David Bruce Murray
Mar 20, 2008
CD Review
CD Review: Ball Brothers (Vocalized)
Rating: 4 1/2 Stars
Producer: Marshall Hall
Website: www.theballbrothers.com
Song Titles: “There Is A Mountain,” “He Set Me Free,” “Of Thee I Sing,” “Lean On Me,” “I’m Free,” “Walkin’ In Jerusalem,” “I Sing The Mighty Power Of God,” “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” “Good Livin’,” and “Sweet Beulah Land”
If you’ve never been exposed music produced by the Acappella Company record label, Vocalized by the Ball Brothers has the potential to blow you away. Even if you do happen to own albums by Acappella, the Acappella Vocal Band, Vocal Union and similar artists, the familiarity of selections chosen by the Ball Brothers for this CD should still cause it to rise to the top.
Vocalized kicks off with three-part harmony over percussion and a percussion inspired vocal bass line. “There Is A Mountain” and “He Set Me Free” both follow this formula, seemingly setting up a trend for the rest of the CD. “Of Thee I Sing” drops the percussion for a straight a cappella delivery, which is a slightly different feel than the first two songs, but still in a similar vocal driven vein. By this point, you’ll realize that the Ball Brothers have the ability to sing tight harmonies with an excellent blend. “Lean On Me” has a surprise in store after a short vocal only intro. The surprise is instruments…a touch of organ, light lead guitar fills, bass guitar, and drums. Another addition to “Lean On Me” is producer Marshall Hall stepping in to sing along.
“I’m Free” returns to the percussion and instrument free approach employed on “Of Thee I Sing.” There’s a harmony driven, rhythmic pattern used under the lead vocal on the verses. “Walkin’ In Jerusalem” breaks out a few bluegrass instruments. I was expecting the Ball Brothers to give this one a total a cappella treatment, perhaps like the version recorded by Hope’s Call, but again they surprised me. This cut would be at home beside “Man Of Constant Sorrow” by the Soggy Bottom Boys. “I Sing The Mighty Power Of God” and “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” shift back to pure a cappella mode. “Good Livin’” has an upright bass groove with finger snaps and hand claps adding a rhythm element. Vocalized returns to an a cappella setting for the final cut, “Sweet Beulah Land.”
This is a case where a group of accomplished singers has reinvented several familiar songs in a manner that emphasizes their own style and abilities. Vocalized isn’t predictable at all, and I really appreciate that fact. Most artists would say, “We’re going to make an a cappella CD” and proceed to do just that. Instead, the Ball Brothers made a mostly a cappella CD using styles that are fairly familiar to the a cappella fan. Then they threw in some light instrumentation to spice it up a bit. Good stuff! I’d love to see the Ball Brothers explore a more unique approach to a cappella singing rather than recreating the standard forms that have been around for the past two decades or so, but that’s a very minor piece of constructive criticism.
