At the turn of the century, while the world was concerned about Y2K, the Bishops were concentrated on joining up with a new, fledging record label called “Cathedral Records”. In December 1999, the Cathedral Quartet officially retired, as they took the stage for the final time earlier in the month. Unfortunately, on October 15, 1999, lead vocalist, Glen Payne had passed away, and the Cathedrals completed the final leg of their “Farewell Tour” without him. With the retirement of the Cathedrals, Glen’s son, Todd Payne, who was one of the executives at Homeland Records, left the label, creating “Cathedral Records”, with the Bishops joining as one of their flagship artists. Cathedral Records was created in an effort to carry on the “Cathedral” legacy, as the label became part of the Crossroads Music family, based out of Asheville, North Carolina. The label became home for Legacy Five and Ernie Haase (as a soloist), and eventually Ernie’s group, Signature Sound, as well as the Florida Boys, John Hagee Family, Gold City, Palmetto State Quartet and others. In fact, Mark Bishop’s first solo recording in 2002 was released on Cathedral Records, but by around 2004 or so, the label was no more, and most of the artists who were still associated with the label were absorbed within Crossroads Music. Additionally, the early days of the label saw the re-release of some classic vintage music by the Cathedral Quartet that had never been released on CD before, which brought great joy to many longtime fans of the group!

With the Bishops becoming part of the “Cathedral” family, they began working on a brand-new recording appropriately titled, “Great Things”. For the Bishops, it was a unique experience for them to go from recording in Nashville (which is where they had been recording since 1985) and then to Asheville, North Carolina, along with utilizing musicians, studios, engineers, etc. they had never used before. The Bishops and Steve Mauldin were in a new creative environment, and there was just a bit of a learning curve for everybody involved, and no doubt it was a bit of an adjustment, but the end result was the Bishops releasing one of the classiest recordings they’d ever recorded.

Produced and arranged by Steve Mauldin, “Great Things” contained a mix of Nashville and Asheville musicians (as Crossroads had their own regular musicians they utilized for many of their recording sessions), with most of the music tracks being recorded at Crossroads Studios in Asheville, as the steel guitar and some keyboard work were overdubbed in Nashville. Musicians included Jeff Collins and David Huntsinger on piano/keyboards, Duncan Mullins playing bass guitar, Tony Creasman on drums, Sonny Garrish playing the steel guitar, John Willis and Penn Pennington on the electric and acoustic guitar, respectively, and David Johnson being the utility man playing guitar, fiddle, dobro and harmonica, along with the Nashville String Machine, under the direction of Mauldin (which were also recorded in Nashville). Matching the classy sounds you heard on this recording, the cover shot and artwork were equally well done, creating an all-around wonderfully packaged recording that was full of “Great Things”!

With it’s mellow, easy-going feel, the recording kicks off with the encouraging title song, “Great Things”. Featuring Mark, this was the first single from the recording, peaking at a very respectable #4 in the March 2001 Singing News chart. Featuring some really nice orchestrations that are tastefully understated, it gives the song a certain richness and warmth, but yet has a light and airy feel to it. I have always loved the song’s positive and hopeful message, and I simply adore the bridge, and how the strings are utilized behind Mark’s voice, providing a neat musical contrast with the rest of the song, which leads perfectly into another easy-going number entitled, “I Start Each Day With the Lord”. Another tune that is nicely orchestrated, it gives the song the same classy and warm feel as the title song.

The tempo finally picks up for the upbeat, “When Jesus is Your Well”, which features a nice electric guitar and piano driven track, coupled with a strong, exciting beat. With Mark taking the first 2 verses and Kenny tackling the last verse, the song has a cool vibe to it and is a nice inclusion here.

As we slow things back down, we come to my favorite song from this recording (and one of my all-time favorite Mark Bishop penned tunes as well) entitled, “I Will Be Right Here”. Elegantly orchestrated, giving the song a very inviting and warm feel, this is one of personal reflection for Mark, who wrote it sometime after the birth of his first daughter, tying in the love and protection he felt as a parent, to how God loves and cares for us as His children. I love the intimate and comforting message in the song, and the orchestrations are exceptionally well done, featuring some really nice warm swells on the chorus, giving the song a unique dynamic. I always felt this was one of Mark’s strongest songs, and I think had it been singled to radio, it would have done very well for the Bishops. That said, I think this would be a wonderful song for Mark to bring back and re-record as well!

Things get kicked into high gear as Mark and Kenny both tackle the rollicking, Pentecostal feel of, “Pray for the Power”. Filled with lots of guitars and fiddles, I love Mark and Kenny’s enthusiastic vocal delivery on the song, and it’s a highlight of the recording, before Kenneth steps up to the mic as he sings the testimonial, “I Rely on Him”. With a cozy country feel to the song, and featuring some nice orchestrations and steel guitar highlights, this is one of my favorite Kenneth features, and it’s a true highlight of the recording. I know they didn’t release many songs to radio that featured Kenneth, but I honestly think this could have done really well for the Bishops had they released it as a single.

Changing tempos, we come to the fun, country feel of the upbeat, “When You Change Your Mind”. With enjoyable piano, electric guitar and dobro embellishments, this was the second single from the recording, peaking at #2 in the August 2001 Singing News chart. Inspired by the music of Buck Owens, Mark decided he wanted to write something musically akin to that, and within about 30 minutes, the song was completed. The guys always seemed to enjoy singing this song in concert, and it was a fun concert favorite for the Bishops for the duration of their time on the road.

In keeping with the country theme, we slow things down a bit for the warm, country feel of “That Soul Was Mine”. Featuring nice embellishments from the string section, along with some steel guitar highlights and some “Floyd Kramer” piano licks, the music track has the feel of an old Rambo’s classic. Further influencing that classic “Rambos” vibe, with Mark and Kenny trading off lead lines, I easily hear this as something the Rambos would have sung and recorded back in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s, and it’s another highlight of the recording.

Picking the tempo back up one final time, we come to the classic tune from the 1970’s entitled, “Golden Street Parade”. The Inspirations recorded the song on their 1975 album by the same title, and it did very well for the guys, topping out at #10 in the July 1976 Singing News chart. Growing up listening to their music, Kenny was a huge fan of the Inspirations and brought this song to the table for the Bishops to record. Written by Margaret Mabry and published by the Rambos, who also recorded a unique rendition of the song in 1975 on their album, “These Three Are One”. Featuring Kenny, the Bishops churn out an excellent performance on the song, and I love the final chorus where they invert the harmony, as Kenneth steps in and takes the melody. It’s an enjoyable highlight of the recording and another one of my favorites.

The acapella, “You Must Come in at the Door” is the final song for the recording, and Junior Williams joins in singing on the song. I love researching the genesis of songs, and this is a bit of an enigma, because I believe the chorus has its origins as an old negro spiritual, but I was unable to determine the origins of the verses the Bishops used, and in my research, there are actually several variations of similar songs out there in the “music-verse”. The chorus (with different verses) is the classic “So High” that Elvis recorded on his 1967 gospel album, “How Great Thou Art”, which eventually became a Kingsmen standard after they recorded it on their Dove Award winning, “Big & Live” album from 1973. Even the Martins found great success with an exciting, jazzed-up version of “So High”, when they recorded it on their 2001 recording, “Glorify, Edify, Testify”. Bluegrass/folk music legend, Doc Watson recorded a different variation of the song with the same chorus, but different verses on his 1990 recording, “On Praying Ground”. The Bishops’ take on this recording is another, completely different version of the song with the same chorus (“So High”), but totally different verses. Nonetheless, it’s a cool acapella tune and arrangement, making “Great Things” complete.

I will admit, after being somewhat disappointed in their “Let’s Celebrate Jesus” recording, I didn’t immediately go out and buy “Great Things” like I normally would have. I saw the Bishops in August 2001 and bought their “Stories” CD, and fell in love with that recording, before sometime later I finally bought “Great Things”. Plus, when the Bishops announced their retirement in September 2001, it likely lit a fire in me to go purchase “Great Things”, which quickly became one of my favorite recordings by the Bishops.

There are a lot of “Great Things” I can say about “Great Things”, as I’ve always felt it was a very classy and well-done recording. If you noticed, I used such words as warm, cozy, mellow, easy going, etc. quite a bit in this article, and I think it reflects the overall quality and feel of “Great Things”. Even though the recording is relatively upbeat, the overall feel of “Great Things” is very cozy and warm, with an inviting or intimate vibe to it. From beginning to end, I feel that “Great Things” is such an enjoyable and easy listen, that is not overproduced or over-arranged, but pretty darn close to perfect! Additionally, I think the “shelf life” of this recording could have been extended several more months, or maybe even another year, because although only 2 songs were released to radio (which is about the average number of songs per recording), there were actually several songs that could have been released in addition to those 2 singles, and I believe they would have likely done as equally well for the Bishops. But hindsight being what it is, I am thankful they did release a new recording in 2001 instead of continuing to push songs from “Great Things”, as 2001 gave us one last recording by the Bishops before they came off the road!

Like previous efforts, “Great Things” includes 8 songs that were written by Mark, and although Kenneth and Kenny have a couple of features, Mark is the predominant vocalist throughout the recording, carrying the melody on most songs and handling most of the solos as well. While there isn’t as much vocal variety on “Great Things” as there had been in previous recordings by the group, it’s a fantastic release and I felt it was one of their best recorded efforts. Though their last recording didn’t yield any major hit songs for the group, this new recording for a new record label seemed to breathe new life into the music of the Bishops, as they were truly doing some “Great Things”!

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