Trying to follow up an immensely popular recording is a plight that many artists over the years have had to overcome; many have failed, but many have passed the test with flying colors. Honestly, it’s a great place to be, but by the same token, it can also be rather scary, as the overwhelming expectations can be pretty daunting. Coming from someone who is a non-artist and is observing from the outside, I don’t think it’s something you can force, and the best approach is to just enjoy the ride and not try too hard, as you can easily set yourself up for failure and immense frustration. Nonetheless, with Steve Mauldin serving as producer once again, for their follow up to “You Can’t Ask Too Much of My God”, this latest release, “Reach the World”, went beyond the final frontier, going where no Bishop has gone before!

“Reach the World” was the most diverse recording the Bishops had ever released, and in some ways, it was very intentional, in other ways, it was more of the nature of the evolution of their sound. As Mark continued to grow as a songwriter, his contributions to each recording started to increase beyond just one or two songs. “Reach the World” was the first release containing mostly Mark Bishop penned tunes, as he wrote 7 out of the 10 songs, with Kenny contributing one song as well. Creatively speaking, the Bishops were not afraid to try new things, and while there are some straight forward Southern Gospel tunes found here, several songs have a bit of flavor to them, creating a running theme or vibe throughout the entire listening experience. I deeply appreciate the creativity shown throughout this recording, and despite the broadening of musical styles found here, the Bishops didn’t go too far out in left field, because the foundation of their sound is still there.

The electric guitar and brass driven track of the fun and invigorating, “What I Have”, gets the recording underway, and there is no doubt this was a fun tune to do live. Featuring Mark and Kenny, this became the second single from this recording, going all the way to #4 in the May 1999 Singing News. The song also includes the addition of Palmetto State Quartet’s bass singer, Jeff Pearles, who joins them on the song (I only wish they had him just a bit hotter in the mix, as you can barely pick him out), before things slow down for the medium tempo, “But Then I Saw Him on the Cross”, which features some nice piano and steel guitar highlights. Stylistically, this song comes straight out of the Bishops’ playbook, and has a nice, easy country feel to it.

After a couple “Southern Gospel-y” type tunes, we start getting into some spice, as we come to the enjoyable, acoustic feel of, “I Can See Forever From Here”. With a bit of an island feel, this tune features some nice acoustic guitar and mandolin work, along with a cool bass guitar track (I also love the bass runs in the musical intro). Incidentally, this tune became the Bishops’ opener for many of their live sets for the next few years, and it was a nice, easy going medium tempo tune for the guys.

I love the calming, reaffirming message of the next song, “I Have Faith”, which was written by and features Kenny. This was a very unique song and one of my personal favorites from this recording. I love the musical and lyrical dynamics that are at play, as the song represents the journey of faith better than any tune I’ve ever heard. The song starts out quietly, saying, “I need faith”, representing someone in need of a measure of faith. As life goes on, that faith grows, and we sing, “I have faith”, and as the song continues to build, we’re finally shouting it out loud, “I have faith!”. Then sometimes, life’s circumstances may cause our faith to wane a bit, but hopefully as we grow in faith, we can eventually acquire a deeply tested by fire, quiet faith that gets us through the end of our journey. I love the strings and horns throughout the song, which give it a very cinematic feel, which also seems to follow the journey in the lyrics, starting off quiet at first, then becoming strong and bold, before reverting back to more quiet tones. Every time I listen to this song, it takes me on that journey, and it’s one that Kenny purposefully and intentionally wrote with the specific idea to take the listener on a journey. I love the autoharp throughout the song, which is played by none other than Steve Mauldin. The autoharp that he plays once belonged to his grandmother, and he used to play it when he was a kid. When she passed away in 1974, all the grandkids were able to have one item of hers that was especially meaningful to them, and her autoharp was what Steve wanted, and it remains one of his most cherished items.

With its flying fiddle track, the tempo picks up for the fun, “God Still Moves”, which features Mark, and we are further treated to Junior Williams playing the banjo. While the banjo is not a dominant instrument in the music track, it definitely enhances the overall musicality of the song, which is filled with lots of electric guitar, fiddle and dobro, as well as a quick, happy beat.

Next, we come to the title song, “Reach the World”, which is probably the most unusual song the Bishops ever recorded. Despite the song being very different from a musical and lyrical standpoint, it became the first single from this recording, ultimately making its way to #2 for 3 months in a row in the August, September and October 1998 Singing News chart. The song that kept it from making it to #1 was a little song called, “Please Forgive Me”, which was the first #1 song for a relatively new, young family group called the Crabb Family, who coincidentally, recorded for the Eddie Crook Company at that time. Before we actually get to the song itself, we have about a minute or so of what is titled, “Radio Intro”, which is a montage of voices and sounds from around the world as if someone is playing with the radio dial, which was created by Steve Mauldin. Originally, it was slated to be a continuous track and part of the song “Reach the World”, but based off a suggestion from Mauldin’s wife, who heard the song and inquired, “Is that part going to be on the song every time I go to play it?”, so they decided to create an individual track for the “Radio Intro” and making the song itself a separate track. This was a tune that was very close to Mark’s heart, and in fact, the initial idea was to possibly include other groups, creating a gospel version of “We Are the World”, but that idea never came to fruition, and instead they created a mini-choir of voices using the Bishops, Todd Payne (Executive Producer), Steve Mauldin (Producer) and Jeff Pearles. Eventually, Mark would include the song on his first solo recording, “Faith, Family & Friends”, which came out in 2002.

In keeping with the international feel of the recording, the guys churn out a unique acapella arrangement of the children’s classic, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. The song has a bit of a Jamaican feel, leading perfectly into the Latin/tropical vibe of the fun, “Something New Under the Son”. Featuring Mark and backed by a fun brass section, and featuring some nice guitar work, this song would likely have never fit on any other recording by the Bishops, but it feels right at home here!

My favorite song from this recording is the classic tune, “A Satisfied Mind”, which the guys first heard from the Swanee River Boys’ 1969 album, “I’m Building a Bridge”. Over the years, the guys would have fun singing and harmonizing together on the bus with this song, until they finally decided to just go ahead and record it, becoming a popular concert favorite for the guys. Featuring Kenneth, this is my all-time favorite Kenneth feature, and it was a perfect fit for him to sing. Featuring the beautiful mournful strains of the steel guitar and fiddle, they brought in master steel player, Buddy Emmons to play the steel guitar on the song, which was originally recorded by Porter Wagoner many years earlier, and was a #1 song for Porter in 1955. Written by Joe Hayes and Jack Rhodes, the song was inspired by things Hayes grew up hearing his mother say over the years. After asking his father-in-law who he thought was the richest man in the world, who’s reply was, “it is a man with a satisfied mind”, the song basically wrote itself!

The recording finishes with the medium tempo, “With Jesus in my Life”. Filled with warm steel guitar and tasteful string highlights, it has the feel of so many of their most popular songs such as “I Need You More Today”, “He’s in the Midst” and “Lord, I Need Your Touch”, and it’s a nice close out to a very unique and exceptional recording.

As I’ve already stated, “Reach the World” was the Bishops’ most diverse release. Filled with unique sounds and styles, the recording really allowed the Bishops to show off their creative versatility, and present something that stood out from the average Southern Gospel releases at the time. “Reach the World” also showcased some extremely strong songs written by both Mark and Kenny, as they both seemed to be on top of their game from that standpoint as well. Recently in a chat somewhere on Facebook-land, it was brought up about groups making cutting edge recordings that were outside the norm for its time, and whether or not the creativity in those landmark recordings aged well. I feel that “Reach the World” was a creative, landmark recording for the Bishops, and though it’s been nearly 30 years since it’s release, it has aged very well, and it truly stands on its own merit!

1997 was a very busy year for the Bishops from a recording perspective, as it appears the group put out 3 new releases that year. Prior to releasing “Reach the World” to the masses, the Bishops released a new acapella recording titled, “Front Porch Collection, Volume 2”, which they recorded in the basement of their home church in Kentucky, with Jeff Easter engineering. Much like its predecessor (“Volume 1”), the recording was a big hit with the fans, as it featured several wonderful acapella performances of such songs as “A Rose Among the Thorns” (which was a popular concert favorite for the guys), “Hiding Like Elijah”, “River of Jordan”, “Climbing up the Mountain”, “Travelin’ Shoes” and others. A bit later, they released a fantastic live audio and video recording entitled, “Classics Live”, which was recorded with a full house band at one of the show auditoriums at Opryland USA (which sadly closed later that year). The recording featured live performances of many of the Bishops’ hit songs while they were with the Eddie Crook Company. This was something Homeland Records did to capitalize on their hits prior to joining the label, and the recording was a big hit with the fans, allowing them to hear not just re-releases of their hits, but new live versions with a full band (not with tracks). Additionally, in 1997 the Singing News Fan Awards widened their “group” awards to include Male Quartet, Mixed Quartet and Trio (they eventually added “Duet” a few years later), and the Bishops won “Favorite Trio” during the Singing News Fan Awards in 1997 and 1998.

This was a prime era for the Bishops, and they were firing on all cylinders! The Bishops were creating remarkable music and were at the height of their creativity. It was a busy time for the group as well, and between traveling across the country, they were recording and tending to various business affairs associated with running a group. In addition to that, Mark was busy writing songs and Kenny was busy preaching meetings and revivals, and somewhere in all that was family time. No doubt, it was hectic, and the miles and time away from home took its toll, but the Bishops constantly gave of themselves for the cause they strongly believed in. But as they sowed, the Bishops also reaped the benefits of their labor, as they continued to go further and further, to ultimately, “Reach the World”!

Please check out my music page on Facebook for more content related to Southern Gospel Music including more discography reviews on other groups, as well as other thoughts and discussions related to Southern Gospel Music.  Please like and follow my page at https://www.facebook.com/James-Music-Page-102612571620560.