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CD Reviews

More Southern Gospel Classics

Artist: Various
Label: Madacy Entertainment Group
More Southern Gospel Classics
Disc 1 Song Titles: "How Great Thou Art" (JD Sumner & The Stamps), "I'll Live In Glory" (The Speers), "Gonna Shout Hallelujah" (Masters V), "What A Day That Will Be" (Hovie Lister & The Statesmen), "King Jesus" (The Kingsmen Quartet), "I Must Tell Jesus" (The Blackwood Brothers), "Belshazzar" (Johnny Cash), "Goodbye Devil" (Wendy Bagwell & The Sunliters), "I'm Glory Bound" (The Carter Family), "The Uncloudy Day" (The Swanee River Boys) and "He Rose Again" (The Blackwood Brothers),
Disc 2 Song Titles: "He Is Here" (Hovie Lister & The Statesmen), "Sweet Jesus" (Wendy Bagwell & The Sunliters), "He's The Only One" (The Kingsmen Quartet), "Safe In The Arms Of Jesus" (Masters V), "Singing, Shouting, Praying" (The Carter Family), "Old Country Church" (The Blackwood Brothers), "Glory To The Meeting House" (The Goins Brothers), "Because Of Him" (The Oak Ridge Boys), "Joy Of Serving The Lord" (The Speers), "For God So Loved" (JD Sumner & The Stamps), and "You Must Be Born Again" (Carl Story)
Disc 3 Song Titles: "Lead Me To That Rock" (The Blackwood Brothers), "At The Cross" (Roy Drusky), "Release Me >From My Sin" (The Kingsmen Quartet), "Why Should I Worry Or Fret" (Hovie Lister & The Statesmen), "All In The Blood" (Masters V), "When I Lay My Burdens Down" (The Oak Ridge Boys), "I'll Fly Away" (Dave Dudley), "Somebody Loves Me" (The Speers), "He Touched Me" (JD Sumner & The Stamps), "One Day At A Time" (The Blackwood Brothers), and "Amazing Grace" (JD Sumner & The Stamps)

Southern Gospel Classics and More Southern Gospel Classics compile a grand total of 66 songs by various Southern Gospel artists from the last 50 years or so. Some cuts ("All In The Blood") are as recent as the late 1980s. You typically see these three-disc sets at Wal-mart in the budget music section or on websites like www.cbd.com . I've seen them priced for as little as $6.99 per set, which is a terrific bargain. In addition to the price, the big plus for these compilations is they offer songs on CD that are very difficult to find on ANY format.

OK, so you can get a ton of rare music cheap, but what about the sound quality? Considering the age of some of these original recordings, I was favorably impressed with the clarity they have achieved through digital remastering. These products are in the same league as the Hall Of Fame series produced by Benson when it comes to sonic fidelity. Of course, the original prodution quality itself is more hit and miss when compared to modern recording standards. Some tracks like "Lead Me To The Rock" (Blackwood Brothers) and "Faith Unlocks The Door" (Masters V) actually hold up to the passage of time quite well, but the arrangements used on songs like "Old Time Religion" (Hovie Lister & The Statesmen) and "Goodbye Devil" (Wendy Bagwell & The Sunliters) are more obviously from days gone by. A few sound downright cheesy, like the Oak Ridge Boys version of "Because Of Him" with the piano clinking along mindlessly on the offbeats in 6/8 time.

One nice thing about getting both sets is you can often compare different versions of the same song. The Statesmen perform "He Touched Me" on Southern Gospel Classics , for example, while the Stamps sing it on More Southern Gospel Classics . The same two groups also sing "How Great Thou Art." The Kingsmen have a version of "Because Of Him" to contrast the version by the Oak Ridge Boys. The Masters V and the Swanee River Boys each sing "The Uncloudy Day."

I wish the original release dates and songwriter information for these songs had been included in the liner notes. Knowing what album the songs originally came from would have been a nice bonus as well, but at these prices it's hard to grumble about the lack of information. The sets are attractively packaged. A few Country and Bluegrass Gospel artists like Johnny Cash, Roy Drusky, The Goins Brothers, and Carl Story are included on the second set. While they certainly deserve their respective places in history, their music seems a bit out of place alongside the quartets and family groups that make up the bulk of these recordings. For that reason, I'm ranking More Southern Gospel Classics at 4 Stars, while the first set earns 4 1/2 Stars.