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Producer:  Bill Gaither/Michael Sykes/Gaither Vocal Band
Label:  Gaither Music Group
Website:  www.gaither.com

This recording probably ranks as one of the most anticipated releases over the past year.  Of course, pretty much every release by the Gaither Vocal Band ranks as an anticipated release!  As the advertisements have stated, this is quite possibly one of the greatest GVB releases ever and I tend to concur.  For me, there is a lot to love about this new recording.  This is the best one since “God is Good”, which I rank as their best effort ever.  Of course, that’s just my opinion.  But enough about the past lets look at the present.

Kicking off with the Imperials classic from the 1970s, “BREAD UPON THE WATER” provides a cool introduction to this newest recording from the Gaither Vocal Band and moves quickly into the “I CATCH ‘EM, GOD CLEANS ‘EM”.  While I like the GVBs version of the song, I much prefer Gordon Mote’s version and think his version flows much better. 

Starting off with only piano accompaniment, Marsh Hall turns in a soulful rendition of the children’s classic, “JESUS LOVES ME”, while newest member Wes Hampton turns in an excellent performance on “I’LL TELL IT WHEREVER I GO”.  While it is unfortunate that the original track appears to have been used from the GVBs original recorded performance from back in 1997, Wes does a good job making the song his own.  Continuing with the nostalgic flare, classic male quartet sounds abound on the song, “MY JOURNEY TO THE SKY”.

Things really slow down for a beautiful song of affirmation simply titled, “THROUGH”, which brings to fruit the promise that God will bring us gently through our trials and tribulations.

“GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE” is the true highlight of the recording for me.  Complete with the Christ Church Choir backing them up, this is possibly one of the finest GVB performances ever, as is the worshipful, “WORTHY THE LAMB”, resurrected from the Gaither archives and originally recorded in 1974 by the Gaither Trio.

Bringing back an old Imperials song from the early 1980’s called “EAGLE SONG”, the group really shows off some smooth singing before diving into the eclectic, “LOVE CAN TURN THE WORLD”.

The uptempo, “CHILD FORGIVEN” is one of the most “Southern Gospel” songs on the recording and would probably do very well on radio.  The song is followed, quite appropriately, by the oft recorded, “WHY ME, LORD”.

Although I’ve heard the song most of my life and have never paid much attention to it and had quite honestly gotten sick of the tune, it’s Guy Penrod’s emotional rendition of this classic that really caught my attention and for the first time in my life, I actually get the song!  The song is followed by two more slow tunes, “I WILL GO ON” (another from the Gaither archives) and “PLACE CALLED HOPE” before closing shop with the fun title song, “GIVE IT AWAY”, which features GVB along with Ernie Haase & Signature Sound Quartet.

This new recording features A TON of previously recorded tunes, but since they are done with such fresh and new arrangements, they still come out sounding like new songs filled with newly captured excitement.  Not many groups can pull this off. 

This latest group of the Gaither Vocal Band sounds to me a lot like the Franklin/English/Lowry/Gaither version from a dozen years ago.  I love what I hear.  Those wondering if GVB can recuperate from the loss of David Phelps can put their fears to rest.

Personal Favs:  BREAD UPON THE WATER; JESUS LOVES ME; MY JOURNEY TO THE SKY; THROUGH; GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE; WORTHY THE LAMB; CHILD FORGIVEN; WHY MY, LORD; GIVE IT AWAY

Reader Comments

Great review as always James. I agree with the comparison to Franklin/English/Lowry at the end of your article. I've heard lots of people describe Hampton as a "Jonathan Pierce" style tenor but after seeing him live and hearing him on this CD, I think he is much more like Terry Franklin. It was nice to see Marshall Hall featured a lot on this CD. I have his 2 solo projects and he is easily one of my favorite singers now.

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 02/15/2006

I could not agree more, a great album. I actually like the sound of this Vocal Band better than any I have heard. Although some would consider it blasphemy, I like it better with Wes than with David Phelphs. Also, if you have seen them live, I think it is so refreshing that Wes is having fun and actually loves being there, which was not at all the case with David the last couple of years. The chemistry among the group also seems so much better.

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 02/16/2006

Actually, I somewhat disagree. I think there's a lot of great material on this CD, but Wes doesn't go "sky-high" with a real power song the way Phelps used to. Wes is a great tenor, and over the next few CD's he will probably improve with experience, but I would certainly not rate this CD as one of GVB's best ever. There's no song that really reaches out and grabs you. Quick! Name that one song...this CD doesn't do that. In my opinion, very good, but not great.

Commented by Joel On 02/16/2006

I have to disagree wtih you Joel. High does not make it better. While David is one of the greatest tenors of all time, the blend that GVB has with Wes is fantastic.
While there is a lot of familiar music on this CD, there are also some really nice original tunes. I love their rendition of "I Catch Em, God Cleans Em".
It gets 5 stars from me also.

Deon Unthank
SoGospelNews.com
My Blog

Some people are like Slinkys…  Not really good for anything, but they
still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs -  Author Unknown

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 02/17/2006

I really am enjoying listenting to this project. I love Marshall's version of JESUS LOVES ME. It's beautiful. I love I CATCH 'EM, GOD CLEANS 'EM, too. GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE is awesome! All in all it's a very enjoyable project.

God is good all the time & all the time God is good. 

Elaine Harcourt

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 02/17/2006

Love this CD! Jesus Loves Me(Who knew it could ever sound so good?), I Catch 'Em God Cleans 'Em, Love Can Turn the World(SUPER), & Give It Away are all favorites of mine. Saw them live this past weekend and Guy sang "Through" and just blessed my heart.

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 02/17/2006

As one who calls himself a GVB expert let me say I was looking forward to this album too. David Phelps is my favorite singer and I was wondering like everyone else what they would be like without him...but Wes is doing great! He is being Wes and no one else.
I would say the sound is different than before and the comparision to Terry is ok, but actually Wes is a cross between Terry and JP.
Overrall My rating on this CD is 3 1/2 out of 5. I did like the fact they used Marsh a lot and as always the group sounds awesome! They are starting work on an album with SSQ soon, which should be pretty cool!
I would like to respond to this comment made by Glenn. "I think it is so refreshing that Wes is having fun and actually loves being there, which was not at all the case with David the last couple of years." While it is true that David changed through the years not only in looks but "attitude" I think to say that he didn't enjoy being there isn't right. He was struggling with what to do and I can think of several times in my life when I am struggling with making a decision that I haven't always been 100% happy at all times. Does that make it right? No. But to just say that he didn't love being there at all is wrong.

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 02/17/2006

This CD was awesome, very enjoyable, my fav's off this project would be "My Journey To The Sky", "Child Forgiven", "I'll Tell It Wherever I Go", but I love them all. This CD is great for anybody not just Southern Gospel music lovers. Talking about Wes, he is awesome, I thought I heard some Larnell Harris licks in there on a few of the songs. Great job Gaither Vocal Band!

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 02/19/2006

I really like everything about this CD. The guys are great, but then Bill knows how to deal with personnel changes. He himself has said, you don't ever replace anybody - you find another different person. And obviously he does that very well. I also think the younger guys make Guy seem more youthful, and he actually looks like he's having fun. I love how you can see Guy watching out for them......he makes a great big brother and you can tell they look up to him, and I can't think of a better role model for young up and coming singers. You go guys!!

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 02/20/2006

I have to agree that this album is great, but with a million dollar album budget it should be great. The mix should be flawless and the vocals should be flawless.... And they are...

About the tenor comparisons, it is no doubt that there probably aren't any other male voices in the world that can deliver the power and range that David Phelps has. However Wes is as good a singer as Phelps, sure he doesn't have the out of this world range that Phelps has, but he has a clear smooth tone that compliments the GVB sound.

Personally I think that the lower key arrangements will help the GVB to be even more powerful in live perfomances.

Some of the previous GVB material with Phelps seemed to strain Penrod's voice, causing him to have to struggle with pitch on the higher notes. He was having to sing high tenor just to harmonize with Phelps. I know it must be a relief for Guy to get to actually sing in a more comfortable range.

Penrod, by the way, is also in a class of his own. His voice is so powerful and the Spirit of God on his life gives him the whole package...

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 02/20/2006

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