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Dave's Top Eight
1. Jerry Reed...Revisited by Darrell Toney (reviewed 6/07) (5 Stars) 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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-----------February 23, 2007DVD Review: Ernie Haase And Signature Sound (Get Away, Jordan) RATING: 4 1/2 Stars BUY IT! Website: www.erniesigsound.com Producers: Bill Gaither, Ernie Haase Songs: "Someday," "He's My Guide," "Our Debts Will Be Paid," "Lovest Thou Me (More Than These?)," "Dem Bones," "He Made A Change," "Happy Birthday, Anniversary Too," "I Sing The Mighty Power Of God" (by the Ball Brothers), "It Is Done," "Pray For Me," "Get Away, Jordan," "Search Me, Lord" (by the Gaither Vocal Band), "Home" (by the Gaither Vocal Band), "He Touched Me" (featuring GVB with EH&SS), "John In The Jordan," "I Pledge My Allegiance," "The Star-Spangled Banner," "God Bless America," "What God Says," "Until We Fly Away," "Softly And Tenderly" (by Roy Webb)," and "Oh, What A Savior" I'll go ahead and get the bragging out of the way. In terms of production value and visual appeal, Get Away Jordan is the best DVD I've ever seen a Southern Gospel artist release. Seriously. Every artist ought to consider this to be the standard by which other video projects are measured. Now, I'm not saying it's the very best collection of songs I've ever seen assembled for a video, and of course, there's some "white boy wanna dance" moments that are good for a few chuckles. EH&SS also has some sort of fixation on throwing (and shooting) confetti into the crowd. What I AM saying is that taken as a whole, Get Away Jordan simply looks fantastic on the screen. The stage, the lighting, backdrops, vivid color balance, creative camera moves, and video editing are as good as it gets. I've already posted a review of the CD version of this title, so there's no need to rehash opinions I've previously expressed. All the songs from the CD except "Beyond The Blues" and "The Plan Of Salvation" are included on the DVD. Songs featuring EH&SS on the DVD that aren't on the CD include "Dem Bones," "God Bless America," "What God Says" and a great Dianne Wilkinson song titled "Pray For Me." Ryan Seaton can't pull it off quite as convincingly as Arthur Rice does with the Kingdom Heirs, but this audience doesn't know and doesn't care. "Dem Bones" is a lot of fun. "God Bless America" helps to more fully flesh out a patriotic segment in the video, in contrast to the CD where the two patriotic songs felt tacked on for good measure. The Gaither Vocal Band and the Ball Brothers are on hand for a few songs. EH&SS join the GVB for "He Touched Me." Pianist Roy Webb is featured on the traditional hymn, "Softly And Tenderly." There's a number of bonus features included on the DVD in addition to the 100 minutes of concert footage. One segment features Haase in his Elvis gear. By the way, "John In The Jerdun/Jordan" is included with the regular concert footage, but it's not performed on stage. It's actually a fun/cheesy concept video filmed beside a river (obviously not the real Jordan River) with some bad lip syncing. It helps add variety to the concert footage, though. Get Away, Jordan is a "must buy" for all EH&SS fans. Although artists are recording fewer and fewer live audio CDs these days, it's great to see there's a demand for live concert recordings. I enjoyed watching the DVD more than listening to the CD. BUY IT! Labels: DVD Review September 9, 2006DVD Review: Gaither Vocal Band (Give It Away) BUY THIS DVD RATING: 5 Stars Label: Gaither Music Group Producer: Bill Gaither Song Titles: "Bread Upon The Water," "I Catch 'Em, God Cleans 'Em," "Jesus Loves Me," "I'll Tell It Wherever I Go," "My Journey To The Sky," "The Old Gospel Ship (Gordon Mote)," "If They Could See You Through My Eyes (Gordon Mote)," "Through," "Glorious Impossible," "Worthy The Lamb," "Eagle Song," "The Star-Spangled Banner," "Back Home Again In Indiana (Voices Of Lee)," "Love Can Turn The World," "Glory, Glory Clear The Road (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)," "Heavenly Parade (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)," "Child Forgiven," "I Will Go On," "Down From His Glory (Larry Wayne Morbitt)," "Place Called Hope," and "Give It Away" The DVD version of Give It Away by the Gaither Vocal Band contains 14 of the 15 songs found on the CD by the same title. (The exception is "Why Me," which I considered to be the weakest cut on the CD, so in my opinion, this was a good move.) The songs come in the same sequence as the CD, interestingly enough. The DVD also features group interviews; performances by special guests Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, the Voices Of Lee, GVB band member Gordon Mote, and Larry Wayne Morbitt; and footage from various locations including a lake and a shower stall. (I'm not kidding.) The performance footage was filmed at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis, IN. The Gaither Vocal Band is one of the few groups that can put ANY other performer on the same stage, and as long as the quality is there, the fans don't take offense or find the stylistic diversity to be too much. A case in point is Larry Wayne Morbitt, a Broadway star, who renders "Down From His Glory" in a fashion that would satisfy any opera fan. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the song uses the same tune as "O Sole Mio" (an opera standard written in 1898). Morbitt gets a standing ovation from the crowd that came to hear the Gaither Vocal Band. In general, all of the guest performers enhance rather than detracting from the GVB, although Gordon Mote does steal the show with an amazing piano break on "The Old Gospel Ship." The closing title track epitomizes the entire DVD as the GVB is joined by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound on stage, Bill Gaither throws his coat into the crowd, Marshall Hall ends up standing on a table in the audience, ticker tape rains down from the ceiling, and the crowd goes wild. If forced to pick a favorite track, I would probably choose "I Catch 'Em, God Cleans 'Em." This is a fun song with a Lousiana/Country beat that features Guy Penrod and has a break for Mote to show off his piano skills. Other highlights include Marshall Hall's soulful "Jesus Loves Me," Wes Hampton's cover of "I'll Tell It Wherever I Go," and "Eagle Song," a tune written by Russ and Tori Taff that was originally recorded by the Imperials. "Glorious Impossible" is a stylistic departure from the norm for the GVB that leads nicely into "Worthy The Lamb." Give It Away is top notch, not only in terms of production quality, but also in terms of song selection, flow, and the talent pool. I like the CD, though I complained in my CD review about a lack of stylistic consistency. The DVD overcomes this perceived flaw by offering more songs, but it also transcends the CD in other areas. The Vocal Band is loose on the DVD...still polished, but exploring more vocal territory...now firmly hitting their stride with new member Wes Hampton. I particularly enjoyed the infectious energy generated in part by the full band in a live setting (including a section of brass instruments). There's also an element of fun on Give It Away, the DVD, that didn't quite come through on Give It Away, the CD. If you liked the CD, you should still buy the DVD so you can hear and see the same music taken to a new level with lots of "bonus footage" in terms of interviews, songs not found on the CD, etc. Regarding actual bonus footage, there's about an hour's worth of behind the scenes material and a song by the Voices Of Lee that didn't make the final cut. This is in addition to the nearly two hours of concert footage, interviews, and special cutaway material that constitute the main portion of the DVD. Labels: DVD Review September 4, 2006DVD Review: Jeff & Sheri Easter (The Best Of) A Nutshell Review BUY THIS DVD RATING: 4 1/2 Stars Label: Gaither Music Group Producer: Bill Gaither Song Titles: "John Saw," "Sing, Sister, Sing," "Singing In My Soul," "Praise His Name," "River Of Jordan," "Soaky Bread (comedy)," "Thread Of Hope," "Goin' Away Party," "You Must Be Born Again," "Speak To The Mountain," "Is There Anything I Can Do," "Shekel (comedy)," "I Need You," "Roses Will Bloom Again," "Rivers Of Babylon," "She Loved," "Keep On The Sunny Side," "Cornflake (comedy)," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "How To Celebrate Christmas (comedy)," "One Way," "Keep Walkin' On," "Thank You, Lord, For Your Blessings On Me," and " Lord, Send Your Angels" Jeff & Sheri Easter are featured on the latest "Best Of" DVD from the Gaither Gospel Series. As with other releases in the series, this title compiles performances from various Homecoming videos with interview segments between each song. Twenty songs are included, plus four clips of Jeff in various settings attempting to make you laugh. The interviews, conducted by Bill Gaither, are the only footage that is unique to this video. These shed light on topics like Jeff & Sheri's first connection to the Gaither videos, stories behind songs they have sung together, their "surprise" baby (who is well on the way at the time of the interviews), their respective musical families, and road stories. Of course, there's a number of laughs as Jeff tells about some humorous characters he has known, such as his level-headed, snuff dipping Grandma. I don't have to tell you about the quality of the music portions of the videos. The Homecoming video series has set the standard for concert videos from the outset, and they've continued to improve over the years. As with other Gaither video products, you get more than an hour and a half of total footage. There aren't any bonus features on this release and the largest photo on the cover looks a bit grainy, having been lifted from one of the videos, but those have little bearing on the overall quality of the product. All Jeff & Sheri Easter fans should want to get a copy of this DVD. Labels: DVD Review February 11, 2006DVD Review: Live From Toronto (Gaither) RATING: 4 1/2 Stars Label: Gaither Music Group Producer: Bill Gaither Website: www.gaither.com Song Titles: "Bread Upon The Water," "Some Things Never Change," "Just A Little While," "Why Don't You Try Jesus," "You're My Best Friend," "When I Get Carried Away," "Jerusalem," "Favorite Song Of All," "Testify," "He Saw It All," "Sheltered In The Arms Of God," "Trumpet Of Jesus," "Walk With Me Lord," "Shout To The Lord/Rhapsody In Blue," "Great Is Thy Reward/Orange Blossom Special," "Healer In The House," "Glory To God In The Highest," "This Could Be The Dawning Of That Day/Until Then," " Sanctuary," "I'll Tell It Wherever I Go," "Why Me," and "I Bowed On My Knees" DVD Bonus Songs: "Back Home Again" and "What A Lovely Name" I have one complaint that applies equally to Live From Toronto and Canadian Homecoming, so my opening paragraph for both reviews is identical. By way of background, these DVDs are the first Gaither releases to be shot using High-Definition cameras. When an HD camera is in focus, the sharpness and detail are outstanding. Unfortunately for these DVDs, quite a few shots are noticeably out of focus. It's difficult to tell whether this is due to poor editing choices or a lack of competance in the camera crew. If you find this sort of problem distracting, prepared to be distracted for the duration of your viewing experience. If not, bump my rating of each video up a half star, because that's how much I cut them for having this problem. Otherwise, the Live From Toronto DVD is the best Gaither video viewing experience I've had in several years. The song selection on this DVD is terrific and the setting at Toronto's Air Canada Center is exciting. Although the Homecoming Tour has been giving performances to sellout crowds in large arenas for the last ten years and the Homecoming Friends have been selling video titles in record numbers since 1991, Live From Toronto and Canadian Homecoming are actually the first videos Gaither has made in such a setting. The stage is shaped like a huge doughnut with a depression in the center where the piano and other instruments are located. Live From Toronto begins with "Bread Upon The Water," featuring the Gaither Vocal Band. Guy Penrod gets a big cheer when he comes in on the second half of the first verse. Mark Lowry is on hand to sing ("Some Things Never Change") and banter with Bill Gaither at a few spots later in the video. After Penrod is featured on "Just A Little While," Jeff and a very pregnant Sheri Easter perform an abbreviated version of "Why Don't You Try Jesus" followed by "You're My Best Friend." Ivan Parker is up next to sing "When I Get Carried Away," followed by the Hoppers singing "Jerusalem." That's just the first thirty minutes. Highlights from the rest of the video include the Booth Brothers singing "Testify" and "He Saw It All," the Isaacs performing "Great Is Thy Reward" and the "Orange Blossom Special," and Ernie Haase and Signature Sound lighting up the crowd with "Glory To God In The Highest" and "This Could Be The Dawning Of That Day." I also enjoyed watching Russ Taff strut across the stage and into the crowd for "Trumpet Of Jesus." Near the end of the video, an uncharacteristically subdued Jessy Dixon sits down at the piano (yes, you read that correctly) and leads the crowd in singing the worship song, "Sanctuary." Fans are then introduced to the Gaither Vocal Band's tenor Wes Hampton on "I'll Tell It Wherever I Go" and Guy Penrod is featured on Kris Kristofferson's weathered "Why Me, Lord." Live From Toronto concludes with Michael English reprising his classic "I Bowed On My Knees" while backed by the GVB for a dynamic finish. By the way, English also sings alongside Ben Speer, Guy Penrod, and Wesley Pritchard as they back Kim Hopper on "What A Lovely Name." It's found as a bonus song on the DVD. Technical issues aside, Live From Toronto is the best Gaither Homecoming video release since Freedom Band. Labels: DVD Review DVD Review: Canadian Homecoming (Gaither) RATING: 3 1/2 Stars Label: Gaither Music Group Producer: Bill Gaither Website: www.gaither.com Song Titles: "Goodby, World, Goodby," "Somebody Loves Me," "My Journey To The Sky," "Something Within," "Stand By Me," "Holy Highway," "You Raise Me Up," "Little Is Much When God Is In It," "O Canada," "Gettin' Ready To Leave This World," "Come Out Of The Wilderness," "I've Come Too Far," "I Can Only Imagine," "It Is Well With My Soul," "I'm Saved," "When Morning Sweeps The Sky," "Rivers Of Babylon," "More Than Ever," "He Will Carry You," "Through It All," "Then Came The Morning," "He Is Holy," "When All Of God's Singers Get Home," and "Because He Lives" DVD Bonus Songs: "Alpha And Omega" and "Canaanland Is Just In Sight" I have one complaint that applies equally to Live From Toronto and Canadian Homecoming, so my opening paragraph for both reviews is identical. By way of background, these DVDs are the first Gaither releases to be shot using High-Definition cameras. When an HD camera is in focus, the sharpness and detail are outstanding. Unfortunately for these DVDs, quite a few shots are noticeably out of focus. It's difficult to tell whether this is due to poor editing choices or a lack of competance in the camera crew. If you find this sort of problem distracting, prepared to be distracted for the duration of your viewing experience. If not, bump my rating of each video up a half star, because that's how much I cut them for having this problem. Most double video sets in the Gaither video series are comparable in terms of song selection and flow, but it appears that most of the more exciting songs were cherry picked for Live From Toronto. In contrast, Canadian Homecoming comes across as a bit boring overall. It seems to drag on longer, even though it's actually a few minutes shorter. The first twenty-five minutes are pretty good as the Homecoming Friends sing "Goodby, World, Goodby" and "Somebody Loves Me," followed by a bit of comedy and the Gaither Vocal Band singing "My Journey To The Sky." Stephen Hill does a great job with "Something Within" and Signature Sound sings their popular "Stand By Me" followed by "Holy Highway" where they are joined by the GVB. From that point on, though, the tempo of most songs rarely break 100 beats per minute. Slow songs like "Little Is Much When God Is In It," "O Canada," "You Raise Me Up," "I've Come Too Far," "I Can Only Imagine" and "It Is Well" are interrupted by "Gettin' Ready To Leave This World" featuring Anthony Burger and "Come Out Of The Wilderness" featuring Jessy Dixon. After that, Jeff Allen is on hand with some comedy to break the monotony and Gaither has some funny moments with Ben Speer on "When Morning Sweeps The Eastern Sky." Then it's back to slow songs for the remaining thirty-five minutes. The two bonus songs ("Alpha And Omega" and "Canaanland Is Just In Sight") would have been a welcomed alternatives. Adding the mid-tempo "What A Lovely Name" (a bonus song on Live From Toronto) would have been a great move as well to make Canadian Homecoming more satisfying to watch. It isn't that I have anything against slow songs or that the performances on Canadian Homecoming are inferior, but having thirty-five minutes of slow songs in a row after an hour of slow songs that were only punctuated briefly by a couple of upbeat numbers is just too much of a good thing. Live From Toronto is a great DVD to watch and feel you've been entertained when it's over. Canadian Homecoming is better to put on when you want to sleep in your recliner. Labels: DVD Review DVD Review: Torch (Various Artists) RATING: 4 Stars Label: Daywind Records INSP Producer: Steven Hoyt INSP Director: Russell Hall Daywind Producers: Crystal Burchette, Ed Leonard, Mike Speck, Melody VanNus, and Rick Shelton Website: www.daywind.com Song Titles: "The Race," "Stand Up," "We Shall Wear A Crown," "Midnight Cry," "He's Still Working On Me," "I'm Getting Ready To Leave This World," "Grace," "Who Am I Medley," "Boundless Love," "Redeemer," "Shout To The Lord/How Great Thou Art," and "Our Generation" Torch: A Live Celebration Of Southern Gospel's Next Generation is a fifty-minute video recorded at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY during the National Quartet Convention in 2005. Both the INSP-TV network and Daywind Records had a hand in putting this project together. Mike Speck hosts the event, which spotlights many of Southern Gospel's top artists under the age of thirty. These featured singers are backed by a choir of up and coming young artists. Most of the songs on Torch are remakes of hits made popular by Southern Gospel groups in the past. Exceptions include a new song called "The Race" which opens the video and "Our Generation" which closes it. The popular praise song "Shout To The Lord" is also included. All the songs feature combinations of artists who don't typically sing together. For example, Lauren Talley, Scott Inman, Annie McRae and Adam Crabb perform "The Race" while Amber Thompson, Jeff Snyder, Kelly McRae, and Christian Davis offer their version of the Nelons classic "We Shall Wear A Crown." Representing the youngest artists on the stage, Autumn Thompson and Avery Wolfe sing solo lines on the timeless Hemphills song "He's Still Working On Me." The crowd seems to respond most strongly to the male quartets that were put together for Torch. These include: 1. Jeremy Peace, Josh Feemster, Derrick Selph, and Jeremy Lile singing the Kingsmen standard "Stand Up," 2. John Rulapaugh, Lance Moore, Josh Singletary, and Aaron McCune on "I'm Getting Ready To Leave This World" and 3. Anthony Facello, Josh Garner, Scott Inman, and Chris West performing "Boundless Love." Lauren Talley, Stephanie Brown, and Eddie Harrison also get an excellent response from their version of "Shout To The Lord/How Great Thou Art." Several male singers including Jason Crabb and Matt McFarland take the stage for "Midnight Cry." The Crabb Family has a nice rendition of "Redeemer." Jim Mahalick, Amber Balltzglier, and Jessica Harrison join to sing the Martins staple, "Grace." From a technical point of view, this video isn't in the same league as a Gaither production, though I should note in light of the most recent Gaither videos that the cameras generally stay in focus on Torch. It looks a bit fuzzy, though. The lighting could have been better and the black backdrop certainly didn't help the camera crew when it came to controlling their white balance levels. Freedom Hall, unfortunately, isn't the most attractive arena in the world and there's only so much a video crew can do to dress it up. Overall, the production quality on this release is comparable to other live Daywind video releases and generally surpasses most of the videos that groups make on their own. Labels: DVD Review 
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