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The Final Sessions are the last recordings made by J D Sumner and The Stamps. A public domain tune "I'm Holding To God's Unchanging Hand" is positioned at the beginning of the recording, but the following ten selections were all written by Sumner. Some may find irony in the fact that the subject of death and heaven is foremost in many of the lyrics of The Final Sessions. The other projects in this review clearly demonstrate that such topics weren't so unusual. What IS striking about this recording is the chilling emotion in Sumner's voice on track four, his classic "Ole Man Death." Previous recordings by Sumner of this recitation pale in comparison, sounding like a polished but disinterested orator making a "professional presentation." But on The Final Sessions Sumner penetrates to the very heart of the listener with the assured conviction of one who knows exactly where he is headed. The knowledge that he has made his final journey with such confidence makes the recording that much more valuable.
What about the remainder of the project? One other recitation "Just Thinking Out Loud" is included on The Final Sessions as well as a mix of medium and up-tempo numbers that feature all The Stamps. Classics like "God Made A Way," "Rolling Along," and "Somebody Prayed For Me" have standard quartet treatments. The two Eds (Hill and Enoch) each take a solo on "Lord Teach Me How To Pray," and Ed Hill steps up again for solos on "A Soul Such As I" and "What A Homecoming Day." Tenor Rick Strickland fronts "Keep Me." Also, his rendering of "Aloha Time" brings an appropriate close to The Final Sessions. It's important to stress again though, that while all these tracks are of the excellent quality you'd expect from an established professional quartet, Sumner's recitation of "Ole Man Death" is the reason you should own a copy of The Final Sessions. It's that good.
Quartet purists will appreciate the arrangements on The Final Sessions. Imagine 1960s type quartet arrangements and instrumentation with 1990s tone quality. The production team of Donnie Sumner and Bob MacKenzie excelled at recreating the nostalgic sound of the early professional quartets. Even the island sounds of "Aloha Time" have a traditional feel. With its simple quality, The Final Sessions represents a worthy and fitting conclusion to the life of J D Sumner.
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Of these three products The Wait Is Over is the least polished in terms of production quality. However, it contains many tracks previously unavailable on compact disc, with perhaps the most notable being "Blessed Assurance," the very one that placed Sumner in the record book as the world's lowest bass singer. The Wait Is Over also has the distinction of being the most J D Sumner-specific. All of the twenty selections feature him as the main soloist. These tracks come from original recordings in the Skylite library by The Blackwood Brothers, The Stamps, The Master's V, and from Sumner's solo projects. As with the other two projects in this review, the liner notes feature biographical information and historic photographs. Like the Hall Of Fame Series, The Wait Is Over contains both studio sessions and live concert selections.
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A double set, the Gospel Music Hall Of Fame Series project presents some of J D Sumner and The Stamps' most notable tracks while on the Riversong label. Although there is some duplication of song titles with the previous two projects, there is no duplication of actual performances/sessions. It should be noted that as its name implies, the Gospel Music Hall Of Fame Series is one in a group of recordings featuring members of the Gospel Music Hall Of Fame. Other collections in the group bearing the same title include classic recordings by The Imperials and Black Gospel's beloved patriarch Andrae Crouch. Spanning 1968 to 1992, the most remarkable aspect of the Gospel Music Hall Of Fame Series is the quality that has been achieved by remastering. The quality is so consistent that without referring to the liner notes, it's difficult to distinguish the more recent recordings from the older ones. 25 tunes are available on either CD or cassette.
A postive legacy is represented in these three projects. The photos and anecdotes about Sumner that are included in the liner notes of all three projects make them that much more personal. Also, the availability of old recordings on durable compact discs is a rarity for Southern Gospel quartets, although that area seems to be improving in the marketplace. In conclusion, it must be noted that all three recordings look back to the past. Even The Final Sessions with its nostalgic arrangements of tunes that were mostly written years ago has a feel of a previous day. But what's more compelling is how all three recordings also look pointedly to Sumner's current reality AND the future home for all of us who are Christians.