Search - The Jordanaires :: Jordanaires: Believe (Bonus Dvd) (Dig)

Sung by The Jordanaires, these hymns are full of encourageme

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 11/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - CD#1 (33:11), CD#2 (32:01), DVD (36:19) -- The passionate beauty of 26 bluegrass hymns is captured on this large project with two CDs and a DVD. The Jordanaires recently celebrated their 50th anniversary, and the DVD is a great place to start for personal interviews and a look behind this group's scene. In fact, viewing the DVD is essential as liner notes in this album sadly don't acknowledge the group's career highlights, band members or the songwriters. The Jordanaires' lead vocalist and tenor Gordon Stoker was the group's leader and remains the only original member today. Starting as a gospel quartet, they've done many background choruses on a ton of country recordings (including Elvis Presley's first recordings in 1956) since about 1949. "Dig a Little Deeper" is dedicated Elvis as that song attracted him to The Jordanaires' sound. The quartet must have averaged 2 recording sessions a day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year despite also being involved in other businesses such as clothing, publishing, and food. On the DVD, there is a substantial segment devoted to their name-dropping of artists they've worked with, along with some memories about many of them. As innovators, their involvement with the Nashville numbering system is also addressed. In the early days of their using this system for quickly communicating harmony changes in different keys, Elvis referred to it as "chicken scratching."



On the CDs, it's nice to see this collection of bluegrass hymns include "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," that was a million-selling hit for Red Foley as backed by the original Jordanaires in 1950, a year after they first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. The Jordanaires own a Grammy in 1965 for best religious album.



This bluegrass project has many favorite hymns, including some of my personal favorites "Rock of Ages," "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder," and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Even an oft-rendered "I'll Fly Away" is infused with new life as a result of its contemporary arrangement. The album also includes four new hymns (Believe, River of Life, Blessed, Go With God) written by Steve Ivey, producer and owner of IMI Music International. This is a pleasant project of gospel quartet singing accompanied by bluegrass instrumentation. The basic messages are ones of comfort and happiness. With bluegrass accompaniment, they take on added happiness. The hymns stand up for themselves. Sing along with them because you like them, the messages are good and believable, and the music is appealing. As sung by The Jordanaires, the music is full of encouragement, compassion and joy. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

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