Due to the demand from the fans for more music by the Inspirations each year, the Inspirations released 2 recordings in 1993, but ironically, they did not release any new music in 1994, which coincidentally, would have been their 30th anniversary year! By 1994, after 28 years of recording music (their first album came out in 1966), they had released 44 recordings, and only skipped 2 years, 1990 and 1994; so, it was a bit unusual for the Inspirations to skip a year releasing a new album, but it happened a couple of more times as well, in 2016 and 2018. If my count is correct, “Between Here and Sunset” would be their 45th album out of 70+ they have released in their 61-year history. For the record, I am not counting any “Best of” or compilation albums, or the “Through the Gates” album, which was a record they did with Ralph Sexton, where he preached the sermon titled, “Through the Gates”, while they provided some musical selections throughout the sermon.

Once again, Martin Cook is at the helm producing “Between Here and Sunset”, and just like their last recording, the group’s vocals were recorded at Lifter Studios in Ashville, North Carolina, and the music tracks were recorded at Forrest Studios in Hendersonville, Tennessee. One interesting tid-bit is that former Kingsmen member, Arthur Rice, served as recording engineer for the vocals, along with working on the final mixes for the recording. This was around the time that Arthur was transitioning from singing with Squire Parsons to joining the Kingdom Heirs, which is where he would remain for the next 27 years, until he retired from the group in 2022. Musicians playing for this session include Otis Forrest on piano, Kip Paxton and David Smith playing bass, along with Bobby All and Kevin Williams playing guitars, as well as David Johnson, who played multiple instruments including steel guitar, guitar, harmonica and fiddle. On most of the songs on this recording, I do hear drums in the mix, but no credit is given for the drummer. My hunch is that since the music tracks were recorded at Forrest Studios, it is likely that Otis’ son, Shannon Forrest (who is an amazing drummer in his own right), could have played drums. Also, the credits mention that Ronnie Hutchins did the cover design and graphics, and it’s a nice cover that certainly goes along with the title of the recording. One unique aspect that I’ll point out though, a similar picture was utilized for the cover of the Inspirations’ 1992 recording, “Jesus is Coming For Me”. It’s not the exact same picture, as some of the facial expressions and body positions are slightly different, but there’s no denying that it’s from the same photo shoot taken 3 years earlier!

The title song, “Between Here and Sunset”, gets the recording underway, and features Archie. Written by one of my all-time favorite songwriters, Dottie Rambo, I first heard the song about 13 years earlier by Wendy Bagwell & the Sunliters, from their 1982 album, “All Together Now”, which is one of my all-time favorite records. I’ve always been extremely fond of this song and its uniquely crafted message of faith and reassurance…“He’ll hold back the sun if the need should arise, if the mountains to steep, He’ll just lower the sky, He’ll exalt every valley, when they’re too rough and deep, between here and sunset, God will take care of me”. This was the only song from this recording that charted for the Inspirations, only spending about 3 months on the chart during the first half of 1996, stalling out at #33 in the Singing News chart for March and May of that year. I always thought it was a great song and a perfect fit for the Inspirations, and I never understood why it didn’t do as well for them in the charts. I remember seeing the Inspirations sing the song in Stuart, VA at Dominion Valley Park, and they tore that place apart with the song. Their memorable and emotion-ridden performance of this song that evening sent me to the record table to purchase this cassette from them that night, and it still remains one of my favorite songs by the Inspirations!

Featuring a nice guitar track, the tempo picks up for the enjoyable convention feel of the Regina Crossno penned tune, “Leave Behind the Wilderness”. Published through Inspirations Quartet Music, the song features some excellent bass step-out lines by Mike on the chorus, and it recalls the early sound of the Inspirations, as it’s a song I easily hear fitting right in on one of their earliest albums such as “Cool Water” or “Just as Long as Eternity Rolls”. This is one of my personal favorites from this recording and it’s one that I’d love to hear the current group bring back.

Slowing the tempo back down, we come to the easy-going, acoustic feel of the song, “He’s Been There Too”. Written by Vickie Gerard and featuring a heartfelt delivery by Eddie, this country flavored song has a nice laid-back feel to it, and it too, is a highlight of the recording, before the pace picks back up as Mike takes the verses on the bouncy upbeat song about the second coming of Christ entitled, “Not Until”. This was another tune written by Dottie Rambo, that’s one of her more obscure, lesser-known tunes, and it appears to have been originally recorded by the Pfeifers almost 10 years prior, on their 1986 album, “Just For the Record”. The song has that classic Inspirations feel to it, and it fits perfectly on this recording.

Slowing the pace back down, Ronnie and Archie each take a verse on the Ray Vaughn penned song of Christian love and fellowship entitled, “Let’s All Go Home Together”, which features some nice steel guitar highlights, before the tempo picks back up for the Jeff Steele penned song of determination called, “I Mean to Be There”. Featuring step-out lines by both Archie and Mike on the chorus, this was a great song that fit the Inspirations perfectly. The song was originally recorded by the Steeles on their break-out album, “Stirrin’ it Up”, which was released a year earlier in 1994. The Anchormen also recorded an excellent version a few years later, on their 1997 recording, “Anticipation”, which is my personal favorite version of the song.

The relaxed, country feel of the Ray Vaughn penned tune, “Bucket at the Well” features Ronnie, and it’s my favorite song that he sings from this era of the group. Featuring some dobro accents and a nice acoustic feel, I love how Vaughn crafted this beautiful message of the gospel with Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well. It’s such an unassuming song and Ronnie does an outstanding job conveying its stunning message. Fans of the Inspirations seemed to love this song too, as it became Ronnie’s signature song for the remainder of his time with the group.

With some nice steel guitar and piano highlights, Ronnie takes the lead once again on the song of faith and perseverance, “Power When We Pray”, which was written by Jerry Kelso, before the guys revive the popular classic tune, “The Night Before Easter”. Written by Donnie Sumner and Dwayne Friend, the song was a hugely popular song for such groups as the Blackwood Brothers, JD Sumner & the Stamps, Speers, as well as the Inspirations, during the late 60’s and early 70’s, winning the Dove Award for “Song of the Year” in 1970. In fact, Eddie first recorded the song in 1970 when he first joined the group as their lead singer when Ronnie first left, and Eddie does a great job on this updated performance of the song.

Closing out the recording is the Kirk Talley penned, “Joy on the Other Side of Jordan”, which features Archie. Incidentally, this was Kirk’s break-out song as a soloist after the Talleys had retired, soaring to the #1 spot for him in the November and December 1994 Singing News. The song was especially meaningful for Opal Hice (a dear friend of the Inspirations, who you may remember testified from the audience on their 1981 live album, “Second Helpin’”), who loved the song, and she requested that the Inspirations record it. Out of their deep love and respect for Opal, they recorded the song specifically for her, and while I don’t think the song completely fit the Inspirations, this was a great example of how the Inspirations worked with a song to make it fit them, rather than change their style to fit the song. Plus, it showed their love and loyalty for a longtime fan and friend, and I commend the group for their efforts with this song.

As I mentioned earlier, I bought this cassette from the group when I saw them sing in Stuart, Virginia at the Dominion Valley Park, because of their stirring performance of the title song, and if I remember correctly, I bought it along with “Cry for the Children”, which is likely why I tend to pit both recordings against one another (if that makes sense!). Though I felt “Between Here and Sunset” was a better sounding recording, with a nice warm feel to it, I tend to enjoy “Cry for the Children” more. There are definitely certain songs that I especially enjoy on “Between Here and Sunset”, and there are some musical aspects that I hear on this recording that I truly appreciate, such as the general acoustic feel of the recording, which I felt set it apart from other releases by the group. I think the overall quality and musicality of “Between Here and Sunset” was much more enhanced than on “Cry for the Children”, which I think made it a “better” recording overall, but, as I stated, I still tend to enjoy “Cry for the Children” a bit more. Funny how that works…but many times it just depends on what songs speak to you more and what hits your heart and your musical senses in the right way! Nonetheless, “Between Here and Sunset” was an excellent recording, featuring solid singing, a good song selection and an overall nice listening experience.

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