The Love Of God
Most people who know me well know two things.
1) Gospel quartet music is my favorite kind of gospel music.
2) The Couriers were my favorite group.
And most fans of gospel music know that the Couriers began as a gospel quartet, influenced as they were to enter gospel music out of Bible College by the famous Blackwood Brothers Quartet.
Eventually, the Couriers became one of gospel music's finest quartets before they morphed into a trio, and in so doing became the benchmark for most all other gospel trios.
As I said I would do in a recent entry here, I'm going to review a classic gospel album in this space this time out...and I've chosen for this entry the Couriers' 1964 quartet album "The Love Of God"(Hymntone 3085).
The lineup for this album was my favorite version of the Couriers, musically speaking....Duane Nicholson on tenor, Neil Enloe the lead, Don Baldwin on baritone, and Dave Kyllonen singing bass. On the piano was L. David Young, known as "Little David", one of gospel's all time best pianists, writers, and arrangers. His addition to the Couriers in 1963 gave the group a huge shot in the arm, giving them an unprecedented stage presence, added musical expertise, a delightful traveling companion on the road, and an extra singing voice as well.
Young joined the Couriers soon after the release of their breakthrough album "Nothing...but the Gospel Truth", which was a very elaborate album released on Warner Brothers. "The Love Of God" was something less than fancy...it was recorded in Neil Enloe's living room of his then-new house back in 1964.
But what "The Love Of God" lacks in sophistication, it makes up for in terms of enthusiasm, heart, and style. It is the closest thing to a straight gospel quartet album the Couriers ever recorded. Since Enloe's home was not a state-of-the-art recording studio, there was no multi-tracking or overdubbing. The only sounds on the album were the voices of the Couriers and Young's always inspired gospel piano.
The album began with "Rolling, Riding, Rocking"...a Blackwood Brothers standard, and on this song, the Courires show what a musical debt they owe the Blackwoods. Enloe's lead vocal is reminiscent of James Blackwood, and Young's piano is reminiscent of the song's composer, Wally Varner. It is an energetic beginning to the album.
The next two songs are Young originals, "My Desire" is a fine ballad, highlighted by piano triplets throughout from Young...then "Gotta Get Right" is an energetic number that Young wrote while he was with the Prophets earlier in the decade.
Kyllonen is featured next on "Is Your Heart Right With God?", and then comes an Enloe original. Enloe would soon become among the elite songwriters in gospel music, but he was just starting to write at that time. "As Flows The River" is a fine song, performed in a jazz-blues vein by the versatile Enloe.
The next song became one of the all-time Courier favorites in concert..."More About Jesus" features Baldwin at his best. His virile baritone is especially expressive on this gospel standard, and he became strongly identified with this song.
"I'll Be Satisfied" was a Young original that was covered by many quartets, but never done better than here by the Couriers. The song is a bouncy delight, reminiscent of the pop hit "Ain't She Sweet". Young is featured on vocals on the next song, the standard "Just A Closer Walk With Thee".
Another Young composition follows, the bluesy "You'd Be Better Off". Despite the rather commercial approach to songwriting Young employed, his songs often contained good gospel messages in them as well. The next song is a pleasant cover of the old hymn "Let Us Break Bread Together".
The following tune is another Young original, which was my favorite song on the album when I first heard it at the age of 7..."Rock In The Storm" is a catchy tune with a good message, and it shows that the Couriers were contributors to the gospel quartet tradition, and not just faithful interpreters of it. Besides that, it's just fun to listen to.
The album concludes with Vep Ellis' famous title song...the Couriers' version features a fine lead from Nicholson, who is joined on the final chorus by Young and his high tenor, and a bass line by Kyllonen that is worthy of JD Sumner at his lowest!
All in all, "The Love Of God" is a delightful listen for the gospel quartet fan who likes his music pure, and considering the circumstances under which it was recorded, is a definite triumph of heart and soul over technological limitations that always was the hallmark of the best gospel quartet music of that era, and it was a triumph for the Couriers as well, for it showed that they could sing the basic gospel quartet style with the very best in their field. And even better things lay ahead for the Couriers, in terms of both their music AND their ministry.
If you like good, straight ahead gospel quartet music, you'll surely enjoy the Couriers' "The Love Of God".
Posted on Feb 10, 2007 - 01:41 AM | [1]
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You are too kind.