Search - Southern Sons :: Prayer Will Fix It

Bait And Switch

Aaron A Atwood | Berkeley, CA USA | 04/26/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I discovered the Southern Sons a few months ago when I heard them played in a used record store, and before that I never thought I'd buy a gospel album. But the Southern Sons of the 50s are really worth a listen. I'm not Christian, but the original Southern Sons just flat-out made some dramatic, upbeat music sung a capella. You could hear in their sound both blues and the birth of doo wop.
Unfortunately, these guys aren't the same group. Right off the bat they throw out the a capella with cheesy instrumentals and ham-fisted lyrics that just obstinately insist on contemporary Christian issues (such as the reinstitution of prayer in schools in the opening track). Their earlier songs were worded broadly enough to allow for some variance in beliefs, but when they mire themselves as they do in this album in right-wing secular politics I find myself really resisting the music. It also doesn't help that the new group has none of the vocal virtuosity of the 50s. It was a disappointment on several levels, and it helps me to consider them an entirely unrelated group. I'd strongly reccommend checking out the earlier a capella albums, though."