Dave's Top Eight

1. Jerry Reed...Revisited by Darrell Toney (reviewed 6/07) (5 Stars)
2. Sounds Like Sunday by Janet Paschal (reviewed 5/07) (5 Stars)
3. True To The Call by Kingdom Heirs (reviewed 3/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
4. Revival by Gold City (reviewed 10/06) (4 1/2 Stars)
5. Get Away Jordan by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (reviewed 2/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
6. Breakin' Chains by Three Bridges (reviewed 5/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
7. Big Sky by The Isaacs (reviewed 4/07)
8. Skywriting by Mercy's Well (reviewed 7/07)

Click title to purchase at CBD.com...click artist name to read Dave's Review. A CD will automatically fall out of the Top Eight after twelve months if no CD surpasses it before then.

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January 23, 2006

Singing News Reader Survey

Subscribers to the Singing News will find a survey card bound into their February 2006 issue with eighteen questions on topics ranging from "What do you like most?" to "How often do you shop at a Christian bookstore?" With Salem Communications assuming full control of the Singing News beginning with the March issue, it's refreshing to see the opinions of readers being solicited.

Three questions in particular caught my eye.

Question 1: What do you like most about the Singing News magazine? a. Artist Schedules, b. Concert Listings, c. Stories About Artists, and d. Stories about Upcoming Concerts
The list of choices is way too limited here. What about CD and Book Reviews? What about articles written by artists or well known guest columnists that have been regular features for years? What about opinion columns (like Roy Pauley's) or regional news columns like the ones by Sheila Heil, Ed Knox, and Dennis Zimmerman? For that matter, what about ads? (I mean the obvious ads, of course.)

I hope the overwhelming response from readers to this question will be c. Stories About Artists. Stories about upcoming concerts are what I prefer to call "advertisements posing as journalism." Artist schedules and concert listings actually ARE paid ads, if you didn't know that already. So yeah...while I appreciate being informed about upcoming events and I think the Singing News does that very well, what I like MOST is their original articles about the artists who sing Southern Gospel.

Question 2: How interested are you in reading about: a. Traditional, b. Progressive, c. Mountain Gospel, d. Bluegrass, and e. Vintage Quartets
I would have said vintage "groups" rather than "quartets," but this is a great question. The responses should help the Singing News editors determine the scope of their coverage in the future. (Also, with this question, they may have unwittingly established a de facto set of terms for categorizing the various styles of Southern Gospel music available today.)

I'll be rating Traditional, Progressive and Vintage as "Very," Bluegrass as "Slightly," and "Mountain Gospel" as "Not." Given the charting trends of the Singing News, though, I have a feeling I will be in the minority on that last one! :o)

Question 18: Is there anything you would like to see added to the Singing News magazine?
I plan to include:
1. Opinionated CD reviews
(I guess it's no surprise I'd like to see opinionated CD reviews included. I've never cared for so called "reviews" that could just as easily be press releases direct from the record label's publicity department...and may very well be for all we know. Whoever writes them doesn't even bother to include their name with the article.)

2. More than three CD reviews per month
(The February issue doesn't have any. What's up with that?)

3. Monthly CD release schedule.
("New in stores this month," or something to that effect.)

4. Practical articles aimed at the church music leader.
(Mike Speck's column met this need in the past, but in recent months he tends to write more from an inspirational slant than practical. Also, his articles are usually focused on getting SG churches to accept other styles. I would like to see an article that tells me about available SG resources for the church. This is difficult for Speck to do, of course, since he is aligned with Lillenas Publishing. He can't very well promote a competing publisher's products.)

Whether you agree or disagree, I hope all Singing News readers will take the time to respond to the survey. Overall, it's a pretty good magazine, but I think a few areas could be a lot better. This is your chance to have some input.
posted by David Bruce Murray @ 12:12:00 PM


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