Resurrection Sunday!

This week will forgo the ‘live’ Southern Gospel music connection feature to celebrate Resurrection Sunday.  Happy Easter everyone!  Here is a YouTube video, chosen by each of us, to help celebrate the Easter season.  Enjoy!

1.  Steve’s choice:  ”Good News From Jerusalem” – Tribute Quartet (published by TheSevenTronic).

2. David’s choice:  ”Jesus Came Out Alive” – Brian Free & Assurance (published by BnCSGMusic).

3. Diana’s choice:  ”There Rose a Lamb” – Gold City  (published by Kyle Boreing)

4. Phil’s choice:  ”The Old Rugged Cross Made The Difference” – Gaither Vocal Band (published by GaitherVEVO)

5. Kyle’s choice: “My Son” – The Oak Ridge Boys (published by TheORBFan)

Smack Down!! – Gold City – Round 1

Another week, another album smack down.  This week finds the first match up for Gold City.  Listen to sound bytes of each recording and then vote for the album you think should win.

• Album – Windows Of Home
• Release Year – 1990
• Vocal Line Up – Brian Free (tenor), Ivan Parker (lead), Mike LeFevre (baritone), Tim Riley (bass)
• Song List – (1) “Not Made With Hands” (2) “Windows Of Home” (3) “Nobody’s There” (4) “Love Bigger Than Heaven” (5) “Do It By The Book” (6) “The Saving Kind” (7) “God Would Be Good For You” (8) “One Scarred Hand” (9) “God’s Got Other Plans For You” (10) “He Sat Down”

• Album - Walk The Talk
• Release Year – 2003
• Vocal Line Up - Jay Parrack (tenor), Jonathan Wilburn (lead), Daniel Riley (baritone), Tim Riley (bass)
• Song List – (1) “Somebody Sing Me A Gospel Song” (2) “That Little Baby” (3) “Calvary Conquers It All” (4) “I’m Saved, I’m Sure, I’m Ready” (5) “Walk The Talk” (6) “Then We Shall Sing” (7) “I’ll Say Thanks” (8) “I Can’t Do It Without The Lord” (9) “God Is Unwilling” (10) “God Handled It All”

Album Covers To Rank – Set 17

This will be the final set of album covers to rank this year.  I will pick up with the final three sets at the first of the year.  In the comments section rank each album from 1 to 6 (1 being best, 6 being worst).  Click on thumbnail for larger image.

09 – Booth Brothers (2009)

Live – Gold City (1982)

Wanted Live – Happy Goodmans (1971)

Excited – Hemphills (1985)

Fireside Hymns – Imperials (1964)

Come Thirsty – Perrys (2006)

Album Covers To Rank – Set 13

This week finds set 13 in the best/worst album cover feature.  In the comments section rank each cover from 1 to 6 (1 being best, 6 being worst).  Click on thumbnail for larger image.

Fields Of Love – Mark Bishop (2008)

Live – Dixie Echoes (1973)

Double Take Live – Gold City (1986)

Simplicity Too – Old Paths (2011)

Family Favorites – Speer Family (1962)

Alabama Lightning – Wilburns (1990)

Album Covers To Rank – Set 4

Southern Gospel Views from the Back Row is attempting to find the best and worst Southern Gospel album covers of all time.  That is being accomplished through you, the readers.  With NQC coverage filling up next week, you will get two sets of covers to rank this week (today and Friday).  In the comments section, rank each cover from 1 to 6 (1 being best, 6 being worst).  Click on thumbnail to see larger image.

Influenced: A Vintage Quartet Session – Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (2008)

Highway – Freemans (2001)

Homecoming – Gaither Vocal Band (1991)

Answer The Call – Gold City (1991)

Far Beyond This Place – Greater Vision (1999)

Fields Of Greene – Greenes (1994)

The Fab Five – September 2012

September 2012 is here and it is time to highlight five current radio songs that piqued my interest over the course of the preceding month. This month’s radio songs find the Old Paths with a great up tempo quartet number, the Talleys with another career defining song, a Gold City power ballad, a fun sing along song by Marshall Hall and a country crooner style tune from the Dove Brothers Band.  Enjoy!

SWOT Analysis – Gold City

Another week, another SWOT analysis feature.   This week tackles the strengths and weaknesses of Gold City.  Once a Southern Gospel power house, dominating the quartet world, Gold City continues with Tim Riley and son Daniel Riley.

While they are no longer the premier quartet in the industry, the group is still releasing strong quartet material.

STRENGTHS

• Tim Riley:  Gold City has been under the leadership of Tim Riley for over twenty-five years.  Returning to the quartet a couple of years ago has brought some star power back to the group.
• The Legacy:  The name Gold City has such a rich heritage in Southern Gospel quartet music.  The group saw two periods of domination; the late 1980′s and the late 1990′s.
• Song Selection/Style:  The group has selected many top songs over the course of their career.  Songs that are now identified as Southern Gospel music standards.  ”Midnight Cry” being the biggest song of the group’s career.  Still releasing strong material helps as well (see recent release Somebody’s Coming).
• Stage Presence:  Gold City were masters at commanding a stage.  It was hard to beat the late 1980′s line-up in the live concert setting.

WEAKNESSES

• Personnel Shifts:  The future success of Gold City depends on a sound that is created with some vocal stability in the group.  The group has suffered through countless personnel changes over the course of the last decade that has marred their chances of returning to quartet dominance.
• Current Stage Presence:  The stage presence the current line up exudes does not live up to the command the group held during their dominant years.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Reunion Recording:  I know a few of the big promoters in Southern Gospel music are having Gold City reunion concerts this year.  The group needs to put together a reunion CD/DVD recording covering their 30+ years in Southern Gospel music.
• Continue To Sing The Hits:  Keeping the Gold City legacy alive by continuing to sing Gold City classics in concert.  This is something that group has always done and should never forget doing.

THREATS

• Tim Coming Off The Road Again:  I think when Tim decides to come off the road again, the Gold City name should be retired as a group.

***NEXT SWOT ANALYSIS:  COLLINGSWORTH FAMILY***

Personal Vault – “Double Take Live”

This week’s personal vault selection is Gold City’s 1986 album, Double Take Live In Charleston South Carolina.  As a kid, I loved listening to live recordings.  For me, it always brought back memories of seeing the group in concert.

Double Take Live was the first major recording to feature the line-up of Free, Parker, LeFevre and Riley.  Anchored by songs such as “When I Get Carried Away”, “After I Bow”, “Come On In”, “Cool Drink Of Water” and “Loose Him And Let Him Go”, this recording is one of Gold City’s greatest recordings.

Enjoy sound bites of this week’s personal vault selection; Gold City’s Double Take Live.