Merry Christmas From Me To All Of You!

Remember the meaning of today! God sent his son to be raised by mere human parents. And his son grew up to start the greatest ministry in the history of mankind, and then he died for YOU and for ME! Give him all the glory and don’t forget the holy night that Christ was born! Here is a video of my favorite Christmas song, performed by one of the greatest singers in the world David Phelps.

CD Review- Keith Plott I’ll Be Home For Christmas

Keith Plott has been and still is one of my favorite bass singers. And when he left BFA to start a solo career a couple of years ago. I thought he is one bass singer that I think can make it solo! He has enough range on both ends of the spectrum to pull it off. And it is not just his range that makes him a great bass singer, it is his tone placement and his knowing how to use that big voice of his to really draw you in! About a week ago, Keith added me as a friend on Facebook I quickly accepted his friend request. He then sent me a message telling me he wanted to send me a CD! I gave him my adress and told him I would review whichever CD he sent me. Well today I got home and checked the mail and he had sent me two CD’s. His first Solo CD and his Christmas CD that he just put out. And since it is the Christmas season I decided to review his Christmas CD. This CD features many contrasting styles of Christmas songs, from “Mary Did You Know” to “Mr. Grinch” I really enjoy this Christmas album. So with no further ado here we go.

1. Away In A  Manger- Keith does a splendid job on this Christmas classic. His more country sounding voice really fits this song well. 4/5
2. Mary Did You Know- When I first saw that Keith had tackled this song, I immediately thought that it would be pretty good. A bass singer has covered this one before (Eric Bennett) So I knew that Keith would cover it pretty well. As far as the song he does a great job on it. Including a really solid low note at the end. 4.5/5
3. Go Tell It On The Mountain- I think when Keith went to pick songs for this CD he picked them to fit his country influenced voice. This is another one that really fits his voice. I also enjoy the the nice BGVs. 4/5
4. I’ll Be Home For Christmas-I am not as sure about this song. Vocally Keith does a great job as always. But This is a song that I don’t think “fits” his unique voice as well as some others. I do like the song though. 3/5
5. Hark The Herald Angels Sing- This is one of my favorite traditional Christmas Carols. And Keith does a great job putting some feeling into it. 4/5
6. Oh Come All Ye faithful- This is a of the album that is full of great singing. Keith really puts his all into this song with feeling. I really enjoy this cut. 5/5
7. Mr. Grinch-This is a nice novelty song, that I absolutely loved when I was a kid. He does a great job on it. This song always makes me laugh.3/5
8. Jingle Bells- I like Keith’s voice on this one as well he really pulls this one off well. 3/5
9. Christmas Shoes- This is the Highlight of the album. I have heard several different versions of this song and this may be the best I have heard yet. Keith really puts alot into this song. And it shows this song has always touched me and does not fail to do so here. 5/5
10. White Christmas- Another song that through the years has been a favorite of mine. I love snow so I do love a White Christmas. Keith does another great job on this cut. 4/5
11. The Christmas Song- Keith does a admirable job on this song. Even though I don’t think it fits his voice all that well. Keith shows here that he is capable of singing this style of song and do it admirably well. 3.5/5

Overall rating 4 Stars.

I have changed my rating service with this album and will be doing it this way from now on with every review. I really enjoy this album and would encourage everyone, that is a fan of good solo bass singing to add this one to your collection. Keith is a wonderful singer, that I am pulling for all the way in his solo career! I am hoping to catch a concert of his in the future.

*This album was provided to me at no charge. That did not in ANY way effect my review of this album.

Josh Cobb To Join Gold City along with With Roy Webb

Gold City announced today in a surprising move, that Josh Cobb formerly of Legacy Five will be taking over the tenor position for Gold City. He showed alot of potential while singing with L5, and I had wondered if he would ever return to the Southern Gospel world. I for one am excited to see him join Gold City, he is a great tenor singer that I think can do great things with Gold City. I remember seeing the below video back when Gold City was first looking to replace Steve Ladd. And I thought WOW Josh still has it and then some. And that he would make a great fit for Gold City. Also Roy Webb has joined the group and that is a great move by Gold City. I remember seeing a concert a few months ago, and I thought they needed some humor incorporated into their program. Roy Webb will provide that and more. Also of note and not a surprising one, is that Tim Riley has agreed to stay on as the bass singer for Gold City. These changes are just what the Doctor ordered for this group. I am hoping and praying this lineup will stay the same for a good long while, so Gold City will get back to the top where they belong. Here is the link to the press release

Here is a video of Josh singing at a church that his dad is an assistant pastor at. He joins this group at the 2:53 mark.

Some noteworthy news/rumblings

• First off some rumblings, it is being reported over at Musicscribe by Kyle Boreing and at Brandon Coomers blog, that Chris Cooper is no longer with Gold City. And  a new tenor will be announced at the first of the year. It seems like Chris never could quite find his range place with Gold city… I wish him the best of luck because I think he is a terrific singer… And for Gold City if they want to some stability, they really need to keep Tim on as Bass singer. And then hire Jay Parrack back! I am not sure Jay will do it, but that would put Gold City back where they belong immediately! Also of note they are still looking to hire a new Piano player. I think they should try and bring back Channing Eleton he is doing a solo gig right now, I believe… I think the future can be VERY bright for Gold City if their chips fall the right way over the next month or so…
• The Dove Brothers quickly efficiently announce that Jerry Kelso is leaving the group, and that Adam Harman (Formerly of the Kingdom Heirs) will join them in January… I am surprised by this somewhat. I thought Jerry really helped to solidify that group. He also did some songwriting and arranging/producing. I wish him and the Doves the best of luck in their future endeavors!

Upcoming reviews and in no particular order.

• Keith Plott- I’ll Be Home For Christmas
• The Collingsworth Family- The Answer
• Greater Vision- 20th anniversary project

Concert Review- Legacy Five in Greenwood Indiana

Ok I finally have made the time to sit down and write this review! Ok last Friday (Dec, 4) I went to visit my Girlfriend who lives pretty close to where the concert was held. She had never been to a L5 concert and wanted to go with me. So I bought her a ticket. Then I went and picked her up and took her to the church where the concert was held. We got there a little early so I could talk to some of the guys for a little bit. I talked to Glenn first and asked him about the interview I did with him back at NQC. He said that he had read over the copy that I sent him, and he did not notice anything he wanted me to pull so I was elated about that! I did not however get to talk to Tim about the interview before the concert began as he was tied up at the moment… I figured I would catch him later! Well we got our seats and waited for the concert to begin. They did not have a opening act so we sat and talked till the pastor got up and announced that the moment we were all waiting for was finally about to begin… You could feel the anticipation building with every word the pastor was saying. When he said “Welcome Legacy Five” the crowd gave a rousing ovation and L5 took the stage!

They opened with “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” I like their arrangement of this classic hymn. They went straight from there into “The Moment I Get Up There” Glenn really pounded out some low notes on this one! When the next track started up, my girlfriend got all excited and called her mom so she could hear their favorite L5 song “I Found Grace.” I got a kick out of that, her mom loved it! Then Fowler introduced the “Old Man” of the group Scott Howard and had him sing his new song off of the Just Stand project, “Above All Circumstances.” Scott started singing it and I thought wait a minute something does not seem right… Well it did not take me long to figure out that Howie had started the song with the second verse and then sang the first verse! I don’t think very many people noticed since it is such a new song! I got a big kick out of it, and I could tell that the guys on stage were to… Well after that Fowler did not say a word since the crowd did not seem to notice the mistake… He then introduced Glenn and had him sing his new song off the new project, “Just Stand.” Well Glenn sang the first verse correctly and did a great job too I might add… But then he blanked on the second verse but recovered well and sang the first verse again… The crowd liked that. After the song Scott finally came clean on Scott Howards mistake, saying it was only fair to ‘Cuz’. They made those mistakes a running joke the rest of the night! They had the crowd really rolling most of the night! Well after all the laughter and jokes settled down Scott had Tim play a Magnificent rendition of “Wonderful Grace Of Jesus”. My girlfriend who is quite the pianist herself really loved Tim’s playing! She already had both of his CD’s so she knew he was good but she was blown away seeing him “live.” After the song Tim had people rolling after the song when he told Howard and Glenn, “I played all 4 verses in the correct order” It was great! They then started up the song “Thankful For The Change” I will be honest the first time I heard this song on CD it did not go over well with me… Well it has been growing on me the more I listen to it… Well I am glad I got to hear it live again, i had heard it once before live. Now I know I really like that song! Well Scott had Frank give his testimony next. He told his story about singing in the honky tonks. And then his conversion story which I still love to hear him tell. Well Scott told him he could sing whatever song he wanted to sing and Frank wanted to give us some of that “Honky Tonk” flavor so he told Tim to key up “Life Will Be Sweeter” Well it was the first time I had got to see it live! It was great! Frank really nailed the ending on that one! Then Scott had Tim punch up the track to the song “I can Hardly Wait” I really enjoy songs that feature Glenn, and this one is no exception! Well they kept singing songs from the Jubilee! project when Scott decided to sing “Someone Who Cares For You” I love that song! Then Scott pulled out the bible and read some scripture setting up their next song. Scott talked about how this is the Christmas season but he wanted to sing a song about the rest of Jesus life!  They started the song which is their next radio single “When They Found Nothing.” WOW what a song this is in a live setting, I love it on CD, but it so much better Live! The crowd gave them a rousing standing ovation on this song! After the song Scott said “I know it is running past time for intermission but I want to sing some Christmas songs!” The pastor and the crowd readily agreed. They immediately went into their great “Festival Of Carols” Which is 4 Christmas carols arranged wonderfully into one song! I love it! They sang “Winter Memories” which is a nice little novelty song. Scott then set up the song by talking about the “War” on Christmas. I love their rendition of “It’s Called Christmas” It is great “Message” song that I wish everyone could hear! Scott once again brought out the bible and read the christmas story setting up “O Holy Night.” They absolutely brought the house down with that one! O my I will say I was quite moved.

Then it was intermission, and I made my way out to the tables. I talked to Frank for awhile and he thanked me for saying such nice things about him and L5. And he also told me him and his boys are already working on putting a CD together! I will say I will get that and review it here as soon as he does! Then I was standing around waiting for my chance to talk to Tim. He spotted me and quickly made his way over to my location! I immediately asked him if he had, had the chance to look at the interview yet. He said he had and was doing some editing and would email me his final copy back! I said “great just whenever you get the chance” He said he would either post the interview on their blog or link to my blog! That interview will be coming soon I promise! I think you will love it!

Well after intermission Scott sang some request’s they started with “God Will Go”. Which is one of my favorite songs off of the God’s Been Good album! Then Scott honored the request of a 16 year old boy who wore a suit to the concert! He said you never see a 16 year old wear suits anymore! The request was for “He Made A Change” I love that song! Frank really nailed the ending! Then Scott pointed out a woman in the crowd who was a HUGE, L5 fan! She had a T-shirt with all of the guys on it! But Frank was her favorite. So Scott asked her to pick out her favorite ‘Frank’ song and they would sing it! She picked “Peace When I Leave It In Your Hands” That song has always been special to me since the first time I heard it! The crowd gave a standing ovation. Well Scott then told how this was the last weekend that Frank would be with Legacy Five. They closed with their new song “Till We Meet Again”. That song is incredible to hear sung live. Frank did a wonderful job on it!

If you have never been to a Legacy Five concert you really should go to one! They will make you laugh, cry and feel blessed! They also do a great job ministering to people that need it! They are class act’s through and through! I for one am excited to see what the future holds for these guys! Gus will fit right in with the guys in January and I don’t think there will be any drop off at all! I hope to catch a concert with them in January and I will do another report then!

Here is a link to some videos from the concert, I did not take them but someone that was there did!

Some December thoughts…

WOW it has been two weeks since I last posted anything. I have been meaning to get back to regular posting but my classes are getting down to crunch time and I have been slammed lately… Hopefully by Christmas break things will get back to normal! I have a few things to mention today.

• Adam edwards posted a promo video from the Kingdom Heirs. They are releasing their new video soon and are offering a speical deal. Check it out on Adam’s blog!
• Daniel Mount wrote an incredible review of Legacy Fives latest effort. I agree wholeheartedly with his last statement, quoted here; ” In closing, I ought to try to find another way to say that this is simply one of the best CDs released this decade—but I’m out of superlatives and synonyms. Just buy the thing!”
• The Gaither machine has posted a full trailer of their upcoming DVD releases… I will say I am extremely impressed and I am really looking forward to getting my hands on those DVD’s.
• I will be attending a Legacy Five concert this coming Friday night so be looking for a full review of the concert either Saturday or Monday. Followed by the long awaited interview with Tim Parton And Glenn Dustin. Trust me you won’t be disappointed  with the interview…  And if you are then o well…