Musicscribe blog reader and frequent commenter Quaid Newcome sent me a link to a CD Baby album by (what I’m labeling) a Newgrass Gospel group called the Shiloh Mountain Trio. Their music has elements of Bela Fleck and the Isaacs with some surprises thrown in at times. For example, bluegrass meets doo wop on the classic hymn, “Heavenly Sunlight.”

Everything they do is firmly rooted in bluegrass, but it’s fun to hear bluegrass collide with other genres unexpectedly.

Click HERE to hear twelve two-minute clips and/or buy their CD.

Allison Lynn is a winner in my book. Click HERE to find out why.

Recently, Doug Harrison posted a blog article titled “Double Threat.” The question raised is why Southern Gospel artists don’t play their own instruments. It’s been interesting to watch the comments pooh-poohing the idea.

Tanner Stahl says it’s difficult for him to do both well at the same time; he’d rather focus on doing one or the other really well. Fair enough, but surely there are some artists talented enough to do both.

John goes off on a tangent about how bad the singers are in Country music. He has a point, I suppose, but their fans don’t seem to mind when they’re spending $50-100 per ticket and more to see them in concert.

Art thinks a live performance requires at least 16 instruments before tracks can be replaced in Southern Gospel.

I was thinking about drawing a comparison to the early iterations of the Crabb Family, back when the band was mostly made up of family members. But then, I read today’s blog article by Kyle Boreing. He features a YouTube clip of Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives singing “The Unseen Hand.” In this clip, one group member is playing a guitar while Marty and two other guys sing inspired trio harmony around a single microphone. This clip doesn’t demonstrate the full scope of what they can do. On Gaither’s recent pair of Country/Bluegrass DVDs, all four members of the Superlatives sing and play instruments with an emphasis on blending vocal harmony that isn’t too far from Southern Gospel. See below.

So, it CAN be done. The idea just isn’t considered by most Southern Gospel artists. If it’s due to lack of musical ability, that’s fair enough. If it’s mostly due to the fear that fans will miss hearing all the brass and horns in your Milton Smith production, though, that’s a sad reason to opt for not including instruments. Adding instruments is one way to make your group stand out in a genre where most groups are satisfied with the status quo.

All the songs from my New Britain Boogie CD are now available for download from Verizon’s VCast music store. Individual songs can be purchased directly from your phone, or using Rhapsody software from your computer.

Search using the word “britain” to find it quickly.

(”Quickly” assumes you’re in a service area where you can convince your Verizon cell phone to search the VCast store without routinely yielding server errors.)

Rating: 4 Stars

Producer: Arthur Rice
Label: Crossroads Records
Website: www.cross4crowns.com

Song Titles: “I Will Trade The Old Cross For A Crown,” “Things That I’m Seeing,” “Greater Miracle,” “I’m Going There,” “He’ll Never Forsake,” “I’ll See You Home,” “Tell Me Who,” “Whenever, Wherever, Whatever,” “Take A Little Look,” “Celebrating Resurrection Morning,” and “Hallelujah For The Cross”

Turning Point begins with a borrowed arrangement of “I Will Trade The Old Cross For A Crown.” Cross 4 Crowns does the arrangement justice, but they don’t top the 2003 version by the “Mark Lowry Vocal Band” (Some Things Never Change). Fortunately, the rest of Turning Point is more original.

“Things That I’m Seeing” is a remake of a forgotten Kingsmen song from thirty years ago. Cross 4 Crowns has taken a polished, clinical approach to this up-tempo, traditional quartet number.

“You may wonder why He’s never removed this trial you’re going through. He may have a greater miracle for you.” That’s the message of “Greater Miracle,” a song written by Rodney Griffin that features lead singer Davis McCammon, Jr.

I’m not entirely sure what’s up with the mix on “I’m Going There.” It’s not that it’s bad, but something about the first verse sounds artificial to my ears. After that, it’s fine. Maybe it’s just the blend in that particular key. This is another upbeat song in a traditional style. After the final key change, bass singer Justin Terry hits a low G-flat and then does it two more times to prove it isn’t a fluke. I read Terry’s bio and learned that he had no significant experience singing until three years ago. Watch this guy. He’s 24.

“He’ll Never Forsake” is written by Ricky Atkinson. Electric piano and guitar provide the foundation for this arrangement.

Dixie Echoes fans will be happy to hear Dallas Rogers singing tenor again. Dallas is featured on “I’ll See You Home,” a mid-tempo Country style cut written by Ann Ballard. With a vocal tone that’s been compared to Archie Watkins, I like the way Rogers’ allows his vowels to dominate his lines. The result is a fuller sounding delivery than Watkins offers.

Justin Terry sounds a lot like Jeff Chapman on “Tell Me Who.” The delta-blues inspired track suits his vocal style on this Dianne Wilkinson song. Unfortunately, Wilkinson’s first and last names are BOTH spelled wrong in the CD booklet. :o(

Fake strings and brass are a bit obvious on “Whenever, Wherever, Whatever.” The lyric by Marty Funderburk and Don West has a good, potentially memorable hook, but the arrangement is somewhat blah. More rhythmic variety would have helped. As it stands, straight eighth notes in three-quarter time dominate the vocals.

It’s back to a traditional quartet sound for “Take A Little Look,” written by Squire Parsons. A banjo and mandolin add a hint of bluegrass to this track. Justin Terry scrapes out several more low notes on this cut.

The fake strings are back for “Celebrating Resurrection Morning.” This Mark Mathes song features strong vocals. Mathes also wrote the final track, “Hallelujah For The Cross.”

I’m impressed by the overall vocal quality and the strong song selection found on Turning Point. With more agressive tracks, this group could, I think, be compared to the “power groups” known for creating a wall of vocal sound like the Kingdom Heirs, Gold City and Brian Free & Assurance. With the traditional songs on this CD, Cross 4 Crowns seem to be hesitant to embrace a slightly edgier style, but with a bass who is comfortable singing down in Tim Riley territory matched up with a powerful lead and tenor, that’s where their strengths lie. I realize it would have been a gamble on a group that’s relatively unknown at this point, but I wish Crossroads had exerted a greater dose of focused creativity and a production budget to match for Cross 4 Crowns. The group and their producer, Arthur Rice, have done just about all they could to make Turning Point unique and special, given that they were working with ordinary arrangements and pretty good (but certainly not spectacular) tracks.

Doug Harrison has unleashed his ire on the recently released YouTube clip of Bill Gaither, Mark Lowry, Michael English, and Wes Hampton singing “Satisfied.”

It’s not that they ought to be able to sing at 45 or 50 the way they sang at 30 or 35. It’s that they thought it was a good idea to try.

Commenter, Rod, said:

They sing better than 90% of most SG quartets out on the road and these guys (Bill, Mark, Michael, and Wes) do NOT even sing together on a regular basis…I AM a little bias as GVB has always been one of my favorite groups…However as a singer (pretty good one I might add :)) these guys are still a cut above mistakes and all.

I agree. Older and obviously a BIT past their prime, Mark and Michael still sound better together than many currently considered to be top tier. It’s not nearly as awful as Doug makes it out to be.

Besides, the appeal of this upcoming GVB reunion video isn’t about whether or not the singers can still cut it. The appeal is seeing them together again. I enjoyed Danny Funderburk on the Cathedral Reunion Tour a decade ago, even though he could no longer cut it. The excitement was still there, and yes, they SHOULD sing the same songs they popularized in their heyday. Why would we want them to sing some song we’d forgotten?

I wanted to hear Danny sing “Somebody Touched Me” as well as he was able while Glenn and George cheered him on at the Cathedrals reunion back then, and I want to hear Mark and Michael singing “Satisfied” now…warts and all.

The Dove Brothers were in excellent form this evening. They shared the bill with the Toney Brothers. A local lady named Janet Roller sang two songs to kick things off. I didn’t hear her set and very little of the first set by the Toney Brothers, because I was talking with Jerry Kelso about doctrinal topics ranging from eternal security to water baptism. Actually, I was doing more listening than talking.

Kelso is a fascinating person. Make sure you have at least thirty minutes clear on your schedule before you get him started!

I did get inside in time to hear George Amon Webster sing “Tough As Nails.” They did one other song with him playing piano that fell a bit flat. The piano was very weak in the mix, and it was not a good song to stop on. I think they let their time slip away, not realizing they were up against the clock until it was too late. They have good harmony. Royce Taylor was singing tenor tonight, and they had a guy named Jacky Lamb filling in on lead.

The first set by the Dove Brothers was nearly an hour in length. They sang about ten songs before saying a word. I’ve seen them do that at several concerts. I like that approach. Some of the songs on the first set included “You Can’t Fix It,” “You Don’t Know God’s Love,” “Look For Me At Jesus’ Feet,” “Have A Nice Day,” and “Lonesome Road.” They wrapped up the first set with “I Can Pray.”

On the second half, the Toney Brothers sang two songs. One featured Royce Taylor before I got back into the auditorium. The next song was “That’s No Hill For A Climber” featuring Jacky Lamb.

The DBQ sang “One More Miracle,” “You Would Think He Would Learn,” and “Thanks To Calvary” near the beginning of the second set. They did a couple of songs using just piano for accompaniment, then ended the evening with “Didn’t It Rain” and “Get Away Jordan.”

With ten years now under their belt, the Dove Brothers now have a considerable range of material. McCray Dove explained how certain songs came along at points in their career to open new doors. They still sing the rapid fire songs that first launched them, but it’s now mixed with modern Country, a few standard classics, and a bona-fide hit in “I Can Pray” that’s like no other song they sing.

At this point, you may wonder if I thought the concert was perfect. Well, no. Both groups were sharing a Bose system…two of the small tops and one sub-woofer. There’s a natural lack of mid-range in that setup. I know you Bose lovers will come after me and say it’s not the fault of the system itself. Maybe you’re right…but, there was still a lack of mid-range, and that’s been pretty typical in my experience (hearing and using) that particular Bose setup down through the years. For the same money, you could buy a Mackie system and be able to hear the full range more evenly.

I’m a bit concerned about the turnout for the Carolina Gospel Association series of concerts this year. The Perrys sang to a relatively small crowd last month. I gauged it at 400, but it may have been closer to 350. The number was about the same tonight. Previous events have typically drawn in the 600-1000 range. If you’re in the area, check out the rest of this year’s schedule.

It’s no longer a mystery or secret to keep. Tell the world! Southern Gospel programming not only survives the Sirius-XM merger, but flourishes on BOTH satellite platforms!

enLighten and its programs, including Daniel Britt & Friends and The Gospel Greats, will continue to be heard on both XM at channel 34 and on Sirius at channel 67.

In addition, the Gaither Homecoming Radio show is added to the enLighten family of programming.

Early estimates that I’ve seen for the combined Sirius+XM audience ranges as low as 17 million, and as high as 19 million. (The official number released by Sirius XM PR is “18 million.”)

Another byproduct of this merger is the continued partnership between XM & DirecTV and Sirius & Dish Network. These satellite television services provide a simulcasted audio feed to their subscribers.

Certainly unofficial, I did a quick tabulation of subscribers to XM, Sirius, DirecTV, and Dish Network, and came up with a ballpark just under 50 million subscribers.

While that’s strictly a very quick ballpark, it shows that Southern Gospel has a real chance to prove itself to an incredibly large number of people. Let us not disappoint!

-Daniel Britt

Prolific songwriter Sue C. Smith laments that CD reviewers don’t care about writers…only artists. I wish she’d cite examples, because I naturally wonder about who she’s aiming at when she expresses that viewpoint. I have campaigned for recognition of non-artist songwriters for years. For example, the non-artist songwriter category that Sogospelnews awards annually was a category I suggested and endorsed

I fully agree with Sue that a review should not imply that an artist wrote all the songs if that isn’t true. Reviewers should always attempt to be accurate, even if they’re limited in terms of space.

Sue, please don’t hesitate to send me a note if I ever do that!

DVD Rating: 5 Stars
CD Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

Label: Gaither Music Group
Producers: Lari Goss and Wayne Haun (CD), Ernie Haase (DVD)
Website: www.ehssq.com

CD Song Titles: “Right Place, Right Time,” “Reason Enough,” “My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me,” “Dream On,” “Never Give Up, Never Give In,” “Since Jesus Passed By,” “No Unknown Soldiers,” “Sundays Are Made For Times Like These,” “A Good Heart,” “Between The Cross And Heaven,” “Are You Enjoying The Show,” “The Old Landmark,” “Out Of Bondage,” “We Need Each Other,” and “My Kind Of Town”

DVD Song Titles: same as above plus “Rockin’ Jerusalem” and “Operator”

Summation: In the past, a few detractors have labeled the music of EH&SS as “too contemporary” due to the staged choreography they employ at concerts. The truth is that their arrangements are firmly rooted in traditional Southern Gospel.

Read the full review in an upcoming issue of Singing News.

(Click the link to subscribe if you don’t already receive the magazine.)