Reflections on “watershed” albums

First of all, I want to thank all of you who responded either privately or publicly to my posts on "watershed" gospel albums.

Enough time has passed by now after I posted my own list to look back a bit and wrap up my observations on the subject.

I know some of you who have yet to officially weigh in on the subject surely have your own lists...maybe even other criteria I overlooked in such a discussion. If so, please don't hesitate to post your own lists. All I ask is that if you do so, please justify your selections as best you can.

I ask this in part because most of the readers to my blog enjoy the fact that not only do I state my own opinions, but that I invariably cite reasons why I think as I do. For the benefit of those readers who enjoy that, I hope you will respond in similar fashion.

The other reason I ask that is that when I see such threads myself on other blogs or message boards, and input is sought, invariably such threads are deluged not with reasoned commentary, but reflexive one-word Pavlovian answers such as "George Younce" or "the Cathedrals" without any justification as to why those answers are being posted. It becomes nothing more than a simple regurgitation of one's favorites, and nothing else. My readers can do better than that. Besides, this whole exercise was not at all about one's favorites or the "best" of anything.

The operative word/words in this exercise were "Sgt. Pepper" and "Pet Sounds". For those of you either too young to remember those epic albums or not interested in them when they were popular, those two albums are considered two of the most influential and important albums in the history of rock music.

My friend Wes Burke, on his "Burke's Brainwork" blog, stated categorically that in his opinion, Gold City's album "Pillars of Faith" was an album that was for gospel music what those albums were to rock music. That inspired the exercise that I posted. My last post was my list of albums that could conceivably be considered the "Sgt. Pepper"s of gospel music, since I disagreed with Wes' conclusion regarding "Pillars". OK?

Now saying all that, that is NOT to advocate that my list consisted of what I felt to be the "best" albums in all of gospel music history. Even many rock fans don't feel that "Pepper" was the best Beatles album. However, the consensus is that "Pepper" was probably the most pivotal album release in rock history, because it effectively drew the line between the rock music that came before it, and that came after it.

In other words, was "The Blackwood Brothers In Concert" that group's best album? I don't think so. But the reason I put that album on my list is because of its' significance in the overall picture of gospel music history...being the first live gospel album ever released. It set the stage for a whole new type of gospel record album...and many great albums followed in its footsteps. Hence, it had(IMO)a "Pepper" like impact on gospel music.

THAT was the operative criterion for inclusion in my list. When I saw some of the albums listed in the comments to my list, I shook my head at some. Given the criteria I listed in my post, and the reasoning I offered above, how could anyone think that the Cathedrals' "Campmeeting Live" was such an album? It was not even their most noteworthy live recording. Or "Quartets" by Greater Vision(an album I enjoy very much)? Even though conceptually it was unique, how many other groups did similar albums? It's not as though the Booth Brothers rounded up a bunch of bass singers and made a quartet album of their own...they didn't. And nobody else has done something similar in that album's aftermath.

In fact, NO album made by Greater Vision, or the Crabb Family, or even the Perrys would qualify under the criteria I used for my post...mostly because the histories of those artists are still being written...and enough time has not yet elapsed for their impact to be fully felt on gospel music history.

My post was not simply a list of good albums, and certainly not a polemic for the "best" albums in gospel history. That's a different kettle of fish entirely...to be evaluated by a different set of criteria. And I'm not sure it's fully possible to be that objective all by one's self to make that kind of pronouncement.

Favorites? Well, my friend Daniel Mount has proposed that each of us post on our favorite gospel albums. Two things preclude me from jumping right on board with that one, however.

One is that my favorites tend to change over periods of time. In other words, what might be my top ten today might not be by next week. Like most of you, I'm constantly evaluating and reevaluating my favorites. So such a list might become dated really quickly.

The other is the one I mentioned above. Almost always such posts inspire Pavlovian responses as to why I'm wrong, and why my favorites should be their favorites(which they'll helpfully list for me...ALL of them!). Since everyone is entitled to his or her favorites for whatever reason, I make it a policy never to comment on anyone else's favorites...and I hope for similar consideration regarding mine.

It might not make for the most entertaining reading.

Now if someone asks me, I'll be happy to share such things with them...either privately, or here(depending on what I'm asked).

Anyway, those are my initial reactions to your reactions. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts here in my little corner of the web.

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