Dave's Review

Label: Horizon Records
Producer: Danny Crawford
Website: www.carolinaboys.com and www.crossroadsmusic.com
Song Titles: "Strong Hand Of Love," "More Than Enough," "I'm Ready To Go," "He's The Anchor Of My Soul," "If You Died Tonight," "You Gotta Go And Tell," "I'm Going There," "Things Looked Different From The Cross," "I Call On Jesus," "Standing By The River," and "Land Of The Free"

Three former members of the Kingsmen are still traveling with the Carolina Boys and a fourth has now rejoined them for Ready, their latest CD on Horizon Records. Ray Reese sings bass and owns the group, his son Brandon Reese plays drums, Jason Selph plays bass and sings lead, and Tim Surrett returns to sing baritone. You'll also hear the voice of Randy Crawford who left the group just before this project was released, even though his picture isn't on the cover. Rounding out the group is Derrick Boyd on tenor and Nick Succi on keys. (Actually, you don't hear Succi, Reese, or Selph playing any of the instruments on the recording, but you'll hear them if you go to a concert.)

Jason Selph kicks off the recording singing "Strong Hand Of Love," a new uptempo tune written by Phil Cross. The recording ends with a patriotic song written by Cross called "The Land Of The Free" that features Tim Surrett. In between we find eight other new songs. There's also one old classic, "Standing By The River," that features a piano-only accompaniment on the first verse and some melody work by Ray Reese on the second verse. Of the new tunes, the standout upbeat numbers are "I'm Ready To Go" and "I'm Going There." Boyd hits some high pitches on the second verse of "I'm Ready To Go" while Crawford really cuts through on "I'm Going There." The key inspirational tune on Ready is "Things Looked Different From The Cross," a look at Christ's perspective from Calvary.

While none of these songs immediately grabbed me like "God Sits On High" and "Resurrection Morning" did on Good News, Ready is still is a good project from the Carolina Boys. The songs are well written, the music tracks are adequate, and the vocal performances are reasonably impressive. Fans of traditional male quartet music should want to add this recording to their collection.