Gaither Vocal Band CD is Beyond Belief

I know I said I'd have some video review up, but I finally cracked the seal on the new Gaither Vocal Band CD, Give it Away, and I was blown away. I just had to tell somebody although I know no one reads this but me.

I always forget how good this group is no matter who is in it. It was great when Jonathan Pierce was the tenor and was great when David Phelps replaced him. It was great when Mark Lowry left and Russ Taff came in at baritone. When Marsh Hall replaced Russ it was great. When David Phelps left there was a howl from GVB fans because no one could replace David at tenor. Well, guess what? They're still great and Phelps' replacement just might be better at that position than Phelps was. Well, almost.

Gaither gives us our money's worth on this CD - 15 songs and not a clunker in the bunch. A lot of it has to do with production and arrangements, but a lot of it has to do with talent and good taste, which Gaither has in abundance.

Bill starts us off with Bread Upon the Water, an evergreen covered by lots of folks, but it sounds fresher here than the last time I heard it. Not my favorite, though, and we go to track two. Here we're treated to a Benjy Gaither song (Benjy is Bill and Gloria's son--does every Gaither child write songs?) called, I Catch 'Em God Cleans 'Em, which sounds corny on the surface, but the rockabilly beat and enthusiastic singing by Guy Penrod and Bill himself, along with an almost Cajun sound, makes this a rip-roaring, toe tapping winner.

Next we head off into the old Sunday School song, Jesus Loves Me, sung by Marsh Hall. Once again, not horrible, but forgettable. As you continue to listen, if you pay attention, the arrangements (at least the horns and strings) by Russell Mauldin, make every little song sound better.

That's obvious in the old Jordaniares song, I'll Tell It Wherever I Go. Featuring the new guy, Wes Hampton--David Phelps' replacement--and using a 50's style feel, Hampton may make everyone forget Phelps in short order. He doesn't have the vocal gymnastics of a Phelps, but he's good. So good, that I was almost glad Phelps left for the self-inflicted Siberia of music called solo work.

The rest of the album follows a pattern. Old song followed by new song, including a new Bill-Gloria composition (copyrighted 2005, btw) and at least one other new song by son Benjy. In fact, the title cut was co-authored by Benjy and Gloria. Yeah, we have to endure the 10,000th cover of Kris Kristofferson's Why Me, Lord, and a couple of other Gaither evergreens (copyrighted 1979 and 1974), but it sounds so doggone good, all you notice is the professionalism of the singers and backup players.

Gaither found the "formula" to making his product, whether it be CD or video, sound gads better than the competition years ago. He most recently used it on Signature Sound's self-titled album with mixed results. Nothing is mixed here, though. From the blend of the singers to the Mauldin arrangements, this sounds like a million bucks. Roughly what the thing will sell in units, by the way.

If you like your gospel music southern (well, almost) style and you appreciate good musicianship and classy packaging, pick this one up. You won't regret it.

NASCAR Almost Always Wrong--or at Least Stupid

NASCAR. Why can't they get it right?

Saturday was the official beginning of the NASCAR season. Qualifying early and the postponed pole-winner race, the Bud Shootout, late. Qualifying became interesting when it took Hendrick Motorsports' entry, the No. 24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon several times through inspection before being approved. Eyebrows were raised when the No. 48 of teammate Jimmie Johnson started acting strange. After inspection, Gordon had qualified 2nd and Johnson 5th. But there was more to come.

Officals found nothing wrong with the Gordon car, but Johnson's car was found to have a trick rear window that could be adjusted for aerodynamic advantage. They sent crew chief Chad Knauss home for the weekend and announced other penalties after the Daytona 500, letting Johnson go to the back of the pack for the qualifying races on Thursday.

Why not disqualify the car. Knaus has literally thumbed his nose at NASCAR after seven rules infractions in the last three years. Among other things, the No. 48 has had illegal shocks (to be fair, they weren't illegal, but right on the edge of the rules) and now a no-doubt illegal setup for qualifying. His time is up. Knaus should be suspended for ten races or more and face being banned if other infractions are found in 2006. NASCAR should have also disqualified the car for the 500. Why didn't they? Lowe's. Lowe's Home Improvement Stores sponsors the car and we wouldn't want Lowe's to be punished, now would we? Balderdash! Until NASCAR takes a stand like this, cheating will always be present. They don't get it and never will.

That leads us to Sunday night's Busch Clash. Carl Edwards swerved left at pit road to avoid a wreck in front of him. They penalized him for going below the yellow line (which is a no-no at Daytona if you do it to advance your position). Trouble was, if Edwards had kept his line and not taken evasive maneuvers, a huge wreck would have been the result. No matter, Edwards was given the black flag and never was a factor again.

Kyle Busch drove wrecklessly all night. He hit eveyone but the pace car. His punishment? A stern "settle down" from the officials. Huh?

Finally, Tony Stewart, upset with the "bump drafting" going on around the speedway (bump drafting is a way to give the car in front of you a push to allow you to pass and get away from the other cars in a pack). Tony Stewart spoke firmly about the practice and although it has been going on for some time, NASCAR finally took some action. They'll "monitor" it. Sure, guys.

Why can't they do something proactive in the long off-season? Too many could care less. The fans love the racing just as it is and no one's been killed yet.

"We're going to kill someone one of these days, " said Tony Stewart.

Indeed they are. And until restrictor plates are a thing of the past, that fear will always be there. What is NASCAR doing? Nothing.

The story of WayneK--The Man Who Could

Wayne Krivsky, Savior.

At this point I'm beginning to believe that he is the savior of the Cincinnati Reds. He and Bob Castellini. It's not a hard argument to make. Castellini took over the Reds about a month ago. Shortly thereafter, he hired Wayne Krivsky to be his General Manager. Let's just say that more activity to improve the club has gone on in less than a month thanwent on in the 6 or 7 years that Carl Lindner owned the club and Jim Bowden and Dan O'Brien was the General Manager.

Castilleni took over ownership and immediatly put everyone on notice. He fired GM O'Brien and hired Krivsky and the ball started rolling. He frist fired Brad Kullman, who had been interim GM. Kullman had been a candidate for the job and had lobbied with fan groups and had appeared on every major league radio show. He developed a fan following because of his apparent endorsement of Billy Ball, the statistical approach to baseball that Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics embraces. Kullman's immaturity and brash behavior didn't jive with Krivsky's business-like style and so off he went into unemployment.

Krivsky then signed slugger Adam Dunn to a three-year contract, brought several bench players on board and headed for Spring Training.

The determination to make the Reds competitive again is not lost on this fan. May he be the GM long and prosper.

A Different Video from Gaither

I just received the two DVD set of Gaither Homecoming concerts in Canada. They are quite different from anything the homecoming crew have done and I'm not sure I like it.

Since last fall's Signature Sound video (what do you call these things? I guess they aren't videos unless they are on tape and DVD sounds so cold), Giather's production crew has used a new system which I'll call "reality," for lack of a better term. Unlike video tape where the program looks live, this gives the impression of film. It's not very clear a lot of the time except on close-ups and the sound, though good, has more echo. I guess the idea is to make you think you're at a live concert. I don't think it's an improvement, though.

Anyway, you could say that this is more of the same, but that's what the public wants. Opening with songs you know by heart and seeing some familiar faces will probably push this set to the top of the charts in no time. The performances are good, the comedy is pure Hee-Haw courtesy of Mark Lowry, Kevin Williams and others, and the old saints that have passed away are honored. Even with my doubt about the quality of the picture, this is a very good set of DVDs and better than anything anyone is doing in music of any kind these days.

I'll post a complete review this weekend.