Artist: Various
Label: Madacy Entertainment Group
Southern Gospel Classics
Disc 1 Song Titles: "Because He Lives" (The Blackwood Brothers), "He Touched Me" (Hovie Lister & The Statesmen), "The Uncloudy Day" (Masters V), "Lead Me To Calvary" (Oak Ridge Boys), "Because Of Him" (The Kingsmen Quartet), "I Must Tell Jesus" (JD Sumner & The Stamps), "Amen Chorus" (The LeFevres), "Silver And Gold" (Wendy Bagwell & The Sunliters), "Meeting In The Air"/"Eastern Gate"/"Sweet Bye And Bye"/"I'll Fly Away" (The Gospel Brass), "Lord Teach Me How To Pray" (The Speers), and "Sweet Hour Of Prayer" (The Blackwood Brothers)
Disc 2 Song Titles: "Old Time Religion" (Hovie Lister & The Statesmen), "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" (Masters V), "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" (The Oak Ridge Boys), "Jesus Loves Me" (The Kingsmen Quartet), "Oh Happy Day" (The Gospel Brass), "In My Father's House" (Hovie Lister & The Statesmen), "Good News Medley" (JD Sumner & The Stamps), "The Old Fashioned Meeting" (The Speers), "Whispering Hope" (The LeFevres), "Turn Your Radio On" (Hovie Lister & The Statesmen), and "Oh How I Love Jesus" (The Blackwood Brothers)
Disc 3 Song Titles: "I Bowed On My Knees And Cried Holy" (The Blackwood Brothers), "How Great Thou Art" (Hovie Lister & The Statesmen), "River Of Life" (The Oak Ridge Boys), "The Old Ship Of Zion" (The Speers), "He Looked Beyond My Faults" (JD Sumner & The Stamps), "Alone You'll Face Eternity" (The Kingsmen Quartet), "In My Heart" (The LeFevres), "Peace Like A River" (The Blackwood Brothers), "You'll Never Walk Alone" (The Oak Ridge Boys), "Faith Unlocks The Door" (Masters V), and "His Name Is Wonderful" (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.
Author: David Bruce Murray
| Author's Website: http://www.musicscribe.com
Written: 05/16/2005
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Category: ReviewsCD Reviews
Comments: 2
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