After the Greenes’ contract with Riversong expired, they went back into the studio in early 1994 to begin work on their next recording, “Fields of Greene”, which was released on ACA Records. It’d been a few years since they used a “word play” on their name for an album title, as “Greenehouse” (1984) and “Evergreene” (1985), were wonderful plays on the “Greene” name, so “Fields of Greene” was perfect!

Produced by Roger Talley, this was his first time producing the Greenes since their 1984 album, “Greenehouse”, but during the 10 years since that release, Roger lent his talent by playing on previous recordings by the Greenes, and he was also instrumental in the creation of ACA Records back in 1989. The Talleys (Roger, Debra and Kirk) had just come off the road towards the end of 1993, and after 20 years of playing and producing music for the Hoppers and the Talleys (as well as other artists), Roger came to table with some unique perspectives. Additionally, with Steve Mauldin handling orchestrations once again, “Fields of Greene” maintained the quality of production we’d enjoyed with “Sweet Life”, and the live brass utilized on this recording was a welcome sound, and they added so much to the overall musicality of the recording.

Probably the most unique thing about “Fields of Greene” is the fact that there are 4 different covers for this release! Originally, the cover had a cartoon background of green fields and blue skies, with the Greenes casually dressed and leaning against a red fence. The cover concept was Tim’s idea, but Tony hated it and felt it was cheesy, and he pushed for a new cover. Eventually, a new picture of the Greenes all dressed up was superimposed against the cartoon background. Sometime later, they completely did away with the cartoon fields and a different cover concept was created with a plain gray background, using the same picture of the Greenes dressed up, but was flipped backwards (notice the suit pockets are on the wrong side). When the group signed with Riversong Records (I’ll get more into that later in this article), a totally different concept was used for the cover, removing the Greenes entirely from the cover shot. I had the original cover on cassette, but I loaned it out to someone and never got it back. When my (then) girlfriend (now wife) moved to North Carolina in 1996, she had the second version of the cassette, and I eventually bought the 4th version of the cover some years later.

“Fields of Greene” kicks off with the invigorating “Get Movin’”, featuring a bright brass track. Featuring Tim, with Amy eventually taking the lead as the song modulates and picks up steam, it’s one of my favorites from this recording. Written by Tim, it was the perfect lead off song, and I think it would have been a great choice for a radio single as well. As the song fades out, the tempo slows down as we move on to the title track, “Fields of Green”, which was written by Tim and Lucy Hemingway. Featuring Tim on the verses and a beautiful acoustic track accented with tastefully arranged strings, the song is further highlighted by that unmistakable Greenes harmony.

The medium tempo, “Beautiful Home” (aka-“There’s a Beautiful Home”) picks the tempo back up slightly with its rustic feel, highlighted by a piano, fiddle and electric guitar driven track. Written back in the late 1800’s by HW Elliot, with the melody provided by Emmett Dean, the song was a favorite in those churches in the Appalachian mountains. One of the earliest known recordings of this song dates back to the 1950s by Hank Williams, Sr, which was posthumously released in 2009. The Inspirations recorded the first version I ever heard on their 1972 album, “Old Time Singin’”. This classic tune was pitched to the Greenes by Roger Talley while they were in the studio recording this album, as they needed one more song for the session, and Roger felt it would be a great fit for the Greenes, and he was right!

With a nice acoustic feel, Amy sings the stirring ballad, “My Redeemer is Faithful and True”, which was written by Steven Curtis Chapman and recorded on his first major album titled, “First Hand”, which was released in 1987. Amy pitched this tune to the group, as it was a deeply personal song for her, and she sings it as if it was written especially for her! The Talleys recorded the song a few years earlier on their 1989 recording, “Typical Day”, and in fact, Amy would re-cut the song on her first solo recording after leaving the Greenes, titled, “Change of Seasons”. Tim also found strength and comfort in the message of the song during his own health crisis in the early 2000’s, and included it on his 2002 solo recording, “At the Cross”.

Picking the tempo back up, we come to the fun, electric guitar driven track of the Phil Cross penned tune, “Love Beyond Measure”. Featuring both Tony and Tim, the song sounds like something the Greenes would have recorded back in the 1980’s, but the song isn’t quite that old, as it was originally recorded in 1993 by Phil Cross & Poet Voices on their debut album, “Our God is Marching On”.

Featuring a boisterous orchestral track, giving the song a regal and majestic feel, “Out of the Grave”, would be the first single release from this recording, going as high as #8 in the October and November 1994 Singing News chart. Written by Tim, it’s a highlight of the recording, as it was totally within the Greenes wheelhouse, building with intensity as Tony, Tim and Amy take their respective verses, complete with that classic Greenes ending!

With its electric and steel guitar driven track, the up-tempo, “He’s Coming Back”, written by Rickey Medlock, is an enjoyable tune that is a nice hidden gem, before we come to the tender and emotionally tinged ballad, “Jesus’ Rocking Chair”, which was written by Tim. The Greenes always had the innate ability to render emotional story songs that pull on your heartstrings, and “Jesus’ Rocking Chair” was the epitome of those types of tunes. Warmly accented with strings, Tim, Tony and Amy each take a verse in this tender song inspired by a poem written by a young fan named Allison Stinson. Upon learning that Tim, and his wife Amy, lost their second child to a miscarriage, Allison was so affected by their loss, that a few weeks later she wrote the poem, “Jesus’ Rocking Chair”, and eventually sent it to Tim. Tim was so moved by Allison’s poem that he wrote this song, which eventually became the Greenes third #1 hit, topping the Singing News chart for April and May 1995. Additionally, in October 1994, a lady named Susan Smith committed a horrific crime (you can Google her name to find more details), and the story was all over the news around the time the song was released as a single. Eventually, “Jesus’ Rocking Chair” made its way to various Country and Rock radio stations across the country, and as people were hearing the Greenes for the first time, they were looking for where they could buy the recording with the song on it. With this sudden surge in the song’s popularity, the Greenes saw the immediate need for a wider distribution stream for the recording, and they reached out to their friends at Riversong and signed a distribution deal for “Fields of Greene”. Since Amy had already left the Greenes long before this point, Riversong re-titled the recording as “Jesus’ Rocking Chair” (to capitalize on the success of the song) and used a picture of a rocking chair for the cover, instead of a picture of the Greenes.

Moving on, we pick up the tempo for the song, “Let the Redeemed Say So”, which featured a nice acoustic guitar track, accented with warm steel guitar and electric piano highlights. Written by Felicia Shifflet, the Greenes first recorded this song on their 1988 “From Our Heart” album, and this updated version doesn’t stray far from the Greenes’ original cut, with the exception that Kim originally sang the second verse, but on this updated rendition, Tim sings the first half of the verse, with Amy taking the second half. It’s a nice inclusion for this recording, before Tony closes things out with the thoughtful, country feel of the Ronny Hinson penned, “I Prayed Through Today”. With some nice steel guitar embellishments, the song fits Tony like a glove! Ronny recorded this song on his first solo recording entitled, “Me, Myself & Him”, which was released in 1990, ultimately charting the song as well, peaking at #9 in March 1991 for Ronny.

I will admit that originally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of “Fields of Greene”. For some reason, I just didn’t connect with it at first, and it wouldn’t be until a couple of years later when my future wife moved to North Carolina in September 1996 that I would come to appreciate it. She had the cassette and had kept it in her car, and we ended up listening to it all the time, and the more we listened to it, the more I fell in love with it!

“Fields of Greene” was a great recording overall and had a good, cohesive sound and feel throughout. Despite the “cover fiasco”, “Fields of Greene” had just as good a sound and feel as their last recording did. While the Greenes may not have been the most consistent with releasing music that had a strong production value (meaning the overall production quality was lacking some), they always had strong songs that fans enjoyed and could relate to, and “Fields of Greene” was an exceptional recording. I had alluded to this earlier, but one thing that really sets “Fields of Greene” apart from their last several recordings, is the live brass used on a few of the songs. The Greenes have mostly used live strings on their recordings, but outside of a couple of instances over the last few years, the Greenes used synthesized horns, so hearing those live horns was a welcome change!

Changes were coming though, as right around the time “Fields of Greene” was released, Amy (who was newly engaged to Jeff Templeton) felt it was time to come off the road. Upon leaving the Greenes, she started working for the Singing News, in conjunction with building the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame Museum. Additionally, she re-started her solo career (she enjoyed a successful solo ministry prior to joining the Greenes) and released several successful solo recordings and enjoyed such popular hit songs as, “He’ll Do it Again”, “Tears Are a Language”, “How Do I Know”, “Has Anybody Talked to Jesus Lately” and “The House That Love Built”. While her solo ministry has slowed down quite a bit over the years, she still sings at various churches, concerts and conferences, and she also stays busy working alongside her husband Jeff, at Templeton Tours. To fill the void with Amy’s departure, Tim and Tony’s sister, Kim, offered the name of Milena Parks, who had filled in for Kim with the Hoppers when she was out sick. Hailing from Cumming, Georgia, Milena had always wanted to sing professionally and was heavily influenced by such groups as the Hoppers, Nelons, Perrys, Talleys and even the Greenes, and grew up singing in church and at various singing conventions and singing schools in the deep south. Milena was a very different singer than Amy, but she made her indelible mark on the Greenes’ legacy with her powerhouse vocals. Though Milena was with the Greenes for only about 3 years, she made an undeniable impact and was a popular fan favorite! Shortly after Milena joined the Greenes, they recorded a hymns project titled, “Memories Renewed”, that was released before the year was out, possibly just in time for the National Quartet Convention. It was a great sounding recording with simple, but yet solid arrangements on such time-honored favorites as “The Eastern Gate”, “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand”, “After While”, “Just Over in the Gloryland”, “I’ll Meet You in the Morning” and many others.

While Amy’s departure and Milena’s arrival in 1994 was both the closing of one era, and the dawn of another, Milena gave the Greenes a unique power harmony that really made these years special to me. I saw the Greenes several times during the “Milena Era”, and the Greenes didn’t skip a beat, as those years were just as exciting and enjoyable as the previous years had been!

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