Dave's Review

Label: Lion And Lamb Music Group
Producers: Gary Rushing and Art Bain
Length: 39:54
Songs: "Faith Now," "Lifeboat," "On That Heavenly Ride," "The Glory Goes To You," "Rolled Away," "Hold On," "He Bought Me Back," "Come And Follow Me," "A Land I'm Going To," "Sow The Seed," and "The Marriage Supper"

I first met the Melody Masters Quartet in 1996 when a college friend of mine joined the group. A couple of years later, they asked me to set up a website for them, and I've been maintaining www.themelodymasters.com (now defunct) ever since. I'll try to be as non-biased as possible with this review, but it's only fair if the reader knows these facts up front.

In 2001, the Melody Masters signed a recording contract with Gary Rushing's Lion and Lamb Music Group. Faith is their debut release for the label. If your tastes run to groups like Gold City, Gaither Vocal Band, and Greater Vision (in other words, groups with solid male harmony, well written songs, good production quality, and a mix of classic and new tunes), you'll enjoy Faith.

The CD begins with a chorus of "Faith Is The Victory" that's set in a nostalgic imitation of an LP, including the pops and background hiss associated with the vinyl format. This brief intro sets up "Faith Now," an up tempo song written by bass singer Cyle Cornish that has a modern Southern Gospel treatment. From there, with the standard of quality established, the Melody Masters deliver ten more excellent tunes.

There's something for everyone. Highlights include the McCray Dove penned number, "On That Heavenly Ride," which gives lead singer Phillip Hughes a chance to shine. In contrast, "The Glory Goes To You" is a slower song that's deliberately non-dramatic, giving you a chance to focus on the lyrics. If you like low bass and high tenor, you'll love "Hold On;" Cornish bottoms out on an E below Low C (better known as "Sumner territory") and a few seconds later, tenor Eric Phillips pops the E above High C (not quite "Mariah Carey territory," but still pretty high for a man!). "A Land I'm Going To" has a classic, easy going style, with smooth blending harmony that would make for a great radio number if they decide to push it as a single. For the final song on the CD, Hughes steps up to take the lead on Nathan Widener's inspirational style tune titled "The Marriage Supper."

The Melody Masters had already accomplished many of their goals prior to releasing Faith. One thing that had eluded them previously, though, was placing a song on the national radio airplay charts. Faith has made that goal a reality. In January, the song "Rolled Away" hit number 28 on CMP Magazine's Top 40 chart, and the group just got word that the song will be number 46 (with a "fast mover" star) in the upcoming March issue of Singing News. In another first for the group, Cornish signed a writing contract with Centergy Music on the strength of the four songs he wrote for Faith. Now if we can just get them an appearance on a Gaither video . . .

by David Bruce Murray