After a successful transitional year in 1990, the Greenes felt it was time to release another live recording, but this time in their home state of North Carolina! “Carolina Live” was an unusual live recording that had some unique circumstances surrounding it. I probably paid more attention to this live recording than most others because I was there and I played a part in it as well! There’s a lot to unravel with “Carolina Live”, so let’s jump right in…

By this time, the Greenes had a small stage band that included Tim playing bass guitar, along with James Rainey on keyboards and Dennis Murphy on drums (who would later join the Kingdom Heirs as their drummer, which is where he has remained for the last 35 years!). James Rainey played a big part in arranging the Greenes music during his nearly 2-year stint with the group, and he, along with Tim Greene, co-produced “Carolina Live”. Additionally, Roger Fortner played bass guitar in Thomasville that night, relieving Tim from playing the bass, in order to focus on singing. Roger also dubbed some other guitar work in the studio, along with Jimmy Edmonds, who played fiddle and guitars, along with some overdubs by Tim and James on some bass guitar and keyboard work as well.

Recorded live from Thomasville, North Carolina at Finch Auditorium on February 22, 1991, the Primitive Quartet was on the program that night as well, and they recorded a live video, which included their hugely popular song, “My Hope is in the Blood”. The Greenes experienced a lot of technical issues in Thomasville, which affected the whole recording, so much so, that a few weeks later, the Greenes re-recorded everything again at West Falls High School in Mt. Sterling, Ohio in March. The Eddie Crook Company was there that night to film the Wilburns’ live video that coincided with their “Excellence” recording, so they were able to capture the audio for the Greenes to use and salvage “Carolina Live”. Ultimately, they were able to keep a lot of the audience from Thomasville, but they had to utilize some of the songs from the Mt. Sterling concert to complete the recording.

Even though I wouldn’t rank this as one of my favorite recordings by the Greenes, it’s extremely special to me because I was there! At the time I attended Bible College in Winston-Salem, NC and was a member of Woodland Baptist Church there and sang in the choir as well. The Greenes made an annual visit to the church every year, usually right after the first of the year. If I remember correctly, the Greenes sang at Woodland the first weekend after the new year in 1991, and after the service, Tim Greene talked with Joel Groce (the choir director) about having the choir join the Greenes on a song they were recording on their upcoming live recording in February 1991 in Thomasville, North Carolina. To make a long story short, we learned the song and met the Greenes in Yadkinville, NC at Peace Haven Baptist Church a couple of weeks before the live recording to practice, and of course, did a run through before they opened the doors of the auditorium that night as well. The Greenes were on first, and the choir sat backstage during the entire stand by the Greenes as they recorded that night, and we had to be perfectly quiet the entire time…no talking, no clapping, no coughing, no nothing! I never had to cough and sneeze so much in my whole life!

After an intro by Don Matney of WWGL radio in Lexington, NC (former large market DJ of the year), the Greenes hit the stage to enthusiastic applause, kicking things off rather unusually, with the slow tempo of, “The Light”, which is one of my all-time favorite Kyla Rowland penned tunes. Though it’s a unique way to kick off an exciting live recording, the Greenes, with this song, make a declaration that “there’s not enough darkness to put out the Light!”, and the song is classic “Greenes”. I was already familiar with this song, as Kyla had recorded it with the Rowlands on their 1989 recording, “The Pathway”, and I’ve long thought that this would be a fantastic song for somebody to bring back today!

Next, the Greenes kick things into high gear with “Celebration Day”, which was written by Tim, along with Lucy Hemingway (a wonderful singer/songwriter from Fayetteville, NC, who recorded for Tim’s label), and then they go right into the exciting, “March Through the Water”, which was written by Daryl Williams. Originally recorded by the Lesters on their 1989 recording, “Hold on Tight”, the Greenes do a fantastic job with their version of the song and it’s one of my favorites from this recording. This was a popular concert favorite for the Greenes, and I think it would have been a great single release for them as well!

After 2 back-to-back exciting, up-tempo numbers, the Greenes bring the energy back down as they churn out an outstanding rendition of the classic, “Because He Loved Me”. Much like their last live recording, Tony jumps in mid-song to testify a bit, but then in an unusual move, begins to sing a verse and chorus of the Albert E. Brumley classic, “When I Thank Him For What He Has Done”…so we basically got a song within a song! Once they finished singing, Tony had Amy step up to sing her verse (who sings the fire out of it!) and they finished “Because He Loved Me”. Showcasing all the hallmarks of the Greenes sound and stylings, you have it all in this song with singing slightly behind the meter, the soaring harmonies and the big “organized chaos” ending, and it’s a highlight of the recording, becoming a huge concert favorite for the Greenes. Written by Morris Stancil (writer of the popular Kingsmen tune, “Beautiful Home”), the song was originally recorded by the Primitive Quartet back in 1982, even charting for them, peaking at #15 in April 1983. Of course, many people may recall Triumphant Quartet’s outstanding re-make of the song from their 2013 recording, “The Greatest Story”, which also charted for them, going all the way to #3 in the February and March 2014 Singing News chart. Incidentally, when Amy rebooted her solo ministry a few years later, she recorded the song on her 1997 recording, “Treasures”.

Keeping the tempo in slow mode, we come to the acoustic feel of the song, “Holy Mountain”. Written by Tim Greene and Tim Lovelace, this comforting song was inspired by the book of Isaiah, and it took about 3 years for Tim to complete, and he eventually enlisted Tim Lovelace to help him finish the song. The song has that classic “Greenes” sound, highlighted by beautiful harmonies, and an added feature, the doghouse bass, which Tim Greene played and overdubbed in the studio, and along with the mandolin, it gives the song a nice rustic feel.

The second half of the recording kicks off with the upbeat, electric guitar/fiddle infested tune simply titled, “Because”, which was written by and features Tim, before Tony takes a moment to quickly introduce everyone in the group, as James Rainey then shows off his piano playing prowess, as he plays a patriotic instrumental medley, with the audience joining in and singing in various places throughout the medley. Once James finished, the group jumps into the driving and energetic, “The Bigger They Are (The Harder They’ll Fall)”, which features both Tony and Amy. Featuring an exciting encore, the song was written by John Reinhardt, who was 1/3 of the popular trio, the Reinhardts, who made a huge splash in Southern Gospel Music during the early 90’s with such songs as “What a Way to Go”, “Raise Your Hand”, “On My Father’s Side” and “Johnny’s Coming Home”. Incidentally, John was one of the early piano players for Gold City, prior to Gary Jones joining the group back in the early 1980’s!

As the mood shifts, Amy takes a moment to share her heartfelt testimony of being involved in an automobile accident when she was a little girl and having to endure multiple plastic surgeries to reconstruct what the accident took from her. It’s an emotional and deeply personal moment, before Amy delivers a powerful delivery on another Kyla Rowland penned tune entitled, “His Greatest Work in Me”. Featuring that unmistakable Greenes harmony, the song fits Amy like a glove and is a highlight of the recording! The song was originally recorded by the Rowlands about a year earlier on their “Insured Beyond the Grave” recording, and incidentally, Gold City had plans to record the song as well (likely on their 1991 recording, “Answer the Call”), but bowed out since the Greenes were cutting the song.

The only single released from “Carolina Live” was the power anthem, “They’ll Never Crucify Him Again”, which was written by Tim, climbing all the way up to the #3 position in the December 1991 Singing News chart. Tim was inspired to write the song from a message he preached, but it took a couple years for him to complete the song. Backed by the Woodland Baptist Church choir (which I was a part of), I remember right after singing the song live and after the curtains closed, they rushed us back in position to re-do the song, but then I suppose a decision was made on the spot to nix the second take. Due to the technical issues that were encountered on the night of the live recording, several weeks later the choir had to travel to The Loft Studio in Boone to re-record our part of the song. Along with the live recording that night, we were able to back the Greenes on a few concerts around the Winston-Salem area over the next couple of years, and I’ll always treasure those memories!

“Carolina Live” was a very unique live recording that was riddled with lots of technical problems. Being that I was actually there in Thomasville that night with the choir (I also have the original VHS video from this night as well), it’s interesting comparing notes and trying to decipher what actually made it on the live recording that was released commercially. A few differences I will note, there is A LOT of editing throughout the live recording, and it doesn’t have the feel of a true cohesive live recording from the constant fading in and out of the applause between many of the songs. Also, some of what you hear on the live video recorded that night doesn’t quite match the live recording, and that night in Thomasville, James Rainey used a grand piano, but on the live recording, you hear a lot of electronic keyboard work and additional strings. Additionally, I have never been a fan of electronic drums, and along with the overuse of the electronic sounds from the keyboards, it all was a bit of a distraction for me. Compared to “10th Anniversary Live”, I always felt “Carolina Live” sounded a bit inferior, but I also understand due to the issues the Greenes encountered, sometimes you simply must use what you’ve got and get something released! I’m not sure how long the Greenes carried the original live video from “Carolina Live”, as a few months after they recorded this, they shot a live video at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa called “Live in Dixie”, which featured the songs from “Carolina Live”. As a side note, the Kingsmen recorded “Standing Room Only” that night as well, featuring songs from their “Wish You Were Here” recording.

Despite all the issues, “Carolina Live” has some amazingly strong material, and I love many of the songs included here, but the overall quality and feel of the live recording is simply lacking for me. This may not be my favorite Greenes recording, but as I stated before, “Carolina Live” will always be very, very special to me! This would not be the only recording the Greenes released in 1991, as just in time for Christmas (likely released just in time for NQC), the Greenes released their first Christmas recording, “Christmas in the Mountains”, which included a re-make of “Who Do You Think” (which the Greenes first recorded back in 1986 on their “When He Sees Me” album), along with such classics as “Away in a Manger” and “Joy to the World”, as well as a couple tunes penned by Tim, including “Christmas is for Love” and “Christmas with Jesus”.

The Greenes continued to enjoy tremendous success with the feature song, “They’ll Never Crucify Him Again”, which became one of their greatest hits and most popular songs. I know I use this analogy a lot, but the Greenes were enjoying a tremendous wave of success, and that wave would continue to roll for many more years to come, as they continued to enjoy many more high charting hits and successful recordings!

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