kingdom Heirs)

Release Year: 2004

Album Rank for Group: #3 of 10

Here’s a blurb: I have a clear top three in Kingdom Heirs albums, but it’s difficult to rank among those three.  Forever Changed  has three of my top ten all-time favorite Kingdom Heirs songs, but doesn’t quite maintain that standard throughout the recording.  The Hosterman lineup really showcases a super blend on their studio recordings, and this one is a prime example.  Overall, this album balances a huge power ballad (“Forever Changed”) with a couple of incredible driving quartet songs (“I Know I’m Going There” and “I’ve Never Been Loved”), with some light-hearted fare and inspirational numbers in between.

Knock my socks off: Forever Changed, I Know I’m Going There, I’ve Never Been Loved

Don’t skip that one: I Didn’t Know, The Embrace of Grace

I could honestly do without: Looking in the Wrong Place

Dec 16

Top 100: #29 When I See the Cross (Greater Vision)

Release Year: 1997

Album Rank for Group: #5 of 13

Here’s a blurb: When I See the Cross was not the first album recorded by the mainstay Wolfe/Griffin/Waldroup lineup of Greater Vision, but it was the first with the particular type of sound that would carry the trio to new heights into the next century.  That sound was born in the pen of Rodney Griffin, who had six compositions on this project.  And it is some of his best work, including the original Greater Vision tongue-twister, “He’d Still Been God”.  Just a year or two later, Griffin would win his first Singing News Songwriter of the Year award, an award he’s won every year since.  It would not be a stretch to say it all got kick-started on When I See the Cross.

Knock my socks off: God’s Grace Is Sufficient, He’d Still Been God, ‘Til the Storm Passes By

Don’t skip that one: Common Garments, Just How Precious, The Glory Way, All the Way, When I See the Cross, I Have a Hope

I could honestly do without: The Walls Come Down

Dec 15

Top 100: #30 I Do Believe (Gaither Vocal Band)

Release Year: 2000

Album Rank for Group: #2 of 7

Here’s a blurb: The Gaither Vocal Band’s third and final studio album with the Phelps/Penrod/Lowry lineup was a blockbuster.  The are 14 tracks, covering a range of styles from golden era southern gospel to modern country and more.  Its strongest contributions are my personal favorite Vocal Band recorded performance (“Sinner Saved by Grace”) and the soaring takes on several old school quartet numbers.  This album would rank higher on my list if two or three of the weaker songs hit the cutting room floor.  But as it is, there are songs for every kind of gospel music fan, all performed by one of the greatest vocal combinations to hit this genre.

Knock my socks off: Sinner Saved by Grace, The Love of God

Don’t skip that one: On the Authority, He’s Watching Me, Oh What a Time, Hide Thou Me

I could honestly do without: Steel on Steel

Dec 14

Top 100: #31 There’s a Light Guiding Me (Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver)

Release Year: 1996

Album Rank for Group: #2 of 7

Here’s a blurb: There’s a Light Guiding Me is an outstanding collection of 14 songs, eight of which are a cappella, and all of which are flawlessly executed.  Doyle Lawson the music fan reaches back into his childhood and draws heavily from the singing convention era and from black gospel spirituals.  Doyle Lawson the band leader demands the utmost precision from Quicksilver’s performances, especially the a cappella numbers.  The result here is probably the band’s best recording from a musical standpoint.  It garnered Quicksilver its first Grammy nomination, and Lawson must have liked it so well, after previously alternating gospel and secular projects, he recorded five more gospel albums consecutively.

Knock my socks off: There Is a God, I’m Going to Heaven, The Arm of God, Calling to That Other Shore

Don’t skip that one: I Need My Savior All the Time, Earth’s Greatest Loss, Let Me Tell You About Jesus, The Beautiful Altar of Prayer

I could honestly do without: There’s Fire Down Yonder

Dec 12

Top 100: #32 Double Take (Gold City)

Release Year: 1986

Album Rank for Group: #10 of 15

Here’s a blurb: Double Take was the introduction to the gospel world of the first Gold City supergroup.  With the addition of Mike LeFevre to Tim Riley, Ivan Parker, and Brian Free, one of the sharpest-sounding quartets in the genre’s history was born.  That sharpness is put on display here on several excellent uptempo numbers.  The best live moment of the recording is Brian Free’s touching salvation testimony, given alongside “Greatest of All Miracles”.

Knock my socks off: When I Get Carried Away, Greatest of All Miracles

Don’t skip that one: I’m Gonna Move, When I Stood Up, After I Bow, Come On In, Separated, Cool Drink of Water

I could honestly do without: Our God Will Prevail

Dec 08

Top 100: #33 A Cappella (Gaither Vocal Band)

Release Year: 2003

Album Rank for Group: #3 of 7

Here’s a blurb: I have nearly a dozen all-a cappella albums in my collection of southern and bluegrass gospel.  But this is not a normal a cappella project.  This is a cappella on steroids.  With magnificent arrangements, huge high notes, and too many funky chords to count, this album is a jaw-dropping listening experience.  For vocal geeks like myself, it is right up their alley.  For more casual musicians and fans, it would be at times a laborious listen, and would probably be more enjoyed in small doses.  Even on an album with no instrumentation, Gaither was able to brilliantly cover a lot of stylistic ground, from great hymns of the church, to spirituals, to inspirational numbers, to convention songs.

Knock my socks off: Center of My Joy, Delivered from the Hands of Pharaoh, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Don’t skip that one: He Will Carry You, Gentle Shepherd, Low Down the Chariot, Heaven’s Joy Awaits

I could honestly do without: Sing a Song/I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing

Dec 06

Top 100: #34 Going on With the Song (Kingdom Heirs)

Release Year: 2003

Album Rank for Group: #4 of 10

Here’s a blurb: The first major album released after the Kingdom Heirs’ long-time tenor, bass, and pianist departed, the appropriately-titled Going on With the Song was a clear message that the best was yet to come for the quartet.  The Heirs made one of the greatest southern gospel hires of this century when they tapped monster bass Jeff Chapman to replace Eric Bennett.  Tenor Jodi Hosterman was certainly very different from David Sutton, but his blend with the quartet was superb in his short stay.  They combined with standard-bearers Arthur Rice and Steve French to create a sensational quartet album right off the bat.  The other star of this album is Rodney Griffin, who wrote six of the ten songs.

Knock my socks off: He Had to Rise, Mighty Deep Well, I Want to Be the One

Don’t skip that one: Going on with the Song, He’s Already in Your Tomorrow, Good News from the Graveyard

I could honestly do without: Enjoy the Lord