The music and business world was saddened to hear about the passing of Jimmy Dean Sunday.  One of Dean’s most recognizable songs is “Big Bad John” which tells the story of a common working man that gives his life to save his fellow man.  Dean hosted his own TV show known as the Jimmy Dean show.  The younger crowd will know Dean for his sausage, Jimmy Dean Sausage.  This is all amazing for a man that dropped out of high school after the ninth grade.

Dean died in his Henrico Co. home just outside of Richmond, VA.  I had the privilidge of seeing him at a Gaither concert here in the VA area.  He will be truly missed by friends and family.

Bill Gaither gives tribute to his friend here.

As of late, Dean appeared on the Gaither Homecoming Joy In My Heart DVD.  Here are a couple links to those videos.  You can also find clips of Dean on youtube when he was in better health appearing in his TV show as well as other events.

Rating: 4 stars

Producers: Wayne Haun & Jason Clark
Label: Vine Records
Website: http://thenelons.com

1. The Love Of God – The project’s opener features the group’s youngest member, Amber Nelon Thompson. This particular track does a great job of highlighting her growth as a vocalist in her time with the group. She definitely has her mother’s vocal power, with a modern twist on it (think Kelly Nelon meets Carrie Underwood.) The song’s verses are reminiscent, in both lyrics and structure, of “Don’t Let Me Miss The Glory,” but the chorus gives the song its own identity. Amber absolutely knocks off the top off her solos, and I actually had to rewind before the last chorus to make sure what I was hearing wasn’t just an ultra-high steel guitar riff; the lead-in she gives there sounds like a Mariah Carey vocal run.

2. Beside Still Waters - This song that the Mark Trammell Trio originally did serves as the title track for this CD. Each vocalist takes a turn on the verses, and though the song is by no means a standout, it’s a good showcase of the trio’s harmony.

3. Goodbye Valley, Hello Mountaintop - A fast-paced country tune gives Jason Clark a solo vehicle. Clark does a great job carrying the melody here, and the key changes make for some interesting high harmony.

4. There Is A Way – In a true standout on the project, Amber Nelon Thompson is once again featured, but this time on a powerful ballad. The song is already powerful, backed by beautiful orchestration, but on the bridge, the key changes and takes the song into the clouds. Probably my favorite on the project.

5. He Found Me - In a contrast to the big ballad, this track features a medium-tempo blues feel. Jason Clark takes the first verse, and Amber has the second. This song was a good choice for the first radio single.

6. Settled At The Cross - In her first true solo on the CD, Kelly Nelon Clark is featured on a ballad that is sure to become a signature for her. The sound of her voice has been a constant in the group’s existence, and her alto fits the song perfectly.

7. I’m Going Home With Jesus – This classic by The McGruders has been taken and reinvented to give it a modern feel. The group does a great job redoing it; it doesn’t sound like just a cover version, and they really make it their own. The song has a built-in encore that has another Amber lead-in; this time sounding like something Kim Hopper would do. Fantastic track!

8. My Tribute (To God Be The Glory) – The trio covers this Andrae Crouch classic with a “power orchestra” sound, opening with blaring horns, and electric guitars kicking in on the bridge. While not as original as their cover of “I’m Going Home With Jesus,” their version of this song certainly does it justice.

9. Weep – Kelly takes the lead on this mid-tempo song. Like the title track, it’s not a memorable song, but more of a showcase of harmony. Very smooth, mellow track.

10. Consider Me - Jason Clark carries this mid-tempo jazzy tune. More smooth singing, with some interesting lyrics on the chorus. “Consider me a Jesus fan,” as Averyfineline noted, is a bit campy for my taste, but not so glaringly annoying as to detract from the song.

11. Jesus, What A Wonderful Name - It’s back to the orchestra for this worshipful ballad. This is one of the more memorable songs on the project; it’s powerfully delivered both musically and vocally.

12. I Choose To Live - The closing track serves as the vocal debut for Kelly Nelon Clark younger daughter, Autumn. She does a great job here; her voice fits very well with the other members of the group, and she carries the melody well.

Final Thoughts: I’ll be honest; up until this point, I really hadn’t paid much attention to The Nelons. Sure, I know a lot of their older stuff, from back when they were the Rex Nelon Singers, and sure, they’ve had some great songs over the years, but nothing they had done in quite a long time was grabbing my attention.

Until now.

Beside Still Waters, from the first note to the last, had me sitting up in my chair and really listening. The project features some of the best songs and vocal performances that the group has had in their existence, and each singer has solid features on this project. Wayne Haun & Jason Clark did an excellent job of producing a great sound from both the musicians and the singers, and while not every track was a standout, this is a pretty stellar collection of songs.

Bottom line: Both longtime fans of The Nelons, or those just being introduced to the group, will enjoy this latest effort by the group.

The bloggers featured in this review are Daniel Mount, Wes Burke, Brandon Coomer, Nate Stainbrook, Phil Boles, and myself. The project released today (June 1, 2010) and was produced by Lari Goss.
We hope you enjoy reading this review as much as we enjoyed writing it!

Song 1: A Higher Throne

Daniel: A few hours before this CD arrived in my mailbox, I was pondering Lari Goss’s iconic introduction to the Cathedrals classic “Champion of Love.” It’s an instantly recognizable riff—and not just because it is the melody of a line whose lyrics we remember. It’s inherently unforgettable on its own merits. I was pondering whether Goss would ever offer another intro of that caliber.

Now Declaration isn’t even in bookstores yet as I write this, so it’s far too early to declare this intro iconic. But incipiently iconic or not, the introduction instantly grabs your attention. A soaring trumpet crescendo is answered by swelling strings and woodwinds. The trumpet sounds again, and the orchestra answers. The band kicks in, and trumpet, orchestra, and band set a fittingly majestic backdrop for a lyric depicting Heaven’s throne room.

Though Declaration is so full of strong songs that there will be stiff competition for radio slots, this song should unmistakably go to radio. Though it’s 5 minutes 25 seconds long, a tempo on the fast side of midtempo makes it seem to go by faster.

Wes: What a great choice to open the disc.  I love the anthemic feel of this song, and right away this cut shows that the partnership between Lari Goss and the Booth Brothers is going to exceed every possibility you’ve imagined since it was made known.

Nate: Agree totally with you guys about this song. I can’t help but get excited when I hear this song. I love it from the opening to the ending. It ends with a breathtaking, sweeping, epic ending.  You mentioned the beginning being a great opening stanza, but the song also ends on a great note. Great song that Lari Goss struck gold on again. And I can’t wait to see this song get staged live.

Daniel: I knew the song was good on its own merits. But not until several weeks later, when I came across the original, by Keith & Kristyn Getty, did I fully appreciate what Goss had done with the song. I should say that I rediscovered the original, to be precise, since I had already heard it. But the arrangements are so different that I hadn’t connected the two until searching for the songwriter.

Goss deserves to be named in the same breath as Beethoven, Bach and Mozart. It would take a talent of that level to take the original and give it this level of treatment.

Song 2: God Did it All
Daniel: This Ronnie Booth feature starts simply enough. A lush orchestral track featuring the woodwind section accompanies a beautiful, lilting melody about Creation. By the chorus, the song becomes a powerful statement of God’s sovereignty. The song builds into a huge ending that should equally captivate live audiences and radio DJs (though Daywind should cut the encore before singling it, as 6:10 is too long for a single.)

The melody for this Rusty Golden / Dianne Wilkinson collaboration has a fascinating provenance: Wilkinson wrote the lyric and composed a melody for the chorus. She brought up the song during a collaboration session with Golden, who proceeded to come up with a melody for the verses—without having heard her chorus melody. Then she showed him what she had for the chorus—and they realized it was a perfect fit.

Nate: This song is very well written and very well performed. I love Ronnie Booth’s voice. This song makes you take notice of just how good of a singer he really is. I love the message to this song. It should challenge you to get ready, and to tell others that “God Did It All.”

Wes: This is the first big ballad you hear from Goss and the Booths, and it doesn’t disappoint.  Ronnie Booth turns in a tremendous performance.  This should be a single, the length not withstanding.  Actually, the Kingdom Heirs singled “He Had To Hold To Calvary” back in the mid 90s, and it was 6:01.

Daniel: It wouldn’t be more than a minute of work to cut out the encore. They’d be wise to single it without the encore (even if they leave the alternate version on the radio compilation disc  for any DJs who want it).

Song 3: I See Grace
Nate: This song written by Jim Brady along with Barry Weeks and Tony Wood, is a song that the Booth Brothers have been staging for several months now. It is one of my favorites on this project. It starts with a epic sounding intro, that settles into to a great medium to fast tempo song, that is very well orchestrated. Jim Brady gets the lead on this song.He never ceases to amaze me with his vocal versatility and range, and he really shows it here. He has Michael Booth stacked above him for part of the first verse, making for some nice harmony. I love the end of the second verse that says “Those who have come through unbearable loss not defined by the past but defined by the Cross.” That is a great line that really defines this song and makes it a potential radio hit. I have been told that this song has been going over particularly well in concerts, and I can see why.

(more…)

Here’s a couple interesting tidbits from the weekend you may have missed:

First, check out this video that David Bruce Murray blogged about last week and recorded at a recent Dove Brothers concert. The song is “I’ll Fly Away”:

A couple thoughts:
1. The low G that bass singer David Hester hits actually vibrates two Bose speakers right off the stage. Wow.
2. The Dove Brothers are a good quartet to begin with, but throwing a live band into the mix takes them to a whole new level. Look to see how that affects the arrangements on their recordings from now on.
3. Speaking of which, the group has a full preview of their upcoming release, Unstoppable, available on their website’s music player. It’s well worth the listen.

In other news, Daniel Mount has posted both the song list and cover art for the upcoming Gaither Vocal Band project, Greatly Blessed, on his site. The songs are as follows:

1. Better Day
2. When He Blest My Soul
3. Love Like I’m Leavin’
4. You Are My All In All – this is possibly the popular Praise & Worship song, and if so, it will be interesting to see how the group can present it to an SG audience without being too polarizing. Then again, the GVB has never been strictly SG. I can see this as a David Phelps or Wes Hampton feature.
5. Please Forgive Me – An interview I was fortunate enough to do with Michael English indicated that he would be out front on this Crabb Family classic.
6. Greatly Blessed, Highly Favored
7. He’s Alive – There is a song of the same title about Jesus’ resurrection that has been featured on a Homecoming video, and was also recorded by David Phelps on his very first solo project, Journey to Grace, that came before his time with the Vocal Band. A solo by Phelps with the whole group kicking in on the final choruses would be a powerhouse sound for sure.
8. Ain’t Nobody – if this is the same song by Soul’d Out Quartet, it would be one of the most unique sounds the GVB has ever adopted. Keep an eye on this one.
9. Clean
10. Muddy Water – The group has adopted a country flavor to several of their songs recently (Jesus & John Wayne, anyone?), so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the tune made famous by Trace Adkins. A Michael English lead could possibly come from this, especially since the lyric is essentially the story of the prodigal son.
11. That Sounds Like Home To Me – This Happy Goodmans classic was mentioned in the interview. It will be interesting to see how the group arranges this song.
12. I Know How To Say Thank You
13. He Is Here – Michael English stated that this would be a big song for Wes Hampton, and I’m sure that Wes will do great on this Kirk Talley staple.

Lynchburg, VA had the privilege of hosting one of Ryan Seaton’s first solo appearances. The church was the Lynchburg First Church of the Nazarene. The Hoppers were the main group on the tickets and Ryan showed up as a surprise. The Hoppers sang the first half with a mixture of old standards as well as some new songs. About half time Dean’s brother came out and did some comedy stuff. During the first half it was mentioned that there was going to be a special surprise for the people that hung around for the second half. After half time Ryan was introduced and he came out and did a few songs from his upcoming project that is big band oriented. If you like Michael Buble or Denver and the Mile High Orchestra you are going to love Ryan’s new project. I have to say that I was impressed over previous times I have seen Ryan. More of his vocal ability came through when he was by himself.

Ryan sat down for one song and came back up and joined the Hoppers on Shoutin Time. If you would like to see pics of the show you can go to http://www.vasoutherngospel.com or go to the Virginia Gospel Music Association – VGMA facebook page.

Please be in prayer for the family of Rick and Cindy Busby in the loss of thier son Thursday morning. Rick sent an email that said that he had been living a troubled life and decided to end it himself. Rick had the privilege of leading him to the Lord Wednesday. Most will remember Rick as the lead vocalist for the Florida Boys on the When He Was On The Cross release.

We are always excited when a Virginia artist gets recognition for the contributions they have made to the southern gospel industry. In this case, it is Jeanette Cooke of the Singing Cookes out of Bristol, VA. Christian Voice Magazine holds a yearly awards show at SGM Fanfair in Piegeon Forge, TN May 3rd – 8th. The Living Legend Award is one of the many catagories you can vote for and will have awards passed out at the awards show. I would encourage you to go to the voting ballot and vote as you see fit. Click Here to learn more about the Singing Cookes and the Cooke Brothers.

Jeremy

Yes, folks, I am still here! The day-to-day stuff has all seemed to catch up at once, so I haven’t had time to do much of anything outside of school and extra-curricular activities. I hope to get back to regular posting soon. My review of The Inspirations’ The Son Came Down project should be up Monday.