Produced by Garry Jones, *Michael Sykes & Daniel Riley
New Haven Records
goldcityministries.com
Format: CD/USB/Digital/Streaming
Release Date: October 25th, 2024
Format Reviewed: CD

SONG TITLES: Right Now (Garry Jones) / South of Heaven (Val Dacus/Wayne Haun/Donna King) / Rise Up (Garry Jones) / Where Your Heart Is (Garry Jones) / When It’s Gone For Good (Jason Cox/Kristi Fitzwater/Kenna West) / In The Middle (Hunter Leath/Nathan Woodard) / Stepping Out, Stepping In (Garry Jones) / Love Like This (Ronny Hinson) / Help Is On the Way* (Squire Parsons) / The Healer’s Hands (Jim Brady/Tony Wood/Michael Farren) / Gettin’ Up, Goin’ With Jesus (Garry Jones)

Gold City has seemingly struggled to find some sense of stability in recent years. The inordinate amount of turnover has meant that, among other things, their recording output has been sporadic and inconsistent, releasing an album every 3 1/2 years on average, and with a different vocal lineup on each one, to varying degrees of success.

All of that instability seems to finally be put to rest, however, with Right Now, the aptly-titled (and perhaps slightly self-aware) new album from the group with a more-than-four-decade history. Group manager and baritone, Daniel Riley, seems to finally have assembled a vocal lineup that not only has the talent and skill to match some of the quartet’s better-known past members, but also a polish that has been lacking in recent years with the group. The additions of Chris Jenkins on tenor, Josh Feemster on lead, and Jeff Chapman on bass means that the group already has a collection of solid vocalists (all with their own bona-fides) who can present the GC back catalog with ease, easily winning over long-time fans.

In addition, the quartet has recruited Garry Jones to sit in the producer’s chair for the group for the first time since 1994 (Jones served as pianist for the group for about a decade and served as producer on some of their biggest hits of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, including their landmark Pillars of Faith album). You may have noticed that Jones not only produced 8 of the 11 tracks on Right Now, but also wrote a good amount of them himself, including the title track. To say that Jones’ fingerprints are all over this album would be an understatement at best.

For example, the opening title track immediately kicks off with a full horn line and a jazzy feel, a bit of a departure from recent GC recordings that had been leaning more into a country style. It’s classic Garry Jones production style, and it works very well. Other such arrangements include “Rise Up” and “Stepping Out, Stepping In,” two more Jones compositions that fit into that “classic” horn-driven GC sound.

That doesn’t mean that they’ve abandoned the country feel entirely; “South of Heaven” could just as easily fit on country radio (and is reminiscent stylistically of another GC song, “What Children Believe”), and “Love Like This,” a Ronny Hinson composition, is likewise going all-in on the country sound, while giving Chapman a nice (and somewhat emotional) lead vocal. Speaking of Chapman, it is almost uncanny how much Jeff Chapman resembles Tim Riley as a vocalist. There were legitimately times where I thought I was listening to Riley, and that is a VERY high compliment.

The closing track, “Gettin’ Up, Going With Jesus,” is one of my favorites on this album, with its slow-build half-time arrangement that builds into an uptempo charismatic number complete with a(n uncredited) choir backing the quartet. It’s clear these guys are having fun with these songs.

The remaining tracks are co-produced by Michael Sykes & Daniel Riley, a team that helped shepherd most of Gold City’s recent albums. Given that this album began production prior to Feemster’s hiring, these tracks were probably held over from those sessions, with Josh adding his vocals to the songs that fit his vocal sensibilities; it also helps to bridge the connection between recent albums and this one.

Two of those tracks, “Help Is On The Way” (an update of a past GC cut) and “When It’s Gone For Good,” have already been released as singles earlier this year, earning praise from fans and building anticipation for the full album. The former shows the advantage of having Jenkins and Feemster singing at the top half, as the harmonies just KEEP going higher throughout (Jenkins lands on a high D, while Feemster is hanging on an impressive Bb). It’s been a while since Gold City has effectively had two tenors in the group, and they aren’t afraid to show it.

The third Sykes/Riley cut, “In The Middle,” is a cleverly-written ballad that could work as a single for Christmas or even Easter. Josh has a slightly different vocal quality on this song compared to the rest of the album, which leads me to believe that his predecessor probably already had this one recorded, and Josh was just duplicating what had been done already. The good news is that these three tracks blend well with the Jones-produced cuts, so the songs and arrangements don’t sound out of place; it very much feels like a whole album and not just a mixed bag of what was available.

From a production standpoint, having two expert producers means that there is no lacking in quality. Everything is mixed crystal clear, and whatever editing was done is not overly obvious. Everyone here sounds not only polished but natural, which in this day and age of overly-tuned and perfected recordings is a welcomed sound. My only real complaint is that there is not a lot of low end in the overall mix. Don’t get me wrong, the album is very well sonically balanced; I just wish there was a bit more bass overall. Minor nitpick and probably just a personal preference; it doesn’t take away from the album as a whole.

It’s exciting to see Jones back producing Gold City, and the current lineup is probably the best they’ve had in 20 years. Right Now, while maybe not a “landmark” album from a genre standpoint, is still a landmark album for Gold City as a quartet, showing listeners what the group “right now” is capable of and providing a solid foundation for growth. So long as this lineup can stick together, I see no reason why this foundation can’t be a sign of things to come.