1. Moving Out Of Here (Crossmen Quartet) – This is the same song released early in the year by The Skyline Boys.? The Crossmen originally recorded this song on their New Ground project from @ 1995.? They were also part of The Crossroads family on the SonLite label.

2. You Can Have A Song (Greater Vision) – This is the debut song on the debut album of a debut group from 1991.? This was the first song on Greater Vision’s very first recording by the same name.? Thought you’d like to hear it!

3. Yes, He Can (Phillips Family) – Stephen Phillips penned this song on The Phillips Family’s new project This Same Jesus.? Stephen wrote all 10 tracks on their new release.? Look for a review on it soon.

4. I Remember The Day (The Perrys) – This song is a classic from their God’s Little People project.? The Perrys were awesome here in 1989 and they are still awesome today!

5. I Just Gotta Praise The Lord (Dixie Melody Boys) – This tune features McCray Dove while he was still with the DMBs.? Rodney Griffin was still with the group as well.? This song is from their 1992 Gonna Praise The Lord Live project.

In an announcement from Gerald Wolfe:

…Plans are well underway for our upcoming 20th Anniversary recording in Temple, Texas on Thursday and Friday August 6 & 7.? We just learned last week that not only will we be doing a “live” recording for a CD, we will also be doing a “live” VIDEO recording as well!? This won’t be just any video recording… this one will be filmed in high-definition!? We will be recording both concerts for the CD / DVD release, so pick one night… or both nights, and order your tickets while they are still available!…

Kudos to Greater Vision for being a leader in technology for our genre, but if the recording isn’t released in Blu-Ray HD, what’s the point.? The video would still have to be? compressed to fit a 4.7 GB DVD or a 8.5 GB dual-layer DVD.?

Hopefully, Blu-ray would be offered from Greater Vision since they are recording in HD, but honestly, how many SG fans have Blu-Ray players?? I would venture to say that a very small percentage have the technology to play a Blu-Ray DVD, but maybe their live-in kids or grandkids have a PS3 that could handle the format.?

So should Greater Vision risk being stuck with a product that might not move, or should they bite the bullet and be a front-runner in Southern Gospel HD.? Correct me if I’m wrong, but even Bill Gaither has yet to release a video project in true HD format.? I’ve looked over his site and can’t find any.

My conclusion: why invest in a product that’s most likely not going to move?? Southern Gospel is notoriously behind the times when it comes to technology, which I attribute to the older generation that makes up the majority of SG fans.? ? My family still has people asking for cassettes, so I can only imagine what the ‘big’ groups are faced with.? Sometimes it’s difficult to be in a genre that constantly lags behind other genres, but thankfully we still have the very best music in the world!

Maybe in a few years when DVDs are the new VHS, and blu-ray is common like DVDs are today, we’ll see more offerings of HD, but until that day comes, I’ll not be holding my breath in anticipation.

These clips are from Derrick’s last concert with Brian Free and Assurance in Winston, GA on July 5.? DinanaSN from YouTube posted this and it’s well worth viewing.

1. It’ll Be Joy (Poet Voices)
This song features Mike Allen on the bass while he was still with the group.? The song was recorded on Poet Voices’ project, Love’s Sweet Story IV, from 1996

2. I Can’t Even Walk (Promise)
This Southern Gospel classic features Larry Spadden of Promise.? This is one of the best versions of the song that I have heard.? It is from Promise’s new project, Some Old, Some New & Some We Just Wanted To Do, Vol. 2.

3. If I Could Telephone Heaven (Arthur Rice)
I couldn’t help but include this on this round of music.? Arthur Rice sang this demo for a Singing News Accompaniment Track.? The music is taken directly from The Primitive Quartet’s recording of the song on their Mountain Memories project, released in 2000.? Arthur does the vocals on all parts of this song and it is awesome to hear him in a bluegrass tune!? The demo is available direct from Crossroads Music for $.99.

4. Three Rugged Crosses (Freemans)
This tune is from the request lines.? Someone wanted to hear this song, so here it is.? Great tune from the Freemans’ Eyes On The Prize project, released in 1997.

For what it’s worth, here are my picks this year:

Arthur Rice proves again that he is one of the best leads in the bidness….