Following the release of one of their most popular recordings, “What’s That I Hear” in 1989, the Inspirations would not record anything new in 1990, but they would release “My Anchor Still Holds” in early Spring of 1991. If my facts are correct, it is likely this was originally released on cassette only, but it was eventually released on CD sometime shortly thereafter (or possibly in conjunction with the release of the cassette) as a dual release, along with the recording, “What’s That I Hear”. Shortly after its release, Chris Smith had come off the road and was replaced by Eddie Dietz, who had been gone from the group for about 11 years now. At this point, the Inspirations had struck a deal with Canaan Records, and the label re-packaged and re-released both “What’s That I Hear” and “My Anchor Still Holds” on 2 separate CD’s, but retitling “My Anchor Still Holds” to “The Country Needs the Cross”, which at this point was becoming a very popular song for the Inspirations. Additionally, the cover of this recording featured an updated picture of the group, now that Eddie had returned. (Much like “What’s That I Hear”, I included all the variations of the covers as a picture collage for this article.)

Produced by Martin Cook and once again, recorded at Dawn Studios in Ashville, NC, Otis Forrest is brought back to play piano along with Tim Compton and Mike Riddle playing the bass and guitar respectively, with the addition of Mike Douchette on steel guitar/dobro, and Bobby All playing lead guitar. This recording had a very similar feel as “What’s That I Hear”, but I don’t think it had as much variety as their previous recording offered. Nonetheless, it was an excellent offering, and it remains one of their most popular recordings.

The recording kicks off with the Conrad Cook penned, “My Anchor Still Holds”. Published through Inspirations Quartet Music, Cook wrote many of the Kingsmen’s best known songs during the 70’s and 80’s, including “Glory Road”, “Saints Will Rise” and “When My Feet Touch the Streets of Gold”. This was the first single from this recording, spending a few months in the top 40 during late 1991/early 1992, peaking at #24 in the November 1991 Singing News chart. Featuring that classic Inspirations style, this has the feel of a traditional hymn, and it’s what I would call a “shouter”, as it’s the type of evangelistic tune that easily gets the saints stirred. It’s one of my favorites from this recording, and it is one the current group still stages from time to time. With Troy taking the lead at the beginning, Archie takes the second verse and carries the melody for the remainder of the song, before the tempo picks up for the bouncy, “We’re Not What We Were”. Featuring some nice step out lines by Mike, along with a lilting piano track and a rag time feel on the steel guitar, this is a fun song that is one of my favorites as well. Written by Sue Wescott (one of 2 songs she contributed for this recording), the song was published by the Inspirations and is a delightful inclusion on this recording.

The tempo then slows back down a bit, as Chris steps up to sing, “Still He Came”, which was written by his former high school teacher and mentor, Johnny Coe. Featuring some nice steel guitar highlights, the song fits Chris like a glove, before the tempo picks back up for the convention feel of the Ray Branham penned tune, “I Know Someone is Waiting”, which has both Troy and Archie trading off lead lines. Recorded by Ray’s family group on their 1987 album, “Heaven on my Mind”, the song has that classic Inspirations feel, and it’s a highlight of the recording.

Next, we come to the rhythmic, up-tempo tune, “This I Know”, written by Larry Whitehead and published by the Inspirations. This is another great song featuring that classic Inspirations sound, that has Mike handling the step out lines on the chorus. This is an enjoyable tune that I easily hear on any album they recorded during their hey-day back in the 1970’s.

The second half kicks off with Troy singing the patriotic evangelistic tune, “The Country Needs the Cross”. The Inspirations have never been shy about their patriotism and have often sung and recorded songs that spoke from a more conservative political/evangelical angle. This was the second release from this recording, spending a few months in the top 40 during 1992, peaking at #23 in April of that year. Though it wasn’t a huge charting hit, the song did become a hugely popular concert favorite for the group, and it is one the group continues to pull out of the hat from time to time. Written by Tim Greene and Jeff Gibson, both gentlemen would often meet up while out on the road, as the Greenes and HeavenBound frequently performed together in concerts across the country. Tim had mentioned in passing that he would like for he and Jeff to write something together, and sometime later at another concert, Tim mentioned to Jeff that he had part of a chorus for a song, but he hadn’t been able to finish it. Tim explained his idea for the song and sang the chorus for Jeff, and over the next few days, Jeff worked on the verses, and after coming together to finish the song, they really felt the song would fit the Inspirations, and the rest is history!

The convention feel of, “I’ll Be Waiting, I’ll Be Looking For You”, which features Archie, is a highlight of the recording. Written by Charles Wycuff, it had been a few years since the Inspirations had recorded anything written by Wycuff, and the song features some nice piano and harmonica fills throughout, before the tempo slows down for the Fanny Crosby penned classic, “Near the Cross”. Featuring a heartfelt performance by Mike, along with Archie taking the high falsetto harmony, which was reminiscent of some of their songs in the late 60’s and early 70’s. I love how the melody switches around during the chorus, as well as the haunting steel guitar highlights in the song.

Featuring some outstanding guitar work, “When Jesus Saved Me”, written by Atha M. Smith and published by the Inspirations, has that classic Inspirations sound with Troy taking the lead, before Archie finishes out the recording with the sentimental feel of the story song, “When I Call His Name”, which was another song written by Sue Wescott.

I know I mentioned throughout this article how several of the songs had that classic Inspirations sound (as well as on the recording, “What’s That I Hear”) and I can’t help but think Chris Smith’s influence in getting the Inspirations back to some of the foundational cornerstones of their sound had a big part in that, thereby creating some of their best work during the late 80’s/early 90’s. Chris was such a versatile singer, and I deeply appreciate what he brought to the group. I would have loved to have heard how the sound of the Inspirations would have evolved throughout the remainder of the 90’s had he been able to remain with the group, but after “My Anchor Still Holds” was released in early Spring 1991, Chris ended up leaving the group due to health reasons, and in May 1991, Eddie Dietz returned to the Inspirations. Even though Eddie is not on the recording, when Canaan Records re-released the recording as “The Country Needs the Cross” later in 1991, they redesigned the cover with a new group picture which included Eddie in the group. Chris eventually went on to sing and minister in a very unique music ministry known as “The One-Man Quartet”, where he sang all 4 parts. Additionally, Chris has returned to the stage with the Inspirations as part of several reunion events over the years as well, much to the delight of fans everywhere.

This recording featured 7 songs that were published by the Inspirations, which was one of the highest ratio of songs recorded and published by the group. Since 1974, the Inspirations (much like groups such as the Rambos, Downings, Kingsmen, Nelons, Cathedrals, etc.) have been recording songs from their own in-house publishing, supplied by known and unknown songwriters from across the country. During the 90’s however, the Inspirations began relying very heavily on songs they published, and they began using a lot of unknown and new songwriters. This can be both good and bad, as it gives these writers an outlet for their music, and in some cases, the artists will publish and record some outstanding unknown gems, but by the same token, sometimes, in an effort to push songs in their publishing company, they can record some subpar material as well. If you notice on their recordings the group recorded during the 90’s, you find the Inspirations tended to focus on a couple of particular writers for one, two, maybe three recordings, and then they would move on to record songs by another writer or writers.

Incidentally, up until around this time, I was religious in buying music by the Inspirations every time they released a new recording, and this would be the last recording I would buy like that. I think I bought this recording in a local Christian bookstore back in early 1992, and at the time, I thought it was a really good recording, but not necessarily a favorite. Over the years though, I have grown to really love it, and though it may not be in my top 5 list of favorites, it’s definitely one of the great ones! Though I don’t think it’s to the same level as “What’s That I Hear”, as far as the variety and overall musicality, it’s still an excellent recording that is easy and enjoyable to listen to from beginning to end, with no songs that I would skip over. As I mentioned in my last article, I had a lot of things vying for my attention during the 90’s, and essentially, (if I’m being totally transparent) I lost interest in the Inspirations, sadly. Though I would see them in concert from time to time and I would enjoy them when they sang, I just wasn’t as “into” their music as I once was, and didn’t buy a lot of their recordings during the remainder of the 90’s. The group went through a lot of changes during this time, and I found it hard for me to really get into their music, though I still held them in the highest regard and respected their place in Southern Gospel music. Also, I think during the remainder of the 90’s, the Inspirations were struggling themselves, as they tried to keep their music fresh, and their sound up to the same level of excitement and consistency they had enjoyed over the years. Nonetheless, the Inspirations weren’t done yet, and though the hits weren’t as plenteous during the 90’s as they had previously been, they still created some good music during this time period, leading up to a remarkable resurgence at the turn of the century!

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