After releasing 3 iconic albums in 1976, the Inspirations took a bit of a breather and released just one album in 1977. Recorded at Mark V in Greenville, South Carolina, “When I Get Home” had a very unique feel and sound, and featured a lot of reverb in the mix, giving it a bit of a different sound than any of their previous studio albums; maybe they were trying some different things in the studio to give the album its own unique feel and give some extra depth to their sound. Despite being far away from the Nashville music scene, Mark V was a cutting-edge recording studio, servicing not just gospel artists, but also artists from country, rock, folk and bluegrass genres. The Inspirations may have been exclusively using Mark V during this time, but during the 70’s, 80’s and even into the 90’s, several artists and major labels within the Southern Gospel industry were using their services for recording, mixing, mastering, etc. including the Kingsmen, Speers, Jimmy Swaggart, Charles Johnson, LaVerne Tripp, Blue Ridge Quartet, Jimmie Davis, Wendy Bagwell & the Sunliters, Lanny Wolfe Trio, Sego Brothers & Naomi, and many others.

“When I Get Home” was produced by Marvin Norcross, and the Inspiration’s band (Martin, Jack, Roger and Dale) provided most of the musical accompaniment for the album (along with drums and rhythm guitar), and as an added dimension, there are some light synthesized strings on a few select songs that was played on the keyboard by Roger Fortner. The Inspirations were never one to use strings or brass with their music, but the light synthesized strings really added a unique dynamic to the songs and were very tastefully done. Once again, utilizing the beautiful scenery found in the region where they lived, the cover shot was taken in a grassy area by the Inspirations Hotel & Restaurant, which they owned there in town, with the beautiful mountains and valley scene in the background.

The album kicks off with the title song, “When I Get Home”, which was written by Roscoe Reed and published through Praise Music. This was a big hit for the Inspirations in the Singing News chart, peaking at the #4 position for August 1978. I did not hear this album until I added it to my collection in the early/mid 90’s, and when I put this album on the turntable and this song started, I instantly remembered watching them sing this song on the Gospel Singing Jubilee when I was a kid, and I was immediately taken back to my childhood for a few moments, as I relived the song in my mind. I always loved the pulsating beat of the song, as well as the heavy electric and steel guitar laden track and how they played in harmony with one another. It’s a wonderful tune of faith and determination…“Yes I’ll reach home, oh praise the Lord some sweet day, when I walk up the Great Milky Way, goodbye old world, good morning there before the throne, what a singing there will be, when I get home!” A couple of really great alternate versions of the song include a soulful rendition that Walt Mills recorded on his 1987 recording, “It is Well with My Soul”, and an acapella performance by the bluegrass group, Newfound Road, which they recorded on their 2006 recording, “Life in a Song”. The song has also been a popular tune on the campmeeting and revival circuit, raising the roof at many-a evangelistic meeting across the country!

With more of a piano based track being played by Martin Cook, Troy takes the lead on another Roscoe Reed penned tune entitled, “A Better Place to Go”, which was a perfect fit for Troy, and it’s one of my favorite Troy features. On this song, you hear some light strings playing very faintly in the background that was added by Roger. It’s not out front, nor a predominant feature in the song, but I think it was a nice touch, giving the song a little extra depth.

The tempo picks up for the highly enjoyable, “I Can Hardly Wait”, which was written by Ann Ballard and features Archie, and also showcases some nice guitar work by Roger. While in the studio, Roger was trying some unique sounds from his guitar when laying down the music tracks, and for the intro, he purposely tuned one string on his guitar slightly lower, but he accidentally tuned it a bit too low, but they kept it on the album, creating a unique music track for the song. Though I did not obtain this album until the 1990’s, I was very familiar with this song from a variety album that Canaan had released in the late 70’s called, “Good Ol’ Gospel Music”. I had bought that particular album from our local Record Bar back in the early 80’s, and that album had this song on it, and it’s one of my favorite songs from this album. The song was also recorded by the Florida Boys on their 1977 album, “Vintage Gospel”, and even the Greenes recorded an excellent rendition of the song on their 1986 album, “When He See’s Me”.

With a nice steel guitar intro, Eddie and the Smoky Mountain Trio sing the convention feel of the sentimental “Heaven Holds All to me”, which was written by Tillit S. Teddlie. Teddlie was a preacher in the Church of Christ denomination, and he also taught in the old singing schools in the deep south for over 60 years. This Stamps-Baxter tune was another song that employed some light synthesized strings, but it’s a little more out front than it was on “A Better Place To Go”, but it adds a nice touch to the song, before we move on to another medium tempo tune, “There’ll Be a Reunion”, which was written by Ila Knight. With Archie taking the lead, the song also features some nice musical embellishments by Roger and Dale as they play in harmony with one another on the electric and steel guitar.

With Martin tickling the ivories, the tempo gets kicked back up as Troy sings the exciting Squire Parsons penned tune, “I Stand Upon the Rock of Ages”, which wraps up the first side. Though not a chart song for the Inspirations, it was a concert favorite for the guys, and I remember the group singing this from time to time on the Gospel Singing Jubilee back in the day. The Kingsmen brought this song back several years later, on their 1996 recording, “Beyond the Clouds”, and it was a huge hit for them, peaking at #5 in March and April 1997.

Side 2 kicks off with the enjoyable song, “Heaven Will Be Such a Beautiful Place”, which features Archie. Written by Paul Craven, this is the first of several songs that the Inspirations would record of his over the forthcoming years. Craven was a close friend of the Inspirations who sang in a group from Mississippi, and was the Chief of Police in Laurel, Mississippi, even making the Inspirations Honorary Deputies. I recall the Inspirations singing this on the Gospel Singing Jubilee numerous times, and although this song charted for just one month in March 1978, coming in at #32, it was a popular concert favorite and one of my favorites from this album. In fact, this was another song our little church choir would sing back when I was a teenager.

Slowing the pace down, Jack steps up to sing, “Jesus Climbed Every Mountain For Me”, which is another song with some light strings in the background. This song was written by Del Delamont, writer of the classic Oak Ridge Boys song, “King Jesus”, and the song was tailor made for Jack, before the tempo picks back up for another “mountain” song, as Archie sings the exciting Paul Craven penned, “Gonna Move on Up the Mountain”.

Morris Stancil, who penned so many great songs for the Kingsmen during the 70’s and 80’s such as “Beautiful Home”, “Things That I’m Seeing”, “Prayed Up, Packed Up” and “I’m Going There”, wrote the upbeat, “Jesus is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”, and Archie does a great job singing the song before he takes the lead once again (along with Mike providing some step out lines on the chorus), for another Paul Craven penned tune, “You Better Get Ready”, which has a nice acoustic feel to the song, along with some steel guitar embellishments throughout.

Wrapping up the album is the highly enjoyable Stamps-Baxter tune, “I Do Not Walk Alone”, which features some nice guitar work by Dale and Roger, as well as step out lines by both Archie and Mike. Written by Terry Pillow and published in 1957, the song was recorded by the Primitive Quartet on their 1974 album, “When Jesus Brings Sweet Glory Down” (and again on their 1981 live album, “Live at Hominy Valley”), but it’s likely the Inspirations may have first heard the song by the Chestnut Grove Quartet, a popular regional group that influenced the Inspirations over the years.

Contrasting “When I Get Home” with their last album, “On Heaven’s Bright Shore”, this latest effort was quite a bit more upbeat overall. In fact, listening to this album always seemed to fly by, as seven of the songs clock-in at less than 2 minutes long, with four of them being back-to-back on the second side! “When I Get Home” is an enjoyable album that seemed to highlight Roger and Dale’s musicianship exceptionally well. For some reason though, when people list the best loved albums by the Inspirations, “When I Get Home” seems to get overlooked, but it’s one that has a lot of hidden gems within it and is one that I have always really enjoyed listening to!

By this time in their career, the Inspirations were still one of the top groups in the nation and they were settling into a nice comfortable groove. In fact, during the year of 1977, the Inspirations enjoyed four Top 20 songs (3 of those songs making it into the Top 5), but every group has a “season”, and I think the level of popularity for the Inspirations was starting to level off a bit, which made room for other groups to move to the forefront during the late 70’s, including the Kingsmen, Hinsons, Hemphills and others. But nonetheless, the Inspirations were still the favorite group amongst the fans, as they walked away with their 5th win as the nations “Favorite Group” during the 1977 Singing News Fan Awards, and Troy Burns finally snagged the “Favorite Lead Singer” award as well! All four singers had finally won accolades for their respective vocal positions, and while their popularity seemed to be leveling off somewhat, it was by no means waning, as the Inspirations were one of the most popular and best loved groups of our genre, garnering a massive legion of loyal fans from literally all over the world!

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