1976 was a huge year for the Inspirations, and they were enjoying the overwhelming success of “12th Anniversary Live” and “A Night of Inspiration”, but before the year ended, the guys recorded and released a brand-new studio album called, “On Heaven’s Bright Shore”, which likely came out right as the calendar rolled over to a new year.

“On Heaven’s Bright Shore” was produced by Marvin Norcross, but for this latest studio album, the Inspirations decided to change things up a bit, and rather than record in Nashville, Tennessee, they went back “home” to where it all started for them at Mark V Studios in Greenville, South Carolina, and they would continue to record all of their forthcoming albums there for the next 10 years or so. Additionally, instead of using all studio musicians, the Inspirations would rely mostly on their very own in-house band, thus what you heard on the album, you’d also expect to hear in concert; and they would continue with this concept for the next few years. With Martin playing piano, Jack on the upright bass, along with Roger and Dale playing electric and steel guitar respectively, the only other musicians utilized for this album was Buster Phillips on drums, and someone (likely Joe Huffman) playing rhythm guitar. Roger remembers that back during these years when they played on the recordings, the group would meet every Tuesday for several weeks leading up to the recording date to “woodshed” the songs and work out the music and vocal arrangements, so when they arrived at the recording studio, everyone would have their parts down.

The album kicks off with the title song, “On Heaven’s Bright Shore”, which was written by a gentleman named Roscoe Reed from Kingsport, Tennessee. Reed owned his own publishing company, Praise Music, and eventually, when Reed had fallen into failing health, the Inspirations eventually bought Praise Music from Reed. The ending of the song seems to push the limits of Archie’s upper register, but he nails the ending, and it was such a fantastic song for the guys. The Primitive Quartet, who had cut the song on their 1974 album, “When Jesus Brings Sweet Glory Down”, pitched the song to the guys to record, and it became a hugely popular tune for the Inspirations, charting for several months, topping out at #5 in the July 1977 Singing News chart. The song was eventually recorded by the Singing Echoes as well as the Singing Cookes, becoming concert favorites for both groups. Additionally, the song became popular in bluegrass circles, having been sung and recorded by numerous artists within that genre including Alison Krauss & Union Station, who recorded it on their 1989 recording, “Two Highways”, becoming one of her most requested gospel tunes.

Eddie steps up next as he sings his signature song, “A Rose Among the Thorns”, which features the Smoky Mountain Trio, and was another song written by Roscoe Reed. This was also another one that the Primitives prompted the Inspirations to record, as they had originally recorded the song back in 1975 on their “He is the Light” album. This song became one of the most popular songs the Inspirations ever recorded, charting for about 17 months, spending 10 of those months in the top 5 alone, ultimately cresting at the #2 position for 3 separate months in the Singing News chart for July, September and November 1977. This could have easily been a #1 song for the Inspirations, but it was kept at bay by the Blackwood Brothers’ song, “Learning to Lean” in July and September, and again in November when the Rambos topped the charts with “I’ve Never Been This Homesick Before”. The Bishops recorded an excellent acapella rendition of the song several years later on their 1997 recording, “Front Porch Collection-Volume 2”, which more closely resembles the Primitive’s original acapella version.

The tempo picks up slightly, as Troy sings the medium tempo, “A Mansion is Waiting”, which was written by Colbert and Joyce Croft, before the tempo slows back down just a bit for the heartfelt Ila Knight penned classic, “The Redeemed Are Coming Home”. Featuring Archie, this became a popular concert favorite for the Inspirations for several years. Ila was inspired to write the song from an experience concerning a little boy who lived down the road from her. The little boy suffered from a brain tumor and would eventually pass away at the tender age of 12 years old. One day Ila was sitting at the dining room table and while looking at the newspaper, she saw the little boy’s picture along with a story about a convoy of truckers raising money for the family, and they allowed the little boy to ride in the convoy, as he had very limited use of his body by this time. When she saw that picture and read the story, she ran to the organ in her living room and started writing the song. She would play a little and shout, play a little more and shout some more, but in her mind’s eye, Ila saw that little boy playing at the feet of Jesus along with all the other children of God with broken bodies who had been made whole. Ila’s experience writing this song is one she will never forget, and you feel that passion in her wonderfully descriptive lyric. The song was recorded by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver a few years later, on their 1981 album, “Rock My Soul”. Also, the Greenes recorded a nice version of the song on their 1986 album, “When He See’s Me” (which is the first version I remember ever hearing of the song). The song flows perfectly into the Ann Ballard penned tune, “The Land of Living”, which features Archie and a nice steel guitar track by Dale Jones. This song was eventually recorded by the Cathedrals in the mid-80’s, and it was Gerald Wolfe’s introduction to gospel music fans everywhere when he joined the Cathedrals.

After 5 slow to medium tempo songs, the pace finally picks up for the Stamps-Baxter tune, “Far Better Than This”, which was written by Roscoe Reed (his 3rd cut on this album). With everyone taking a line here and there, it’s an enjoyable convention type tune to wrap up the first side. This is another song the Inspirations picked up from the Primitive Quartet, who recorded the song on their 1975 album, “The Prince of My Peace”. Also, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (who has recorded more than a couple Inspirations’ songs over the years) recorded the song on their 2006 recording, “He Lives In Me”.

Side 2 kicks off with the fun, “When Fair Heaven I See”, which was written by Church of God minister, musician and songsmith, Vep Ellis. Vep was an outstanding songwriter with over 500 published songs including such classics as “When He Calls, I’ll Fly Away”, “Thanks to Calvary”, “Heaven’s Joy Awaits” and “I Know He Heard My Prayer”. His songs have been recorded by such groups as the Statesmen, Gold City, Gaither Vocal Band, Cathedrals, Speers, Mylon Hayes Family and Blackwood Brothers, and this particular song was such a dandy little ditty. With Archie and Troy trading lead lines and Mike providing a couple of call-back lines, this was a huge concert favorite, as the Inspirations would have a lot of fun with it, speeding up the tempo, trying to see how fast they could sing it, much to the delight of the audience! The song is one that the current group has fun with from time to time as well, and it’s always a highlight of the program.

Another fun tune is the song titled, “Are You Listening For the Lord”, which was written by Noel Smith and published by the Inspirations. This acoustic flavored song has a strong Swanee River Boys vibe, and features Troy singing the bass (his first bass feature on an Inspirations album since moving to lead in 1973). I didn’t obtain this album until sometime in the 1990’s, so I didn’t hear the Inspirations’ version of the song until then, but the first version of this song I recall ever hearing is by the McKameys, who recorded it around 1977, on their “Lord, I Know How Much You Love Me” recording, which I had bought on cassette at a concert with the McKameys in the fall of 1988 in Roxboro, North Carolina.

Featuring a bouncy tempo, Troy sings the verses of the song, “He’ll Wipe Away the Tears”, which was written by Gene Enloe and published by the Inspirations, before the tempo slows down a bit with Jack taking the lead on the song, “Help Me Lord”. On the chorus, Jack sings a little more in his upper range and I’ve always felt this song was one of his finest vocal performances and a highlight of the album.

The tempo picks back up for the peppy, “He’ll Do a New Thing”, which has Troy taking the melody for most of the song, with Archie grabbing a couple of step-out lines on the chorus. This delightful tune is a highlight of the album, but it was actually recorded for the album, “I’m Taking a Flight”, but the song ended up getting the boot when they found and recorded “Jesus is Mine”. A year and a half later, they decided to pull the song out of the can and include it on this album. If you listen closely, you’ll hear some subtle differences in this song compared to the rest of the album, as “He’ll Do a New Thing” was recorded at RCA Studio’s in Nashville back in the Spring of 1975, and this album was recorded nearly a year and a half later at Mark V Studios. Also, the Inspirations’ band played for most of this album, and this particular song utilized Nashville’s “A” Team”, so some listeners may notice a slight difference in the overall quality and musicality of the song.

Keeping the tempo upbeat, the album closes out with another Ila Knight penned tune titled, “I’ll Live Again”. Initially, Ila didn’t think it was one of her best songs, but it has gone on to become one of her best-known tunes! Even though the Inspirations never really staged the song (although the current Inspirations have staged it numerous times), Ila eventually pitched it to the Kingsmen many years later, and they recorded it on their 1999 recording, “Shelter”, becoming one of their biggest songs, charting as high as #5 in August 1999! Additionally, the song appears in the second installment of the “Smoke on the Mountain” play called, “Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming”.

I have vivid memories of the Inspirations singing “On Heaven’s Bright Shore” and “A Rose Among the Thorns” on the Gospel Singing Jubilee many Sunday mornings as I was growing up. Though I did not have this album in my collection as a kid, I was extremely familiar with those 2 songs, and when I finally added this album to my collection back in the 90’s, hearing those songs again brought me back to my childhood!

Listening to a recording is all about the overall experience, and as I began soaking in all the things this album had to offer, I always struggled with the overall pacing of it. The first side seems to run a bit on the slower side, with the flipside having more of an upbeat feel, and I have often wondered what the album would have been like had the songs been sequenced a little differently. Someday, I may play around with the order of songs and see if I can come up with a sequence that satisfies me! Nonetheless, “On Heaven’s Bright Shore” became one of the Inspirations most popular albums, boasting 2 massive hit songs, and it was the perfect follow-up album to “12th Anniversary Live” and “A Night of Inspiration”, capping off a stellar 1976, and welcoming in a brand-new year of exciting possibilities for 1977!

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