New Music Reviews – July 2019

by | Jul 23, 2019 | CD Reviews, Reviews

The only major release in July was the Gaither Vocal Band’s Good Things Take Time, their second studio recording since Reggie Smith replaced David Phelps in 2017. Like virtually every GVB release from the past 30 years, Good Things Take Time includes a balanced mix of familiar titles and brand new songs. Like 2017’s We Have This Moment, Good Things Take Time offers 12 songs and a run-time exceeding 45 minutes.

Pros: Songs like “Goin’ Up Yonder” showcase the GVB’s stylistic range. “There Is A Place” honors the holiness of houses of worship, and if you choose to experience this selection on YouTube Music, you’ll see an excellent concept video. “Good Things Just Take Time” emphasizes Adam Crabb’s vocal strengths and is an enjoyable ride. Larry Gatlin joins Bill to horse around on the novelty song “Thought Gettin’ Older.” “Love Like I’m Leaving” is better than the version on 2010’s Greatly Blessed. The pitch is a step or so higher, the track features an acoustic rock feel, and the vocal arrangement is more interesting.

Both Pro and Con: The little line featuring Todd Suttles on “Jesus Is Everywhere” has a fantastic James Earl Jones quality, but is way too brief. “Yes” features the most intricate vocal harmony on Good Things Take Time, but the lyric is only about six words long[1]. (Of course I’m exaggerating a bit, but only JUST a bit.) “Only Jesus” is a great lyric, but the arrangement is somewhat blah.

Cons: As talented as these men are, both individually and collectively, no song they sing on Good Things Take Time ever quite gets to that sheer wall of vocal power displayed routinely by previous GVB line-ups. I realize the strengths of the current line-up lie more in the area of finesse, but past GVB groups often did the finesse stuff, too, at an equally impressive level.

Song Titles: Child Of The King; Goin’ Up Yonder; This Is The Place; Hear My Song, Lord (featuring The Martins); Yes; Good Things Just Take Time; Thought Gettin’ Older (featuring Larry Gatlin); Revive Us Again; Jesus Is Everywhere; Love Like I’m Leavin’; Only Jesus; Now Is Forever
Rating: 4 Stars (1-5 Stars)
Release Date: June 19, 2019
Version Reviewed: YouTube Music

Click HERE[2] to enjoy the entire album on YouTube Music.

Endnotes:
  1. six words long: https://youtu.be/JWi5jdgTUJs
  2. HERE: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l6HPUS2J1Bk8uRhYlutDP3dVbD-qoYG6E

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David Bruce Murray

David Bruce Murray

David Bruce Murray is a church music director in Ellenboro, NC. He is the author of Murray's Encyclopedia Of Southern Gospel Music and the owner of both SGHistory.com and MusicScribe.com.

1 Comment

  1. nber

    Got this CD from Amazon a couple days ago. Listening to it this morning. Love it. This is going to be one of my favourite GVB recordings. Goin’ Up Yonder is the only song I will be deleting from my iPod. I agree. This new version of Love Like I’m Leaving is much better. Didn’t really care for the original.

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