Friday, March 03, 2006

Gaither Goes to Canada and NQC Salutes Youth - 3 new DVDs

Bill Gaither has just released his latest Homecoming tapes. I gave you a brief explanation a couple of weeks ago and in it I said they were different. I have since found that Gaither is using a high definition camera in the last three (Signature Sound and the new Homecoming DVDs). I don't own a HDTV, so I'll have to take their word for it. The content is very good and reminiscent of older Gaither projects, that is totally different from the Israel DVDs of earlier in 2005. And that's a good thing for Southern Gospel fans.

I've always called Gaither the Lawrence Welk of gospel and that he is. The old jokes (courtest of Kevin Williams in this one) flow and the songs are mostly repeats, but it is lavishly produced, the sound is good (I wish they had left the echo out, though), and the program is entertaining (my apologies to those who consider sg music a ministry and not entertainment). I liked the Toronto DVD better than the Canadian Homecoming, but only slightly. Both will sell like hotcakes and there are some memorable performances.

This DVD is the video debut of Wes Hampton, the guy who replaced David Phelps in the Gaither Vocal Band. The initial verdict among those of us who haven't been to a Homecoming concert since Phelps left is good. Hampton is not as showy and certainly doesn't have the sheer power and range of Phelps, but he's good. Real good. He has the kind of tenor voice I like--full and controlled. Phelps was like that, too, but Phelps tended to push his considerable range for effect. This is not the case with Hampton, who just sings a solid tenor without the flair. We'll see how Homecoming fans warm up to him. If the mail over on the Gaither.com boards are any indication, he's already part of the family.

Sadly, the DVDs mark the last recorded performances of Anthony Burger who passed away last month. It was fitting that his last performance was a tremendous rendition of "I'm Getting Ready." Already, folks are speculating who will replace Burger and I'd be shocked if it's not Stan Whitmere. We'll see.

The other new DVD is from Daywind. During the National Quartet Convention, Daywind always does some fine showcases and this year they chose to feature the rising stars of southern gospel in a show called "Torch." All the perfomers were under 30 years of age and under the direction of Mike Speck showed that this genre has a healthy future ahead of it.

Loren Talley, already a star of sorts, is featured first on a new song called , "The Race." Despite the strange faces she makes when she sings, Talkley is unique and very pretty. She's going to be a star someday. After that, it gets even more interesting.

Three unique quartets (Speck noted that quartets singing four-part harmony were the backbone of Southern Gospel) really kept me interested.

First out was Jeremy Peace (Kingsmen), Josh Feamster (Mercy's Mark), Derrick Selph (Brian Free and Assurance), and Jeremy Lile (Crystal River). This quartet, maybe because of the material--"Stand Up") iddn't blend so well, but was pleasant. Peace has the kind of tenor voice we see so often in this genre. It's thin and almost weak. I've heard him on other occasions and have not been too fond of his performances. Feamster is a high lead. Selph is a fine baritone and Lile has the potential to be a great bass singer. Together they sounded like four men singing a song and didn't blend well. They did a fair version of the Kingsmen classic.

After a reprise of the old Nelon song "He shall Wear a Crown," featuring Rex Nelon's grandaughter Amber Thompson and others and a new version of the old Gold city song, "Midnight Cry" featuring the Crabbs, and the kids of Southern Gospel stars singing the Hemphill standard, "He's Still Working on Me," we get to what I consider the best performance on the DVD.

Putting John Rulapaugh (Palmetto State), Lance Moore (Paid in Full), Josh Singletary (Monument Quartet), and Aaron McCune (Palmetto State) together is a genius. Of course, it was Mike Speck who did this, but this old quartet fan took notice.

First of all, all of these men are the real deal. Rulapaugh is a full, strong tenor with great instincts. Moore is the best kept secret in the business. As a lead, he is the Jake Hess we've been missing since Jake died (interestingly enough, Jake Hess helped bring along Moore's group before he died). He has personality and he can sing. Josh Singletary is a great baritone, again with the personality and stage prescence to match (his vivid red hair and strong facial expressions just make him stand out). Aaron McCune, my neighbor of some 20 miles away, is simply the best young bass in the business. In fact, he may be the best overall, but that's open for debate. They knocked my socks off.

My father always told me that you could determine if you had a good group within the first four notes they sang. It was all in how they blended. These guys blended well. Where the first group sounded like four singers, this group sounded as one with all four parts. They hit the stage on the second verse of the song mentioned earlier, "I'm Getting Ready to Leave This World." If Rulapaugh and McCune didn't have a great quartet to sing in and Moore and Singletary didn't have equally good gigs, they should hit the road tomorrow and never look back. They were that good.

The next notable performance came from the choir and three very talented young people. Speck configured a medley of two songs, Rusty Goodman's "Who Am I," Squire Parson's "He Came to Me," and "OH, What a Savior." Kathy Peach, formerly of The Steeles led off by singing the Goodman song. Peach is simply a wonderful singer with great range, power, and tremendous pronunciation. She gave way to the Perrys Joseph Habedank. Habedank is a strong baritone and he gives a stellar performance. I think Habedank is a little too dramatic (he even used a Vestal Goodman hankie while he sang), but he's young and with his pipes he'll do well. Rounding out the solos was Jason Waldoup of Greater Vision. Even with his mechanical expressions, Jason is a strong, confident tenor. Like Rulapaugh, he reminds me a great deal of the late Rosie Rozelle. Rosie just sang without pushing the envelope. This was a fine performance.

Finally, Speck marches out Anthony Facello (Mercy's Mark), Josh Garner (Florida Boys), Scott Inman (Triumphant), and Chris West (late of Mercy's Mark) to sing "Boundless Love." Facello is at the top of Southern Gospel tenors even at his young age. Along with Rulapaugh and Waldroup, the top three tenors in the business might have been on state. Garner is the very talented lead singer for the Florida Boys. He just seems to know quartet music and impresses me with his range every time I hear him sing. Inman is a good baritone and has great stage prescence. He's very young like Habedank and will be around a long time. West, though he's left Mercy's Mark, is excellent. Someone should coax him back on the road. His knowledge of this genre (shown in his singing) and great bass voice needs to be on stage.

This group was only a notch behind the Rulapaugh-Moore-Singletary-McCune group, but they had energy and blended well.

The program ends with an all-Crabb song (I'm not much of a fan of the Crabb family as you can see, and I know they are quite popular and Daywind's premier group, but their performance indicidually or in groups did nothing extraordinary) and the obiglatory How Great Thou Art Medley and the new song, "My Generation."

Nothing compares to those two quartets, though.

My advice is to buy all three of these. Like the Gaither video, the Torch video has great sound. The production is not so good, but the performances make up for it. The Gaither DVDs are simply the best you can buy. They're entertaining, funny, and enjoyable--just like Lawrence Welk's show.

So, with these three DVD's, you get the young of the business and the (somewhat--if you don't count Bill Gaither and Ben Speer) old of the genre. I liked both and you will, too