My first top ten list

Well, having commented on Daniel Mount's various Cathedral Quartet top ten lists, I think it's high time I came up with one of my own...not necessarily by popular demand(no one asked me, after all)...but because I can, and it might be fun, too(for some).

I've decided to hold off(for now)on the subjects of my favorite quartets, and songs(that might ire some people, and I don't want to do that...yet!:-)).

My first list will resemble Daniel's, in that I will do one on my favorite group(which should keep me on relatively safe ground).

But since there weren't ten different versions of the Couriers, I have to make this a list of something that illustrious group did ten of.

Thus...my list of top ten albums by the Couriers(needless to say, comments are welcome)...in my own order.

1. NOTHING BUT...THE GOSPEL TRUTH(Warner Bros. 1514, 1963)-The album that put the Couriers on the map in the world of gospel music. Other artists had respected the Couriers for a few years by this time, but with the daring(for the time), almost "worldly" arrrangements, this ground breaking album shook the gospel world....especially since the relatively straight laced, conservatively styled Couriers did this kind of album instead of more famous groups like the Blackwoods or the Statesmen. Even 44 years after its' release, the album still sounds fresh and modern. Not to mention(are you listening, Daniel?)that groups like the Cathedral Quartet would borrow the album's string and orchestral arrangements for themselves in a mere two years.

2. DEDICATED TO THE HYMNS(Hymntone 3082, 1962)-No better straight quartet-singing album of traditional hymns was ever recorded. Bryan Jones' piano stylings bring out the beauty of these classic hymns perfectly...and the quartet's singing is reverent and inspired.

3. HONORING JESUS(Hymntone 3086, 1964)-The finest of the recordings made with my favorite Couriers' lineup(Nicholson/Enloe/Baldwin/Kyllonen/LD Young), this forgotten classic features great songs and arrangements by Young and inspired vocals from every member of the quartet, including Young. Kyllonen sang his best bass on this album.

4. THE SENSATIONAL SOUNDING COURIERS QUARTET(Canaan 9608, 1965)-The final album with Don Baldwin and LD Young, strong new songs are combined with older classics and sung as well as the Couriers could sing them, which is pretty darned good.

5. CROSS COUNTRY CONCERT(Hymntone 7147, 1966)-Some say the finest Couriers Quartet lineup was this one, with Phil Enloe on baritone rather than Baldwin. This album features exquisitely smooth singing by this ensemble(most notably on the beautiful "He's Life"), several Neil Enloe classics("Give Me Jesus", "Look Up", "I Will Live For Jesus"), and solid production from Don Baldwin.

6. SING UNTO THE LORD(Canaan 9620, 1965)-The first album with the lineup in #5(plus 17-year old Eddie Hawks on piano), some of the quartet's finest singing is found on this hard-to-find album.

7. WE'VE GOTTA SING(Warner Bros. 1547, 1964)-Their second Warner's classic, and their first with LD Young on piano(Young wrote 8 of the album's 12 songs), it is not as musically daring as NBTGT, but each song has a unique instrumental feature to hook onto. A fine album of quartet style singing in 1964.

8. YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO JOURNEY ALONE(Hymntone 3084, 1962)-Don Baldwin's favorite album he did with the quartet, and also notable for including two early Bill Gaither songs("Oh For A Faith" and "Lovest Thou Me"), making the Couriers one of the first groups to record Gaither material. It also includes Neil Enloe's first recorded song, "Oh Lord" and is augmented by Ben and Brock Speer on bass and guitar, and noted session ace Jerry Byrd on steel guitar.

9. THE LORD'S PRAYER(Hymntone 3083, 1962)-Recorded at the same time as #8, it is nearly as good. The standout is Duane Nicholson's stirring reading of "The Lord's Prayer".

10. SWEET AND SHOUTING SPIRITUALS(Paradise 1005, 1970)-my favorite album of the group as a trio(Nicholson/Enloe/Kyllonen), it features the backing of the London Symphony Orchestra(16 years before the celebrated use of that organization by the Cathedrals), several more Neil Enloe classics(he was really coming on as a songwriter at that time), and the highlight is the closest thing to a mission statement song ever done by a gospel group, an adaptation of an old hymn("The Vision")with a recitation written by Enloe and delivered flawlessly by the Rev. Kyllonen. The song epitomizes the Couriers as no other song could epitomize a group...it is very moving.

I know...9 out of 10 are quartet albums...what can I say? I liked the quartet...and even though the trio was the version of the group that really made it big...the quartet deserves more recognition for being one of gospel's all time great quartets than it's gotten(though it DOES have a great reputation among the most knowledgable gospel fans).

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